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] 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,[4][5][6][7] 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.[6] The South American rheas are either sister to all other notopalaeognaths[8] or sister to Novaeratitae.[3] The sister group to Notopalaeognathae is
Struthionidae (the ostrich family).