South Island giant moa

South Island giant moa
Temporal range: Late Holocene
Skeleton, likely of an adult male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Dinornithiformes
Family: Dinornithidae
Genus: Dinornis
Species:
D. robustus
Binomial name
Dinornis robustus
Owen, 1846[1]
Synonyms
List
  • Dinornis ingens var. robustus Owen, 1846
  • Palapteryx robustus (Owen, 1846) Owen, 1851
  • Dinornis maximus Haast, 1869
  • Dinornis altus Owen, 1879
  • Dinornis validus Hutton, 1891
  • Dinornis potens Hutton, 1891
  • Dinornis strenuus Hutton, 1893
  • Dinornis torosus Hutton, 1891
  • Palapteryx plenus Hutton, 1891

The South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) is an extinct species of moa in the genus Dinornis, known in Māori by the name moa nunui.[2] It was one of the tallest-known bird species to walk the Earth, exceeded in weight only by the heavier but shorter elephant bird of Madagascar (also extinct).[citation needed]

  1. ^ Gill, B.J.; Bell, B.D.; Chambers, G.K.; Medway, D.G.; Palma, R.L.; Scofield, R.P.; et al. (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica (PDF) (Report) (4th ed.). Ornithological Society of New Zealand / Te Papa Press. Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via nzbirdsonline.org.nz.
  2. ^ Doyle, Trent (15 November 2023). "Scientists reveal fossilised moa footprints in Otago are at least 3.6 million years old". Newshub. Retrieved 23 February 2024.