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The crested moa (Pachyornis australis) is an extinct species of moa. It is one of the 9 known species of moa to have existed. [3] Moa are grouped together with emus, ostriches, kiwi, cassowaries, rheas, and tinamous in the clade Palaeognathae. Some of the species of this group are flightless and lacks a keel on their sternum. [4]
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 14 January 2025. Extinct order of birds This article is about the extinct New Zealand birds known as moa. For other uses, see Moa (disambiguation). Moa Temporal range: Miocene – Holocene, 17–0.0006 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N North Island giant moa skeleton Scientific classification Domain ...
Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 95–102. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0. Stephenson, Brent (2009-01-05). "New Zealand Recognised Bird Names (NZRBN) database". New Zealand: Ornithological Society of New Zealand.
It was the smallest known species of moa, [5] only slightly taller than a turkey (approx. 1.3 metres (51 in) tall). 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]
The lesser moa [a] (family Emeidae) were a family in the moa order Dinornithiformes. About two-thirds of all moa species are in the lesser moa family. [2] The moa were ratites from New Zealand. Ratites are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate.
This moa usually laid only 1 to 2 blue-green coloured eggs at once, [10] [22] and was likely the only type of moa to lay eggs that were not white in colour. [23] Like the emu and ostrich, male moa cared for the young. [9] The upland moa's only predator before the arrival of humans in New Zealand was the Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei). [10]
The South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) is an extinct species of moa in the genus Dinornis, known in Māori by the name moa nunui. [2] 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 (also extinct).
The North Island giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) is an extinct moa in the genus Dinornis, known in Māori as kuranui. [4] 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).