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: Holocene
skeleton
Conservation status
Extinct
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.

The entire genome has been sequenced.[5]

Footnotes

1. Brands, S. (2008)
2. Checklist Committee, Ornithological Society of New Zealand (2010). "Checklist-of-Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands and the Ross Dependency Antarctica" (PDF). Te Papa Press. Retrieved 4 January 2016. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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. "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.

External links

• Little Bush Moa. Anomalopteryx didiformis. by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006