Notopalaeognathae is a clade that contains the order Rheiformes (rheas), the clade Novaeratitae (which includes the cassowaries and emus, the kiwis, and the extinct elephant birds), and the clade Dinocrypturi (comprising the tinamous and the extinct moas).[3] Notopalaeognathae was named by Yuri et al. (2013) and defined in the PhyloCode by Sangster et al. (2022) as "the least inclusive crown clade containing Rhea americana, Tinamus major, and Apteryx australis".[4] The exact relationships of this group, including its recently extinct members, have only recently been uncovered. The two lineages endemic to New Zealand, the kiwis and the extinct moas, are not each other's closest relatives: the moas are most closely related to the Neotropical tinamous,[5][6][7][8] and the kiwis are sister to the extinct elephant birds of Madagascar, with kiwis and elephant birds together sister to the cassowaries and emu of New Guinea and Australia.[7] The South American rheas are either sister to all other notopalaeognaths[9] or sister to Novaeratitae.[3] The sister group to Notopalaeognathae is Struthionidae (the ostrich family).
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