Heavy-footed moa

species of bird (fossil)

The Heavy-footed moa (Pachyornis elephantopus) was a type of moa. It only lived in New Zealand. It could not fly.[3]

Heavy-footed moa
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene-Holocene
P. elephantopus skeleton photographed by Roger Fenton
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Dinornithiformes
Family: Emeidae
Genus: Pachyornis
Species:
P. elephantopus
Binomial name
Pachyornis elephantopus
(Owen, 1856) Lydekker 1891 non Cracraft 1976 [1][2]
Synonyms
List
  • Dinornis elephantopus Owen, 1856
  • Euryapteryx elephantopus (Owen 1856) Hutton 1892
  • Dinornis queenslandiae De Vis, 1884
  • Pachyornis queenslandiae (De Vis 1884) Oliver 1949
  • Dromiceius queenslandiae (De Vis 1884) Miller 1963
  • Euryapteryx ponderosus Hutton, 1891 non Hamilton 1898
  • Pachyornis immanus Lydekker, 1891
  • Euryapteryx immanis (Lydekker 1891) Lambrecht 1933
  • Pachyornis inhabilis Hutton, 1893
  • Pachyornis major Hutton, 1875
  • Pachyornis rothschildi Lydekker, 1892
  • Pachyornis valgus Hutton, 1893
  • Euryapteryx crassa Benham 1910 non (Owen 1846) Hutton 1896
  • Pachyornis murihiku Oliver 1949

Description

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The heavy-footed moa was about 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall. It weighed 145 kg (320 lb).[4]

Discovery

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The heavy-footed moa was discovered by W.B.D. Mantell at Awamoa, near Oamaru.[4]

Distribution and Habitat

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The heavy-footed moa only lived in the South Island of New Zealand.[5][4] They lived in dry and open habitats such as grasslands, shrublands and dry forests.

The heavy-footed moa is a herbivore like other types of moa. It eats tough plants. Its only predator was the Haast's eagle.

References

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  1. Brands, S. (2008)
  2. 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.
  3. 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. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "New Zealand Birds | Birds | Gallery | Heavy-Footed Moa, Pachyornis elephantopus". www.nzbirds.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  5. Worthy, T.H. (1990). "An analysis of the distribution and relative abundance of moa species (Aves: Dinornithiformes)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 17 (2): 213–241. doi:10.1080/03014223.1990.10422598. ISSN 0301-4223.