Dinornis: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 19:14, 6 October 2008
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| Genus: | Dinornis |
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North Island Giant Moa, D. novaezelandiae (type) | |
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The giant moa (Dinornis) is an extinct genus of ratite birds belonging to the moa family. It was endemic to New Zealand.
Dinornis may have been the tallest bird that ever lived, with the females of the largest species standing 3.6 m (12 ft)[citation needed] tall, and one of the most massive, weighing 230–240 kilograms (510–530 lb)[1] or 278 kilograms (613 lb)[2] in various estimates. Feather remains are reddish brown and hair-like, and apparently covered most of the body except the lower legs and most of the head (plus a small portion of the neck below the head). The feet were large and powerful, and the birds had a long neck that allowed them to reach tall vegetation. In relation to its body, the head was small, with a pointed, short, flat and somewhat curved beak. Overall, the giant moa probably resembled a heavy ostrich. They filled the same ecological niche as grazing mammals on the continents.
The giant moa, along with other moa genera, were wiped out by human colonists who hunted it for food. All taxa in this genus were extinct by 1500 in New Zealand. It is reliably known that the Maoris still hunted them at the beginning of the fifteenth century, driving them into pits and robbing their nests. The most important factor[citation needed] was farming, however, for which the forests were cut and burnt down and the ground was turned into arable land.
The moa seems to have died out at the end of the fifteenth century.
Taxonomy
Three species of Dinornis were long considered valid:
- D. giganteus = D. robustus,
- D. novaezealandiae,
- D. struthioides.
They have recently turned out to be males (struthioides) and females of only two species, one each formerly occurring on New Zealand's North Island (D. novaezealandiae) and South Island (D. robustus) (Huynen et al., 2003; Bunce et al., 2003); the North Island specimens, however, contain 3 distinct genetic lineages and may eventually be classified as new species (Baker et al., 2005).
References
- ^ Amadon, D. (1947). "An estimated weight of the largest known bird". Condor. 49: 159–164.
- ^ Campbell, Jr., K. (1992). "The relationship of hindlimb bone dimensions to body weight in birds". Science Series. 36. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: 395–412.
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- Baker, Allan J.; Huynen, Leon J.; Haddrath, Oliver; Millar, Craig D. & Lambert, David M. (2005): Reconstructing the tempo and mode of evolution in an extinct clade of birds with ancient DNA: The giant moas of New Zealand. PNAS 102(23): 8257-8262. DOI:10.1073/pnas.0409435102 PDF fulltext Supporting Information
- Benes, Josef. Prehistoric Animals and Plants. Pg. 191. Prague: Artia, 1979.
- Bunce, Michael; Worthy, Trevor H.; Ford, Tom; Hoppitt, Will; Willerslev, Eske; Drummond, Alexei & Cooper, Alan (2003): Extreme reversed sexual size dimorphism in the extinct New Zealand moa Dinornis. Nature 425(6954): 172-175. DOI:10.1038/nature01871 HTML abstract Supplementary information
- Huynen, Leon J.; Millar, Craig D.; Scofield, R. P. & Lambert, David M. (2003): Nuclear DNA sequences detect species limits in ancient moa. Nature 425(6954): 175-178. DOI:10.1038/nature01838 HTML abstract Supplementary information
- Owen, Richard (1843): [On the remains of Dinornis, an extinct gigantic struthious bird.] Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1843: 8-10, 144-146.
