Upland moa
The upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) was a type of moa. It only lived in New Zealand. It could not fly. It was the last moa species to become extinct.[3]
| Upland moa | |
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| Mounted skeleton | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Megalapteryx |
| Species: | †M. didinus
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| Binomial name | |
| Megalapteryx didinus | |
| Synonyms | |
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list
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Description
The upland moa was among the smallest type of moa. It had feathers all over its body except for its beak and the bottom of its feet.[4]
Distribution and Habitat
The upland moa only lived on New Zealand's South Island. It lived high up in mountains and sub-alpine regions.[5]
Behavior and ecology
The upland moa was a herbivore. It ate leaves and small twigs.[5] It usually laid only 1 to 2 blue-green coloured eggs.[6][5] The male moa took care of the baby moas.[4] Its only predator before humans came to New Zealand was the Haast's eagle.[5]
Extinction
Humans first came to New Zealand from Polynesia around 1250 to 1300 AD. Moas, were an easy source of food for the Māori people and were eventually hunted to extinction in 1500.[5]
Upland Moa Media
Mummified head head of the holotype, as illustrated in Owen's 1883 article
Preserved foot of the holotype specimen
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brands, S. (2008)
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Grzimek, Bernhard (2003–2004). Grzimek's animal life encyclopedia. Neil Schlager, Donna Olendorf, American Zoo and Aquarium Association (2nd ed.). Detroit: Gale. ISBN 0-7876-5362-4. OCLC 49260053.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 1956-, Flannery, Tim F. (Tim Fridtjof) (2001). A gap in nature : discovering the world's extinct animals. Text Pub. ISBN 1-876485-77-9. OCLC 48951590.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Loading... | Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
- ↑ 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. (2010). "Detecting pigments from colourful eggshells of extinct birds". Chemoecology. 20 (1): 43–48. doi:10.1007/s00049-009-0038-2. ISSN 0937-7409. S2CID 10956718.