Upland moa

Last updated

Upland moa
Temporal range: Pleistocene-Holocene
Megalapteryx didinus mount (1).jpg
Mounted skeleton from Honeycomb Hill Cave, collection of Te Papa
Status NZTCS EX.svg
Extinct  (c. 1500) (NZ TCS) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Clade: Notopalaeognathae
Order:† Dinornithiformes
Family:† Megalapterygidae
Bunce et al., 2009
Genus:† Megalapteryx
Haast 1886 [2]
Species:
†M. didinus
Binomial name
†Megalapteryx didinus
(Owen, 1883) [2] [3]
Synonyms
list
  • Palaeocasuarius Forbes 1892 ex Rothschild 1907
  • Dinornis didinus Owen 1882 ex Owen 1883
  • Anomalopteryx didina (Owen 1883) Lydekker 1891
  • Megalapteryx hectori Haast 1884 ex Haast 1886
  • Megalapteryx tenuipes Lydekker, 1891
  • Megalapteryx hamiltoni Rothschild 1907
  • Palaeocasuarius velox Forbes 1892 ex Rothschild 1907
  • Palaeocasuarius elegans Rothschild 1907
  • Palaeocasuarius haasti Forbes 1892 ex Rothschild 1907
  • Megalapteryx benhami Archey 1941

The upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) is an extinct species of moa that was endemic to New Zealand. It is a ratite, a grouping of flightless birds with no keel on the sternum. It was the last moa species to become extinct, vanishing around 1500 CE, and was predominantly found in alpine and sub-alpine environments. [4]

Contents

Taxonomy

The upland moa was named as Dinornis didinus in 1883 by Richard Owen from mummified material found in 1878 by H. L. Squires in Queenstown, New Zealand and sent to the British Museum. The holotype specimen consists of a mummified head and partial neck, and two mummified legs and feet which preserve the feathers. [5]

In 2005, a genetic study suggested that M. benhami, which had previously been considered a junior synonym of M. didinus, may have been a valid species after all. [6] [7]

The cladogram below follows a 2009 analysis by Bunce et al.: [8]

Dinornithiformes

Description

Restoration from 1907 Megalapteryx.png
Restoration from 1907

At less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall and about 17 to 34 kilograms (37 to 75 lb) in weight, the upland moa was among the smallest of the moa species. [9] Unlike other moas, it had feathers covering all of its body but the beak and the soles of its feet, an adaptation to its cold environment. [10] Scientists believed in the past that the upland moa held its neck and head upright; however, it actually carried itself in a stooped posture with its head level to its back. This would have helped it travel through the abundant vegetation in its habitat, whereas an extended neck would have been more suited to open spaces. [11] It had no wings or tail. [12]

Distribution and habitat

The upland moa lived only on New Zealand's South Island, in mountains and sub-alpine regions. They travelled to elevations as high as 2000 m (7000 ft). [11]

Behavior and ecology

Mummified head head of the holotype, as illustrated in Owen's 1883 article Moaupland.jpg
Mummified head head of the holotype, as illustrated in Owen's 1883 article

The upland moa was herbivorous, its diet extrapolated from fossilised stomach contents, droppings, and the structure of its beak and crop. It ate leaves and small twigs, using its beak to "shear ... with scissor-like moves". [11] However, bio-mechanical testing of its beak and head has shown it was best suited to feed by pulling backwards, possibly while twisting its head to the side. [13] Its food required grinding before it could be digested, as indicated by its large crop. [11] Studies of the upland moa's coprolites provided evidence that branchlets of trees such as Nothofagus , various lake-edge herbs, tussock, and the nectar-rich flowers made up part of its diet. [14] [15] Based on the pollen present in the coprolites, it is suggested they had a similar lifestyle to the living takahē, feeding in high alpine areas during the summer and descending to lower altitude forests in the winter. They may also have played an important role in the seed dispersal of alpine plants. [15]

This moa usually laid only 1 to 2 blue-green coloured eggs at once, [11] [16] and was likely the only type of moa to lay eggs that were not white in colour. [17] Like the emu and ostrich, male moa cared for the young. [10] The upland moa's only predator before the arrival of humans in New Zealand was the Haast's eagle. [11]

Extinction

Humans first came in contact with the upland moa around 1250 to 1300 AD, when the Māori people arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia. Moa, a docile animal, were an easy source of food for the Māori (who called them "moa pukepuke") [1] and were eventually hunted to extinction in 1445. [11] [18]

Discoveries

Preserved foot of the holotype specimen Moa foot.jpg
Preserved foot of the holotype specimen

The species has the best-preserved mummified remains of any moa species. [19] Several specimens with soft tissue and feather remains are known:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiwi (bird)</span> Order of birds

Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand of the order Apterygiformes. The five extant species fall into the family Apterygidae and genus Apteryx. Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are the smallest ratites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moa</span> Extinct order of birds

Moa are an extinct group of flightless birds formerly endemic to New Zealand. During the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, there were nine species. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about 3.6 metres (12 ft) in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kilograms (510 lb) while the smallest, the bush moa, was around the size of a turkey. Estimates of the moa population when Polynesians settled New Zealand circa 1300 vary between 58,000 and approximately 2.5 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huia</span> Extinct species of bird

The huia is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was another credible sighting in 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adzebill</span> Extinct genus of birds

The adzebills, genus Aptornis, were two closely related bird species, the North Island adzebill,, and the South Island adzebill,, of the extinct family Aptornithidae. The family was endemic to New Zealand. A tentative fossil species,, is known from the Miocene Saint Bathans fauna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bush moa</span> Extinct genus of flightless birds

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

<i>Dinornis</i> Extinct genus of birds

The giant moa (Dinornis) is an extinct genus of birds belonging to the moa family. As with other moa, it was a member of the order Dinornithiformes. It was endemic to New Zealand. Two species of Dinornis are considered valid, the North Island giant moa and the South Island giant moa. In addition, two further species have been suggested based on distinct DNA lineages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern moa</span> Extinct species of bird

The eastern moa is an extinct species of moa that was endemic to New Zealand.

<i>Pachyornis</i> Extinct genus of birds

Pachyornis is an extinct genus of ratites from New Zealand which belonged to the moa family. Like all ratites it was a member of the order Struthioniformes. The Struthioniformes are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. This genus contains three species, and are part of the Anomalopteryginae or lesser moa subfamily. Pachyornis moa were the stoutest and most heavy-legged genus of the family, the most notable species being Pachyornis elephantopus - the heavy-footed moa. They were generally similar to the eastern moa or the broad-billed moa of the genus Euryapteryx, but differed in having a pointed bill and being more heavyset in general. At least one species is assumed to have had a crest of long feathers on its head. The species became rapidly extinct following human colonization of New Zealand, with the possible exception of P. australis, which may have already been extinct by then - although the most recent moa skeleton ever described is a partial skeleton of this species, radiocarbon dated to between 1396 and 1442.

The long-billed wren is an extinct species of New Zealand wren formerly endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It was the only species in the genus Dendroscansor. It shares the name "long-billed wren" with the Brazilian bird Cantorchilus longirostris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand bittern</span> Extinct species of heron

The New Zealand bittern is an extinct and enigmatic species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It was endemic to New Zealand and was last recorded alive in the 1890s.

Trevor Henry Worthy is an Australia-based paleozoologist from New Zealand, known for his research on moa and other extinct vertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested moa</span> Extinct species of bird

The crested moa is an extinct species of moa. It is one of the 9 known species of moa to have existed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavy-footed moa</span> Extinct species of bird

The heavy-footed moa is a species of moa from the lesser moa family. The heavy-footed moa was widespread only in the South Island of New Zealand, and its habitat was the lowlands. The moa were ratites, flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. The origin of these birds is becoming clearer as it is now believed that early ancestors of these birds were able to fly and flew to the southern areas in which they have been found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Island giant moa</span> Extinct species of bird

The North Island giant moa is an extinct moa in the genus Dinornis, known in Māori as kuranui. Even though it might have walked with a lowered posture, standing upright, it would have been the tallest bird ever to exist, with a height estimated up to 3.6 metres (12 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Island giant moa</span> Extinct species of bird

The South Island giant moa is an extinct species of moa in the genus Dinornis, known in Māori by the name moa nunui. It was one of the tallest-known bird species to walk the Earth, exceeded in weight only by the heavier but shorter elephant bird of Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad-billed moa</span> Extinct bird species

The broad-billed moa, stout-legged moa or coastal moa is an extinct species of moa that was endemic to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mantell's moa</span> Extinct species of bird

Mantell's moa also known as Mappin's moa is an extinct species of moa from the North Island of New Zealand. Its habitat was the lowlands. The moa were ratites, flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. The origin of the ratites is becoming clearer as it is now believed that early ancestors of these birds were able to fly and flew to the southern areas that they have been found in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand goose</span> Extinct genus of birds

The New Zealand goose is a bird of the extinct genus Cnemiornis of the family Anatidae, subfamily Anserinae. The genus, endemic to New Zealand, consisted of two species: the North Island goose, C. gracilis and the South Island goose C. calcitrans.

References

  1. 1 2 "Megalapteryx didinus. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 Brands, Sheila J. (1989). "The Taxonomicon". Zwaag, Netherlands: Universal Taxonomic Services. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Checklist Committee Ornithological Society of New Zealand (2010). "Checklist-of-Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands and the Ross Dependency Antarctica" (PDF). Te Papa Press. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Tennyson, Alan J. D. (2006). Extinct birds of New Zealand. Paul Martinson. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa Press. ISBN   978-0-909010-21-8. OCLC   80016906.
  5. ↑ Owen, Richard (1883). "On Dinornis (Part XXIV): containing a Description of the Head and Feet, with their dried Integuments, of an Individual of the species Dinornis didinus, Owen". Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. 11 (8). London : Zoological Society of London: 257–261. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Baker, A. J.; Huynen, L. J.; Haddrath, O.; Millar, C. D.; Lambert, D. M. (2005). "Reconstructing the tempo and mode of evolution in an extinct clade of birds with ancient DNA: The giant moas of New Zealand". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102 (23): 8257–62. Bibcode:2005PNAS..102.8257B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0409435102 . PMC   1149408 . PMID   15928096.
  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   978-0-7876-5784-0.
  8. ↑ Bunce, M.; Worthy, T. H.; Phillips, M. J.; Holdaway, R. N.; Willerslev, E.; Haile, J.; Shapiro, B.; Scofield, R. P.; Drummond, A.; Kamp, P. J. J.; Cooper, A. (2009). "The evolutionary history of the extinct ratite moa and New Zealand Neogene paleogeography" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (49): 20646–20651. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10620646B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0906660106 . PMC   2791642 . PMID   19923428.
  9. ↑ Vickers-Rich, P.; Trusler, P.; Rowley, M. J.; Cooper, A. (1 January 1995). "Morphology, myology, collagen and DNA of a mummified upland moa, Megalapteryx didinus (Aves: dinorthiformes) from New Zealand". Tuhinga: The Records of the Museum of New Zealand te Papa Tongarewa. 4: 1–26.
  10. 1 2 Flannery, Tim, "A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals", October 2001, ""
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Museum of New Zealand, "Upland Moa", 1998, http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/theme.aspx?irn=1348
  12. ↑ TerraNature, "Flightless Birds: Moa", http://terranature.org/moa.htm
  13. ↑ Attard, Marie R. G.; Wilson, Laura A. B.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Scofield, Paul; Johnston, Peter; Parr, William C. H.; Wroe, Stephen (2016). "Moa diet fits the bill: virtual reconstruction incorporating mummified remains and prediction of biomechanical performance in avian giants". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 283 (1822): 20152043. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.2043. PMC   4721086 . PMID   26763698 . Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Horrocks, Mark; D'Costa, Donna; Wallace, Rod; Gardner, Rhys; Kondo, Renzo (2004). "Plant remains in coprolites: diet of a subalpine moa (Dinornithiformes) from southern New Zealand". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 104 (2): 149–156. doi:10.1071/MU03019. S2CID   86345660.
  15. 1 2 Wood, Jamie R.; Wilmshurst, Janet M.; Wagstaff, Steven J.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Rawlence, Nicolas J.; Cooper, Alan (2012). "High-Resolution Coproecology: Using Coprolites to Reconstruct the Habits and Habitats of New Zealand's Extinct Upland Moa (Megalapteryx didinus)". PLOS ONE. 7 (6): e40025. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...740025W. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040025 . PMC   3386916 . PMID   22768206 . Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  16. ↑ Igic, Branislav; Greenwood, David R.; Palmer, David J.; Cassey, Phillip; Gill, Brian J.; Grim, Tomas; Brennan, Patricia L. R.; Bassett, Suzanne M.; Battley, Phil F.; Hauber, Mark E. (2010). "Detecting pigments from colourful eggshells of extinct birds". Chemoecology. 20 (1): 43–48. doi:10.1007/s00049-009-0038-2. S2CID   10956718.
  17. ↑ Gill, B. J. (2006). "A Catalogue of Moa Eggs (Aves: Dinornithiformes)". Records of the Auckland Museum . 43: 55–80. ISSN   1174-9202. JSTOR   42905885. Wikidata   Q58623352.
  18. ↑ Worthy, Trevor H.'Moa – Moa and people', Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 13-Jul-12 URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/moa/page-4
  19. ↑ Tennyson, Alan J. D. (2006). Extinct birds of New Zealand. Paul Martinson. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa Press. p. 20. ISBN   978-0-909010-21-8. OCLC   80016906.
  20. ↑ Museum of New Zealand(a). "Megalapteryx didinus". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  21. ↑ Worthy, Trevor H. (1989). "Mummified moa remains from Mt Owen, northwest Nelson" (PDF). Notornis. 36 (1): 36–38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
  22. ↑ Museum of New Zealand(b). "Megalapteryx didinus". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  23. ↑ McCulloch, Beverley (1992). "Unique, dark olive-green moa eggshell from Redcliffe Hill, Rakaia Gorge, Canterbury" (PDF). Notornis. 39 (1): 63–65. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2006.
  24. ↑ Museum of New Zealand(c). "Megalapteryx didinus". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  25. ↑ "THE HUNT IS ON: Upland Moa Recovery Project".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.