Pachyornis australis
| Crested moa | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Superorder: | Paleognathae |
| Order: | Dinornithiformes |
| Family: | Anomalopteryginae |
| Genus: | Pachyornis |
| Species: |
P. australis (Oliver, 1949) |
| Binomial name | |
|
Pachyornis australis Oliver, 1949 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
List
|
|
The crested moa, Pachyornis australis, is a species of moa from the family Dinornithidae. It is one of the 11 known species of moa to have existed. Moas are grouped together with emus, ostriches, kiwis, cassowaries, rheas, and tinamous in the clade Palaeognathae. Some of the species of this group are flightless and lacks a keel on their sternum. The name crested moa is due to pits being found in their skulls, suggesting they had crests. These cranial pits are also found occasionally in Dinornis, Anomalopteryx, and other Pachyornis species.
Pachyornis australis weighed around 75 kg (165 lb). The crested moa was smaller than the heavy-footed moa (Pachyornis elephantopus) and their bones are sometimes mistaken for those of P. elephantopus due to their similar structure.
Pachyornis australis was endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, where it occupied the high altitude sub-alpine forests in the North West. It was the ecological equivalent of the heavy-footed moa in the subalpine zone. While their remains have occasionally been found together,the heavy-footed moa generally preferred warmer and dryer lowland areas.
As with all moa species, the crested moa filled the role of large herbivores in New Zealand, where there are no native terrestrial mammals (excluding bats). The only real threat of predation came from the Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei).
...
Wikipedia