Bush moa

The bush moa, little bush moa, or lesser moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis) is an extinct species of moa from the family Emeidae (lesser moa).

Bush moa
Temporal range: Pleistocene-Holocene
skeleton

Extinct (~1400s) (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: †Dinornithiformes
Family: †Emeidae
Genus: †Anomalopteryx
Reichenbach 1852
Species:
†A. didiformis
Binomial name
†Anomalopteryx didiformis
(Owen 1844) Reichenbach 1853[2][3]
Synonyms
  • Dinornis didiformis Owen, 1844
  • Anomalopteryx didiformis (Owen 1844) Lydekker 1891
  • Anomalornis didiformis (Owen 1844) Hutton 1897
  • Dinornis dromioides Owen, 1846 non Oliver 1930
  • Anomalopteryx dromaeoides (Owen 1846) Lydekker 1891
  • Dinornis parvus Owen, 1883
  • Anomalopteryx parva (Owen 1883) Lydekker 1891
  • Dinornis oweni Haast, 1886
  • Anomalornis owenii (Haast 1886) Hutton 1897
  • Pachyornis owenii (Haast 1886) Archey 1941
  • Anomalopteryx oweni (Haast 1886) Oliver 1949
  • Anomalopteryx antiquus Hutton, 1892 (may be a valid predecessor species)
  • Anomalopteryx fortis Hutton, 1893
  • Anomalornis gracilis Hutton 1897 non Dinornis gracilis Owen 1854
  • Anomalornis (Hutton, 1897)
  • Graya (Bonaparte, 1956)

Taxonomy

The bush moa was first scientifically described as Dinornis didiformis by Richard Owen in 1844. He chose the specific name didiformis because of the apparent similarity in the shape and size of the tarsometatarsus to that of the dodo (then Didus ineptus).[4]

Description

It was the smallest known species of moa,[5] only slightly taller than a turkey. A slender bird, it weighed around 30 kilograms (66 lb).[6] As with all moa, they have a sternum but no keel. They also have a distinctive palate.[7] It inhabited much of the North Island and small sections of the South Island of New Zealand. Its habitat was dense lowland conifer, broad-leafed southern beech forests and scrubland.[6][7] It possessed a sturdy, sharp-edged beak, suggesting that its diet was made up of twigs and other tough plant material.[6][5]

Threats and extinction

Native predators included the Haast's eagle and Eyles' harrier.[6] The species went extinct alongside other native New Zealand wildlife around 500-600 years ago, following the arrival and proliferation of the Maori people in New Zealand (who called them "moariki"),[1] as well as the introduction of Polynesian dogs.[6]

Archaeological remains

The most complete remains, a partially articulated skeleton with substantial mummified tissue and feathers were discovered in 1980 in Lake Echo Valley, east of Te Anau, Southland.[8] It is now in the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, in Invercargill. Anomalopteryx fossils made up the bulk of moa fossils discovered in a swamp in 1912 in Clevedon.[9]

Possible de-extinction

Scientists at Harvard University assembled the first nearly complete genome of the species from toe bones,[10][11] thus bringing the species a step closer to being "resurrected" in the future by using the emu as a proxy.[10]

Skeleton

References
  1. "Anomalopteryx didiformis. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. Brands, Sheila (14 August 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Genus Anomalopteryx". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  3. B.J. Gill; B.D. Bell; G.K. Chambers; D.G. Medway; R.L. Palma; R.P. Scofield; A.J.D. Tennyson & T.H. Worthy (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica (PDF) (4th ed.). Wellington, NZ: Te Papa Press. ISBN 978-1-877385-59-9.
  4. Owen, Richard (1844). "On Dinornis, an extinct Genus of tridactyle Struthious Birds, with descriptions of portions of the Skeleton of Five Species which formerly existed in New Zealand". Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. 3: 235–275. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  5. Tennyson, Alan J. D. (2006). Extinct birds of New Zealand. Paul Martinson. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-909010-21-8. OCLC 80016906.
  6. "Little bush moa | New Zealand Birds Online". nzbirdsonline.org.nz. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  7. Davies, S.J.J.F. (2003). "Moas". In Hutchins, Michael (ed.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 95–98. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.
  8. Forrest, R. M. (1987). "A partially mummified skeleton of Anomalopteryx didiformis from Southland". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Royal Society of New Zealand. 17 (4): 399–408. doi:10.1080/03036758.1987.10426481. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  9. Gill, B.J. (2003). "HISTORICAL MOA BONE COLLECTIONS (AVES: DINORNITHIFORMES) AT AUCKLAND MUSEUM—CLEVEDON AND KIA ORA". Records of the Auckland Museum. 40: 39–53. ISSN 1174-9202.
  10. "Scientists reconstruct the genome of a moa, a bird extinct for 700 years". STAT. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  11. "Anomalopteryx didiformis (ID 124) - Genome - NCBI".


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