Little moa
| Little moa | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lesser Moas skeleton (Copenhagen) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Emeus | ||||||||||||
| Reichenbach , 1853 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Emeus crassus | ||||||||||||
| ( Owen , 1846) |
The small moa ( Emeus crassus ) is an extinct species of bird from the order of the moa (Dinornithiformes) endemic to New Zealand . He is the only representative of the genus Emeus .
Appearance
When standing, Emeus crassus reached a size between 150 and 180 cm. His weight was between 51 and 70 kg. Compared to other moa species, it had unusually large feet, which made it slow to move. He also had a long neck and strong legs. Its plumage was probably beige and it grew shorter towards the head, so that one can assume that it was bald. The females of the genus were 15 to 25% larger than the males.
habitat
Emeus crassus lived mainly in the eastern and south-eastern coastal regions of the South Island of New Zealand. Further to the west, the species occurred in lower population densities, but is still found regularly in fossil deposits. Their habitat was the lowlands, which include forests, meadows, scrubland and grasslands. A find in the bog of Pyramid Valley made it possible to analyze the stomach contents of at least two specimens. It mainly comprised fruits, including those of Myoporum spp., Sticky seeds ( Pittosporum spp.), Prumnopitys spp. and Rubus spp.
Fossils
In addition to skin remnants, soft tissues and individual bones, complete skeletons were also found, which can be seen in the Zoological Museum Copenhagen , the Musée des Confluences , the Field Museum of Natural History and the Auckland War Memorial Museum . One to three largely complete eggs can be assigned to the species.
literature
- Josef Benes: Prehistoric Animals and Plants. London, United Kingdom (1979). ISBN 0-600-30341-1 .
- SJJF Davies: Tinamous. In: Michael Hutchins: Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Volume 8, Birds I, Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2nd edition). Gale Group, Farmington Hills 2002, pp. 57-59, ISBN 0-7876-5784-0
- Alan JD Tennyson, Paul Martinson: Extinct birds of New Zealand . Te Papa Press, Wellington 2006, ISBN 978-0-909010-21-8 .
- TH Worthy, Richard N. Holdaway: The Lost World of the Moa. Prehistoric Life of New Zealand . Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2002, ISBN 978-0-253-34034-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Worthy & Holdaway 2002, p. 194.
- ↑ Stomach contents of the little moas
- ^ Fossil in Chicago
- ↑ Skeleton in Auckland
- ↑ Tennyson & Martinson 2006, p. 34.