Upland moa
| Upland moa Temporal range: Pleistocene-Holocene
| |
|---|---|
| File:Megalapteryx didinus mount (1).jpg | |
| Mounted skeleton | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
| Clade: | Notopalaeognathae |
| Order: | †Dinornithiformes |
| Family: | †Megalapterygidae Bunce et al., 2009 |
| Genus: | †Megalapteryx Haast 1886[1] |
| Species: | †M. didinus
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| Binomial name | |
| Megalapteryx didinus | |
| Synonyms | |
|
list | |
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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]
Description[change]
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[change]
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[change]
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[change]
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]
References[change]
- ↑ Jump up to: 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013. 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.
- ↑ Jump up to: 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}}:|last=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Jump up to: 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.
