moa

/moh"euh/, n.

any of several flightless birds of the family Dinornithidae, of New Zealand, related to the kiwis but resembling the ostrich: extinct since about the end of the 18th century.

[1810-20; < Maori]

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Any of 13–25 species of extinct ratite of New Zealand constituting the order Dinornithiformes.

Species ranged from turkey-sized to 10 ft (3 m) high. Moas were swift runners that defended themselves by kicking. They were hunted for their flesh (eaten as food), bones (used as weapons and ornaments), and eggs (used for water vessels). The larger moas were probably extinct by the late 17th century; a few smaller species may have survived into the 19th century. Moas browsed and grazed on seeds, fruits, leaves, and grasses. They laid a single large egg in a hollow in the ground.

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▪ bird

      any of several extinct, ostrichlike flightless birds native to New Zealand and constituting the order Dinornithiformes. The number of different species is in dispute, with estimates varying from 13 to 25. Among these species, individuals ranged in size from that of a turkey to larger than that of an ostrich; some stood as much as 3 metres (10 feet) high. The name moa came from a Polynesian word for fowl.

      According to Maori tradition, moas were swift runners that, when cornered, defended themselves by kicking. Early Polynesian peoples hunted moas for food; they made spear points, hooks, and ornaments from their bones, and water carriers from their eggs. Although the larger moas probably had become extinct by the end of the 17th century, a few smaller species may have survived into the 19th.

      Moas were chiefly browsers and grazers. Inference from skeletal and other remains reveals that they ate seeds, fruits, leaves, and grasses, which were ground with the help of more than 3 kg (6.5 pounds) of stones in the gizzard. Moas laid one large egg—up to 18 cm (7 inches) in diameter and 25 cm (10 inches) long—in a hollow in the ground.

      Whether the moas, with the other ratites (birds with a flattened breastbone), shared a common ancestor or were polyphyletic (from several ancestral lines that come to resemble each other because of similar environments) is as debatable as their mode of arrival in New Zealand. One interesting point is that such ratite features as feather type, palatal structure, and the persistence of skull sutures into adulthood suggests that moas were “permanent chicks,” examples of neoteny. In addition, studies of unique growth rings in leg bones of moa have indicated that they grew at an exceptionally slow rate, taking as many as 10 years to reach full size. In contrast, modern birds are fully grown within 12 months.

      The lesser moas formed the family Anomalopterygidae, with about two-thirds of the species in the order; the greater moas, in the family Dinornithidae, included the giants of the order. The fossil record for moas is poor; the earliest remains are regarded as originating in the Late Miocene Epoch (11.2 to 5.3 million years ago).

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