North Island giant moa | |
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Skeleton, Natural History Museum of London | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Superorder: | Paleognathae |
Order: | Dinornithiformes |
Family: | Dinornithidae |
Genus: | †Dinornis |
Species: |
†D. novaezealandiae (Owen 1843) |
Binomial name | |
Dinornis novaezealandiae (Owen 1843) |
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Synonyms | |
List
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The North Island giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) is one of two extinct moa in the genus Dinornis.
It is a ratite and a member of the order Dinornithiformes. The Dinorthiformes are flightless birds with a sternum but without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. The origin of these birds is becoming clearer as it is now believed that early ancestors of these birds were able to fly and flew to the southern areas where they have been found.
This particular moa lived on the North Island of New Zealand, and lived in the lowlands (shrublands, grasslands, dunelands, and forests).