Upland Moa

Upland Moa
Lesser Megalapteryx head
Conservation status
Extinct (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Superorder:	Paleognathae
Order:	Struthioniformes
Family:	†Dinornithidae
Genus:	†Megalapteryx Haast[1]
Species:	†Megalapteryx didinus
Binomial name
Megalapteryx didinus (Owen, 1883)[1]
Synonyms
Megalapteryx hectori (Haast, 1886)

The Lesser Megalapteryx or Upland Moa (Megalapteryx didinus) was a species of ratite bird endemic to New Zealand. Ratites are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate.^[2] It was the last moa species to become extinct, vanishing around 1500.

Fossils and remains

Preserved Megalapteryx foot, Natural History Museum^[3]

Several specimens with soft tissue and feather remains are known:

• British Museum A16, found at Queenstown in 1876, is the type of the species.
• Otago Museum C.68.2A, leg with much muscle tissue, skin and feathers from the Old Man Range
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa NMNZ S.000400, a skeleton with tissue on neck and head from the Cromwell area.^[4]
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa NMNZ S.023080, a foot with some muscle and sinews, found on 7 January 1987 at Mount Owen. This was dated to be about 3,300–3,400 years old.^[5]
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa NMNZ S.027950, feathers found in 1949 at Takahe Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand.^[6]
• Canterbury Museum NZ 1725, Remains of one partial egg which have been found at the Rakaia River in 1971 are tentatively attributed to this species. The radiocarbon date of approximately AD 1300–1400 is in line with this. Unusually, the eggshell is dark olive green, but even if the egg is of M. didinus, the shell color may have varied between individual eggs.^[7]
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa NMNZ S.023700, complete skeleton found by Trevor Worthy in March 1987 at Honeycomb Hill Cave, Oparara Valley^[8]

Habitat and range

Restoration from 1907

It has been ascertained that this moa resided on the South Island only and in high-altitude beech forests.^[2]

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} Brands, S. (2008)
2. ^ ^{a b} Davies, S. J. J. F.
3. ^ dkimages - discover - animals - Moa (Megalapteryx sp.)
4. ^ Museum of New Zealand(a)
5. ^ Worthy, T. H. (1989)
6. ^ Museum of New Zealand(b)
7. ^ McCulloch, B. (1991)
8. ^ Museum of New Zealand(c)

References

• Brands, Sheila J. (1989). "The Taxonomicon". Zwaag, Netherlands: Universal Taxonomic Services. http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl/Taxonomicon/TaxonTree.aspx?id=51298. Retrieved 21 Jan 2010. 
• Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003). "Moas". In Hutchins, Michael. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 95–98. ISBN 0 7876 5784 0. 
• McCulloch, Beverley (1992). "Unique, dark olive-green moa eggshell from Redcliffe Hill, Rakaia Gorge, Canterbury". Notornis 39 (1): 63–65. http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_39-1992/Notornis_39_1_63.pdf. 
• Museum of New Zealand(a). "Megalapteryx didinus". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=90846. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
• Museum of New Zealand(b). "Megalapteryx didinus". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=90846. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
• Museum of New Zealand(c). "Megalapteryx didinus". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/ObjectDetails.aspx?oid=92365. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
• Worthy, Trevor H. (1989). "Mummified moa remains from Mt Owen, northwest Nelson". Notornis 36 (1): 36–38. http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_36-1989/Notornis_36_1.pdf. 

External links

• Upland Moa. Megalapteryx didinus. by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006
• Articulated skeleton at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Paleontology portal