Dromaius

Dromaius (from Ancient Greek δρομαῖος; "swift one", "runner") is a genus of ratite present in Australia. There is one extant species, Dromaius novaehollandiae, commonly known as the emu.

In his original 1816 description of the emu, Louis Pierre Vieillot used two generic names; first Dromiceius, then Dromaius a few pages later. Which label is correct has been a point of contention ever since; the latter is more correctly formed, but the convention in taxonomy is that the first name given stands, unless it is clearly a typographical error, as argued by W.B. Alexander. For names published on the same day, or in the same publication, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature states that both names have equal precedence, and that the Principle of First Reviser (Article 24.2 ) determines which name is to be used. Most modern publications, including those of the Australian government, use Dromaius, with Dromiceius mentioned as an alternative spelling. Misspellings of both forms by later authors have produced further synonyms. The Dromiceius spelling was the basis for Dale Russell's 1972 naming of the dinosaur Dromiceiomimus.