The upland moa (''Megalapteryx didinus'') was a species of moa endemic to New Zealand. It was a

ratite A ratite () is any of a diverse group of flightless, large, long-necked, and long-legged birds of the infraclass Palaeognathae. Kiwi, the exception, are much smaller and shorter-legged and are the only nocturnal extant ratites. The systematics ...

, 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.

Taxonomy

In 2005, a genetic study suggested that ''M. benhami'', which had previously been considered a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''M. didinus'', may have been a valid species after all. The cladogram below follows a 2009 analysis by Bunce ''et al.'':

Description

At less than 1 metre tall and about 17 to 34 kilograms, the upland moa was among the smallest of the moa species. Unlike other moas, it had feathers covering all of its body but the beak and the soles of its feet, an adaptation to its cold environment.Flannery, Tim, "A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals", October 2001,

Scientists believed in the past that the upland moa held its neck and head upright; however, it actually carried itself in a stooped posture with its head level to its back. This would have helped it travel through the abundant vegetation in its habitat, whereas an extended neck would have been more suited to open spaces.Museum of New Zealand, "Upland Moa", 1998, http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/theme.aspx?irn=1348 It had no wings or tail.

Distribution and habitat

The upland moa lived only on New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, in mountains and sub-alpine regions. They travelled to elevations as high as 2000 m (7000 ft).

Behavior and ecology

The upland moa was herbivorous, its diet extrapolated from fossilised stomach contents, droppings, and the structure of its beak and crop. It ate leaves and small twigs, using its beak to "shear ... with scissor-like moves". Its food required grinding before it could be digested, as indicated by its large crop. A 2004 study of the upland moa's coprolite provided evidence that branchlets of trees such as '' Nothofagus'', various lake-edge herbs, and

tussock Tussock may refer to: * Tussock grass, a group of species in the family Poaceae *Floating island * Lymantriinae, called tussock moths or tussocks See also * Hassock (disambiguation) Hassock may refer to: * Kneeler, a cushion or a piece of f ...

made up part of its diet. This moa usually laid only 1 to 2 blue-green coloured eggs at once, and was likely the only type of moa to lay eggs that were not white in colour. Like the emu and ostrich, male moa cared for the young. The upland moa's only predator before the arrival of humans in New Zealand was the Haast's eagle.

Extinction

Humans first came in contact with the upland moa around 1250 to 1300 AD, when the Māori people arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia. Moa, a docile animal, were an easy source of food for the Māori and were eventually hunted to extinction in 1445.

Discoveries

Several specimens with soft tissue and feather remains are known: * British Museum A16, found at Queenstown in 1876, is the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

of the species. *

Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...

C.68.2A, leg with much muscle tissue, skin and feathers from the

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Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

NMNZ S.000400, a skeleton with tissue on neck and head from the

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

area. *

NMNZ S.023080, a foot with some muscle and sinews, found on 7 January 1987 at Mount Owen. This was dated to be about 3,300–3,400 years old. *

NMNZ S.027950, feathers found in 1949 at Takahe Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand. * Canterbury Museum NZ 1725, Remains of one partial egg which have been found at the

Rakaia River The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand. The Rakaia River has a mean flow of and a mean annual seven-day low flow of . In the 1850s, Euro ...

in 1971 are tentatively attributed to this species. The radiocarbon date of approximately AD 1300–1400 is in line with this. Unusually, the eggshell is dark olive green, but even if the egg is of ''M. didinus'', the shell colour may have varied between individual eggs. *

NMNZ S.023700, complete skeleton found by

Trevor Worthy Trevor Henry Worthy (born 3 January 1957) is an Australia-based paleozoologist from New Zealand, known for his research on moa and other extinct vertebrates. Biography Worthy grew up in Broadwood, Northland, and went to Whangarei Boys' High S ...

in March 1987 at Honeycomb Hill Cave, Oparara Valley *

AV10049, skeleton and partial egg found in 2002 at Serpentine Range, Humboldt Mountains.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * *

External links

* *
''Upland Moa. Megalapteryx didinus.''
by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book ''Extinct Birds of New Zealand'' by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006
Articulated skeleton
at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Articulated Upland moa skeleton
at the Otago Museum {{Taxonbar, from=Q998863 upland moa Birds of the South Island Extinct flightless birds Extinct birds of New Zealand Bird extinctions since 1500 Late Quaternary prehistoric birds Ratites upland moa Species made extinct by human activities