Lesser Rhea

SCI Name:  Rhea pennata
Protonym:  Rhea pennata Voy.Am.merid. livr.2 p.67,note2
Taxonomy:  Rheiformes / Rheidae / Rhea
Taxonomy Code:  lesrhe2
Type Locality:  Patagonia.
Author:  d'Orbigny
Publish Year:  1834
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

RHEA
(Rheidae; Ϯ Greater Rhea R. americana) Gr. myth. Rhea, daughter of Gaia and Uranus, and mother to Zeus and the gods  < ῥεω rheō  to flow, because rivers flow from Earth (γαια gaia  Earth). The relevance of this epithet is unknown, although it may reflect the humorous juxtaposition of Rhea, the Great Mother, with the Ostrich, the Great Bird, in Aristophanes’ comedy Ornithes (The Birds). Valdés Chadwick 2016, recalls the myth of Cronon and Rhea, his sister and wife. Troubled by prophecy Cronon devoured his new-born children, with the exception of Zeus whom Rhea replaced with a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Cronon swallowed the offering, and, by association, it is noted that rheas, and other struthious birds, swallow stones and pebbles as an aid to digestion. "55. RHEA.  Struthiocamelus Americanus. RAI. Syn. av. 36." (Moehring 1752); "Alis, pro mole corporis, parvis & volatui inutilibus  { Rostro recto, horizontaliter subplano; apice subrotundo . . . . Rhea Genus 63.   ...   Le genre du Thouyou. (1).  ...  (1) Thouyou, nom forme de Thouyouyou, qui est celui que les Indiens de la Guiane donnent à l'espèce de ce genre.  ...  Genus Rheæ. (1).  ...  (1) Rhea, nomen a Moehringio huic generi inditum." (Brisson 1760); ex "Avis Eme" of Aldrovandus 1599-1603, "Struthio" and "Yandou" of de Laët 1633, "Nhandu-guacu" of Marcgrave 1648, and Piso 1658, "Struthio-Camelus" of Jonston 1650-1653, "Emeu nigricans" of Barrère 1745, "Rhea" of Moehring 1752, and Struthio Americanus Linnaeus, 1758; "Rhea Brisson, Orn., 1, 1760, p. 46; 5, 1760, p. 8. Type, by monotypy, Struthio americanus Linné." (Peters 1931, I, 4).
Synon. Gauria, Nandou, Pterocnemia, Touyou, Tuyus.
● (syn. Casuarius Ϯ Double-wattled Cassowary C. casuarius) Given to the Cassowary by confusion.

rhea
Gr. myth. Rhea, daughter of Uranus and mother to Zeus; ex “Nhandu-guacu brasiliensibus” of Marcgrave 1648, and “Rhea” of Moehring 1752, and Brisson 1760 (syn. Rhea americana).

pennata / pennatus
L. pennatus feathered < penna feather.
● ex “Faucon patu” of Brisson 1760, and “Booted Falcon” of Latham 1781 (Hieraaetus).

SUBSPECIES

Lesser Rhea (Puna)
SCI Name: Rhea pennata tarapacensis/garleppi
RHEA
(Rheidae; Ϯ Greater Rhea R. americana) Gr. myth. Rhea, daughter of Gaia and Uranus, and mother to Zeus and the gods  < ῥεω rheō  to flow, because rivers flow from Earth (γαια gaia  Earth). The relevance of this epithet is unknown, although it may reflect the humorous juxtaposition of Rhea, the Great Mother, with the Ostrich, the Great Bird, in Aristophanes’ comedy Ornithes (The Birds). Valdés Chadwick 2016, recalls the myth of Cronon and Rhea, his sister and wife. Troubled by prophecy Cronon devoured his new-born children, with the exception of Zeus whom Rhea replaced with a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Cronon swallowed the offering, and, by association, it is noted that rheas, and other struthious birds, swallow stones and pebbles as an aid to digestion. "55. RHEA.  Struthiocamelus Americanus. RAI. Syn. av. 36." (Moehring 1752); "Alis, pro mole corporis, parvis & volatui inutilibus  { Rostro recto, horizontaliter subplano; apice subrotundo . . . . Rhea Genus 63.   ...   Le genre du Thouyou. (1).  ...  (1) Thouyou, nom forme de Thouyouyou, qui est celui que les Indiens de la Guiane donnent à l'espèce de ce genre.  ...  Genus Rheæ. (1).  ...  (1) Rhea, nomen a Moehringio huic generi inditum." (Brisson 1760); ex "Avis Eme" of Aldrovandus 1599-1603, "Struthio" and "Yandou" of de Laët 1633, "Nhandu-guacu" of Marcgrave 1648, and Piso 1658, "Struthio-Camelus" of Jonston 1650-1653, "Emeu nigricans" of Barrère 1745, "Rhea" of Moehring 1752, and Struthio Americanus Linnaeus, 1758; "Rhea Brisson, Orn., 1, 1760, p. 46; 5, 1760, p. 8. Type, by monotypy, Struthio americanus Linné." (Peters 1931, I, 4).
Synon. Gauria, Nandou, Pterocnemia, Touyou, Tuyus.
● (syn. Casuarius Ϯ Double-wattled Cassowary C. casuarius) Given to the Cassowary by confusion.

Lesser Rhea (Darwin's)
SCI Name: Rhea pennata pennata
pennata / pennatus
L. pennatus feathered < penna feather.
● ex “Faucon patu” of Brisson 1760, and “Booted Falcon” of Latham 1781 (Hieraaetus).