Casuarius bennetti is found on the island of New Guinea. The majority of the population resides in Papua New Guinea, on the eastern side of the island. These birds are also found on the islands of New Britain and Yapen but their presence on these islands is likely due to extensive trade in cassowaries from New Guinea.
The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) of the Casuarius bennetti is arranged and works similarly to that of mammals. Its job is to integrate sensory impulses from the environment, to stored learned information, and to coordinate voluntary and involuntary functions and movements.
In the brain, the optic lobes are large and the olfactory lobes small, correlating with their senses.
The cerebral hemispheres in Casuarius bennettiare large and well-developed, as in mammals, but the center of complex behavior in the cerebrum is different in the two groups. The brain of a mammal is dominated by the top layer of the cerebral hemispheres (cerebral cortex) which have a high capacity for learning. The bird brain is dominated by the middle of the cerebral hemisphere which lacks learning capacity. Casuarius bennettibrains is also particularly sensitive to control by hormones; implanting a pellet of testosterone in a dove elicits courtship, copulation, and aggressive behavior. Experimentally, large sections of the cerebral cortex have been removed with little effect on the birds' behavior.
The cerebellum, the center for motor control, is well-developed in birds as is logical with their ability to fly and the related need for agility
The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) of the Casuarius bennetti is arranged and works similarly to that of mammals. Its job is to integrate sensory impulses from the environment, to stored learned information, and to coordinate voluntary and involuntary functions and movements.
In the brain, the optic lobes are large and the olfactory lobes small, correlating with their senses.
The cerebral hemispheres in Casuarius bennettiare large and well-developed, as in mammals, but the center of complex behavior in the cerebrum is different in the two groups. The brain of a mammal is dominated by the top layer of the cerebral hemispheres (cerebral cortex) which have a high capacity for learning. The bird brain is dominated by the middle of the cerebral hemisphere which lacks learning capacity. Casuarius bennettibrains is also particularly sensitive to control by hormones; implanting a pellet of testosterone in a dove elicits courtship, copulation, and aggressive behavior. Experimentally, large sections of the cerebral cortex have been removed with little effect on the birds' behavior.
The cerebellum, the center for motor control, is well-developed in birds as is logical with their ability to fly and the related need for agility