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Moa were nine species of now-extinct flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about 3.6 m (12 ft) in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kg (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.
The New Zealand swan or poūwa is an extinct indigenous swan from the Chatham Islands and the South Island of New Zealand. Discovered as archaeological remains in 1889, it was originally considered a separate species from the Australian black swan because of its slightly larger bones, and swans not having been introduced to New Zealand until 1864. From 1998 until 2017, it was considered to be simply a New Zealand population of Cygnus atratus, until DNA recovered from fossil bones determined that it was indeed a separate species, much larger and heavier than its Australian relative.
Leiopelma is a genus of New Zealand primitive frogs, belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Leiopelmatidae. The leiopelmatids' relatively basal form indicates they have an ancient lineage. While some taxonomists have suggested combining the North American frogs of the genus Ascaphus in the family Ascaphidae with the New Zealand frogs of the genus Leiopelma in the family Leiopelmatidae, the current consensus is that these two groups constitute two separate families. The four extant species of Leiopelmatidae are only found in New Zealand.
The upland moa was a species of moa endemic to New Zealand. It was a ratite, a grouping of flightless birds with no keel on the sternum. It was the last moa species to become extinct, vanishing in 1445 CE, and was predominantly found in alpine and sub-alpine environments.
The Hamilton's frog(Leiopelma hamiltoni) is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the family Leiopelmatidae. The male remains with the eggs to protect them and allows the tadpoles to climb onto his back where they are kept moist. It is named in honour of Harold Hamilton the collector of the type specimen. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
The Viti Levu giant pigeon or Fiji giant ground pigeon is an extinct flightless pigeon of Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji. It was only slightly smaller than the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire and is the first giant, flightless pigeon to be discovered on a Pacific island.
Whitaker's skink, also known commonly as Whitaker's New Zealand skink, is an endangered species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found only in New Zealand.
The long-billed wren was a species of New Zealand wren endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It was the only species in the genus Dendroscansor. The long-billed wren was a small bird with stout legs and tiny wings. Its reduced sternum suggests that it had weak flight muscles and was probably flightless, like the recently extinct Lyall's wren. Its weight is estimated at 30 g, which makes it heavier than any surviving New Zealand wren, but lighter than the also-extinct stout-legged wren. The bill of this species was both long and curved, unlike that of all other acanthisittid wrens.
The New Zealand stiff-tailed duck is an extinct duck species from New Zealand which is known only from subfossil remains. It was first described as a distinct species by Trevor H. Worthy in 2005.
Volia is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylians from Fiji named in 2002. It was around 2–3 metres (7–10 ft) long. Notwithstanding its comparatively small size, it was probably the apex predator of the Pleistocene ecosystems of Fiji.
Scarlett's shearwater is an extinct species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. Its common name commemorates New Zealand palaeontologist Ron Scarlett, who recognised the bird's subfossil remains represented a distinct species.
Vitirallus watlingi, the Fiji rail or Viti Levu rail, was a prehistoric flightless bird from Fiji, and is the only species in the genus Vitirallus. Vitirallus watlingi is thought to have been about the same size as the bar-winged rail but with a very elongated and slender bill.
The Viti Levu scrubfowl, also known as the Fiji scrubfowl or lost megapode, is an extinct megapode that was endemic to Fiji. The epithet amissus, from Latin "lost", refers to its extinction. Subfossil remains were collected from the Udit cave at Wainibuku on the island of Viti Levu in October 1998 by Trevor Worthy, G. Udy and S. Mataraba, and described by Worthy in 2000. The holotype is held by the Museum of New Zealand.
Megavitiornis altirostris is an extinct, flightless, giant stem-galliform bird that was endemic to Fiji, it is the only known species in the genus Megavitornis. Originally thought to be a megapode, more recent morphological studies indicate a close relationship with Sylviornis of New Caledonia, with both genera belonging to the family Sylviornithidae outside of the Galliformes crown group. It is likely that it became extinct through overhunting shortly after the colonisation of the Fiji Islands by humans.
Leiopelma auroraensis, known as the Aurora frog, is an extinct species of frog that was found in New Zealand. One subfossil of the Aurora frog has been discovered in the Aurora Cave, Fiordland, New Zealand. It measured about 60 mm from the snout to the vent. It is named after the Aurora Cave for where it was found. The other extinct New Zealand frogs are Markham's frog and Waitomo frog. Aurora frog probably was a local form that had evolved from the more widely distributed Markham's frog.
Markham's frog is one of three extinct New Zealand frog species, the others being the Aurora frog and Waitomo frog. Subfossil bones used to describe the species were discovered at Honeycomb Hill Cave, South Island, New Zealand, but it once occurred on both South and North Islands. It is estimated that it grew between 50 and 60 mm from snout to vent and it appears to have been a very robust animal.
The Waitomo frog is an extinct species of the genus Leiopelma from New Zealand.
The Northland skink is an extinct species of skink which was endemic to the Northland Region of North Island, New Zealand. It is known from late Holocene subfossil remains.
The Waitomo Caves Discovery Centre is a museum located in the town of Waitomo in the North Island of New Zealand. The museum is also referred to as the Waitomo Caves Discovery Centre, the Waitomo Museum of Caves and the Waitomo Education Centre.
References
- 1 2 3 "Mr Moa now Doctor of Science". News at Waikato. University of Waikato. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- 1 2 Beston, Anne (9 May 2005). "Mr Moa's cash extinct". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ↑ Tennyson, Alan J.D. (4 November 2009). "The origin and history of New Zealand's terrestrial vertebrates" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Ecology (Special Issue: Feathers to Fur): 9. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ↑ "Fossils reveal New Zealand's indigenous 'mouse'". New Scientist. 11 December 2006.
- ↑ "Mr Moa scientist cuts 30-year Te Papa connection over staff treatment". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
