Great Spotted Kiwi













 

Classification
Taxonomy
Domain: Eukarya

Eukaryotes have membrane-bound organelles, complex cells, and their genetic material is held in the nucleus.

 Kingdom: Animalia

Animals are motile, lack cell walls, have no alternation of generations, are multicellular, and are heterotrophic.

Phylum: Chordata

Chordates have a notochord, hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal gill slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail at some point of development. They also have a well-developed coelom, are bilaterally symmetrical, and are triploblastic.

Class: Aves

Birds have modified structures for flight: epidermal scales modified to feathers; bone structures modified for flight (reduced weight) and larger breast bone for wing attachment.

Order: Struthioniformes

They are flightless birds.

Family: Apterygidae

They have no keel on their sternum and lack a strong anchor for their wing muscles, so they could not fly even if they developed suitable wings.

 Genus: Apteryx

Kiwis are nocturnal flightless birds with long necks and stout legs.

Species: Apteryx haasti

They have a grey-brown plumage with lighter bands and are the largest of the kiwi species.

Phylogenetic Tree



This is a morphological tree. Of the birds, the Great Spotted Kiwi belongs to the Struthioniformes. They belong to the class Apterygidae, which are most closely related to the Emu. The Apterygidae are split into the spotted kiwis and the brown kiwis. The spotted Kiwis are split into two groups: Apteryx owenii (Little Spotted Kiwi), and Apteryx haastii (Great Spotted Kiwi).

                              














































Questions or comments? Contact me at reiland.lian@students.uwlax.edu
Last updated April 25th, 2008