Bush moa

Anomalopteryx is an extinct bird genus known colloquially as the lesser moa, little bush moa, or bush moa. It stood more than 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) tall and weighed 30 kilograms (66 lb). It inhabited much of the North Island and small sections of the South Island of New Zealand. Its habitat was lowland conifer, broad-leafed, and Southern beech forests.[3] It is monotypic with the only species discovered is Anomalopteryx didiformis. It is also the smallest known species of moa, weighing barely 30 kg and standing less than a metre tall.

Skeleton

Bush moa
Temporal range: Pleistocene-Holocene
skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: †Dinornithiformes
Family: †Emeidae
Genus: †Anomalopteryx
Reichenbach 1852
Species:
†A. didiformis
Binomial name
†Anomalopteryx didiformis
(Owen 1844) Reichenbach 1853[1][2]
Synonyms

Dinornis didiformis Owen, 1844
Anomalopteryx didiformis (Owen 1844) Lydekker 1891
Anomalornis didiformis (Owen 1844) Hutton 1897
Dinornis dromioides Owen, 1846 non Oliver 1930
Anomalopteryx dromaeoides (Owen 1846) Lydekker 1891
Dinornis parvus Owen, 1883
Anomalopteryx parva (Owen 1883) Lydekker 1891
Dinornis oweni Haast, 1886
Anomalornis owenii (Haast 1886) Hutton 1897
Pachyornis owenii (Haast 1886) Archey 1941
Anomalopteryx oweni (Haast 1886) Oliver 1949
Anomalopteryx antiquus Hutton, 1892 (may be a valid predecessor species)
Anomalopteryx fortis Hutton, 1893
Anomalornis gracilis Hutton 1897 non Dinornis gracilis Owen 1854
Anomalornis (Hutton, 1897)
Graya (Bonaparte, 1956)

It is a ratite and a member of the order Dinornithiformes. The Dinornithiformes are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate.[3]

The most complete remains, a partially articulated skeleton with substantial mummified tissue were discovered in 1980 in Lake Echo Valley, east of Te Anau, Southland.[4] It is now in the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, in Invercargill. Anomalopteryx fossils made up the bulk of moa fossils discovered in a swamp in 1912 in Clevedon.[5]

The entire genome has been sequenced.[6]

Footnotes
  1. Brands, S. (2008)
  2. B.J. Gill; B.D. Bell; G.K. Chambers; D.G. Medway; R.L. Palma; R.P. Scofield; A.J.D. Tennyson & T.H. Worthy (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica (PDF) (4th ed.). Wellington, NZ: Te Papa Press. ISBN 978-1-877385-59-9.
  3. Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)
  4. Forrest, R. M. (1987). "A partially mummified skeleton of Anomalopteryx didiformis from Southland". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Royal Society of New Zealand. 17 (4): 399–408. doi:10.1080/03036758.1987.10426481. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  5. Gill, B.J. (2003). "HISTORICAL MOA BONE COLLECTIONS (AVES: DINORNITHIFORMES) AT AUCKLAND MUSEUM—CLEVEDON AND KIA ORA". Records of the Auckland Museum. 40: 39–53. ISSN 1174-9202.
  6. "Anomalopteryx didiformis (ID 124) - Genome - NCBI".

References
  • Brands, Sheila (14 August 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Genus Anomalopteryx". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  • Davies, S.J.J.F. (2003). "Moas". In Hutchins, Michael (ed.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 95–98. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.