Rare bone found from extinct New Zealand moa
18 Mar 2008
A rare moa bone has been found in South Canterbury's Ruataniwha Conservation Park.
The well-preserved pelvis of the upland moa bird was found by Department of Conservation rangers. The bone had been protected from the elements, hidden in an overhang in a tributary to the Hopkins River.
Canterbury Museum curator of vertebrate zoology Paul Scofield said a study of coprolites (dung fossils) around the site would be made to find out about the moa’s diet.
The upland moa was one of the smallest of the moa species in New Zealand. It lived in higher, cooler parts of the country and was one of the last moa species to become extinct, around 500 years ago.
The moa was about the size of a sheep and the prey of the Haast's Eagle, the largest species of eagle known to have existed.
Upland moa bones are rarely found because of the absence of limestone caves in South Canterbury area.
Background
Moas were large flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The Giant Moa was one of the biggest birds ever known, at three metres tall, weighting around 250 kilograms. The smallest moa species was slightly bigger than a turkey and stood half a metre tall. Their earliest fossils date from the upper Miocene era, approximately 15 million years.
Moas had huge skeletons with small, broad, flattened skulls, short bills, and no wings. In New Zealand, moas took the place of absent grazing and browsing mammals, and fed mainly on grass, leaves, and fruits.
Moa were hunted by Haast's Eagle, the world's largest eagle, which is also now extinct. The extinction of the moa species is generally attributed to hunting and forest clearance by Māori, who used moas for food, their bones for implements and ornaments; the eggs were used for water bottles.
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