Dwarf cassowary
Casuarius bennetti Gould, 1857
The dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti) is a species in the family Casuariidae, order Casuariiformes. Recorded adults weigh 30.5 kg to 35 kg and live up to 26 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the dwarf cassowary
- Weight
- 30.5 kg – 35 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 26 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Frugivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- fruitsrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 50.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.9 – 5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 4 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Where does the dwarf cassowary live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The dwarf cassowary is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the dwarf cassowary?
The dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti), also known as Bennett's cassowary, little cassowary, mountain cassowary or muruk, is the smallest of the three extant species of cassowaries. Like all cassowaries, it is a mostly black, large flightless bird. It inhabits the island of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.
From the Wikipedia article “Dwarf cassowary” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dwarf_cassowary&oldid=1383794400), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the dwarf cassowary endangered?
The dwarf cassowary is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the dwarf cassowary classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCasuariiformes
- familyCasuariidae
- genusCasuarius
- SpeciesCasuarius bennetti Gould, 1857
Synonyms Casuarius benettii kaupi, Casuarius bennetti foersteri, Casuarius bennetti keysseri, Casuarius foersteri, Casuarius kaupi, Casuarius picticollis
Other names and names in other languages (46)
- Bennett's cassowaryEnglish
- Little cassowaryEnglish
- MoorukEnglish
- Mountain cassowaryEnglish
- شبنم قزمArabic
- Казуар-джуджеBulgarian
- Kazoar BennettBreton
- casuari de BennettCatalan
- kasuár menšíCzech
- corgasowariWelsh
- DværgkasuarDanish
- BennettkasuarGerman
- Καζουάριος του ΜπένετGreek
- nana kazuaroEsperanto
- Casuario menorSpanish
- väikekaasuarEstonian
- کاسواری کوچکPersian
- pikkukasuaariFinnish
- Casoar de BennettFrench
- קזואר בנטHebrew
- mali kazuarCroatian
- Bennett-kazuárHungarian
- Kasuari kecilIndonesian
- Kasuari kerdilIndonesian
- DvergkasúiIcelandic
- Casuario nanoItalian
- Casuario di BennettItalian
- コヒクイドリJapanese
- nykštukinis kazuarasLithuanian
- DwergkasuarisDutch
- dvergkasuarNorwegian
- kazuar mniejszyPolish
- casuar-anãoPortuguese
- Казуар-мурукRussian
- kazuár murukSlovak
- Pritlikavi kazuarSlovenian
- Patuljasti kazuarSerbian
- dvärgkasuarSwedish
- นกแคสโซแวรีแคระThai
- Köse KajuariTurkish
- Cüce tepelideve kuşuTurkish
- Küçük KasuariTurkish
- казуар малийUkrainian
- Đà điểu đầu mào lùnVietnamese
- 侏鶴鴕Chinese
- 侏鹤鸵Chinese
Relatives of the dwarf cassowary
Other species in the same genus Casuarius.
Southern cassowary
Casuarius casuarius
Northern cassowary
Casuarius unappendiculatus
Pygmy cassowary
Casuarius lydekkeri
CompareDwarf cassowary vs Southern cassowaryDwarf cassowary vs Northern cassowaryDwarf cassowary vs Pygmy cassowaryDwarf cassowary vs Casuarius diemenianus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the dwarf cassowary?
An adult dwarf cassowary weighs 30.5 kg – 35 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the dwarf cassowary live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the dwarf cassowary for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the dwarf cassowary endangered?
The dwarf cassowary is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What does the dwarf cassowary eat?
Its recorded main food is fruit.
How long does the dwarf cassowary live?
The dwarf cassowary has a recorded lifespan of 26 years.
What kind of animal is the dwarf cassowary?
The dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti) belongs to the family Casuariidae in the order Casuariiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dwarf-cassowary
“Dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dwarf-cassowary.
@misc{dwarf_cassowary_2026,
title = {Dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dwarf-cassowary},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}