The bush moa, little bush moa, or lesser moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis) is an extinct species of moa from the family Emeidae (lesser moa) endemic to New Zealand.
Taxonomy
The bush moa was first scientifically described as Dinornis didiformis by R. Owen in 1844. He chose the specific name didiformis because of the apparent similarity in the shape and size of the bush moas' tarsometatarsus to that of the dodo (then Didus ineptus).[4]
Description
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]
It inhabited much of the North Island and small sections of the South Island of New Zealand. Its habitat was dense lowland conifer, broad-leafed southern beech forests and scrubland.[6][7] It possessed a sturdy, sharp-edged beak, suggesting that its diet was made up of twigs and other tough plant material.[5] Bush moa coprolites indicate ferns were a crucial food source for them.[8]
Threats and extinction
Native predators included the Haast's eagle and Eyles' harrier.[6] The species went extinct alongside other native New Zealand wildlife around 500-600 years ago, following the arrival and proliferation of the Māori people in New Zealand (who called them "moariki"),[1] as well as the introduction of Polynesian dogs.[6]
Archaeological remains
Skeleton
The most complete remains, a partially articulated skeleton with substantial mummified tissue and feathers were discovered in 1980 in Lake Echo Valley, east of Te Anau, Southland.[9]
It is now in the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, in Invercargill. Anomalopteryx fossils made up the bulk of moa fossils discovered in a swamp in 1912 in Clevedon.[10]
Possible de-extinction
Scientists at Harvard University assembled the first nearly complete genome of the species from toe bones,[11][12]
thus bringing the species a step closer to being "resurrected" in the future, likely by using the emu as a proxy.[11]
^ ab
Tennyson, Alan J.D. (2006). Extinct Birds of New Zealand. Martinson, Paul (illustrator). Wellington, NZ: Te Papa Press. p. 32. ISBN978-0-909010-21-8. OCLC80016906.
^ abcd"Little bush moa". New Zealand birds online (nzbirdsonline.org.nz). Retrieved 19 February 2021.
^ ab
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 (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 95–98. ISBN0-7876-5784-0.
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