Dinornis robustus (Owen, 1846:48)
South Island giant moa, Moa Nunui (Māori)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonyms: Dinornis ingens robustus Owen, 1846:48; Palapteryx robustus (Owen, 1846:48); Dinornis robustus (Owen, 1846:48); Dinornis maximus Haast, 1869:87; Dinornis altus Owen, 1879:361; Dinornis validus Hutton, 1891:247; Dinornis torosus Hutton, 1891:247; Dinornis potens Hutton, 1891:247; Palapteryx plenus Hutton, 1891:248; Dinornis strenuus Hutton, 1893:8
A complete synonymy taken from (Checklist Committee (OSNZ), 2022:19):
Dinornis ingens robustus Owen, 1846: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1846 (14): 48 – Waikouaiti, Otago.; Palapteryx robustus (Owen); Owen 1851, Trans. Zool. Soc. London 4(1): 2, pl. 1, fig. 1.; Dinornis robustus (Owen); Bunce et al. 2003; Nature 425: 174.; Dinornis maximus Haast, 1869: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 1: 87 – Glenmark, Canterbury.; Dinornis altus Owen, 1879: Extinct Wingless Birds New Zealand: 361 – South Island.; Dinornis validus Hutton, 1891: New Zealand Journ. Sci. (new series) 1(6): 247 – Glenmark, Canterbury.; Dinornis torosus Hutton, 1891: New Zealand Journ. Sci. (new series) 1(6): 247 – Takaka Hill, Nelson.; Dinornis potens Hutton, 1891: New Zealand Journ. Sci. (new series) 1(6): 247 – Heathcote, Canterbury.; Palapteryx plenus Hutton, 1891: New Zealand Journ. Sci. (new series) 1(6): 248 – ?South Island.; Dinornis strenuus Hutton, 1893: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 25: 8 – Enfield, Canterbury.
Conservation Status
Extinct
Last record: 1297–1395 CE (95.4% CI) (Verry et al., 2022)
Distribution
South Island (including D’Urville Island) & Stewart Island (Rakiura), New Zealand
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa:
Media
Above: Moa, Dinornis robustus, North Dunedin Museum, circa 1880, Dunedin, by Burton Brothers. Purchased 1943. Te Papa (C.014980)
Above (front of postcard): The Moa (Dinornis Robustus), 1900-1903, Dunedin, by Muir & Moodie. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (PS.002329/02)
Above (back of postcard): The Moa (Dinornis Robustus), 1900-1903, Dunedin, by Muir & Moodie. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (PS.002329/02)
Above: South Island Giant Moa. Dinornis robustus. From the series: Extinct birds of New Zealand., 2005, Masterton, by Paul Martinson. Purchased 2006. © Te Papa. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Te Papa (2006-0010-1/18)
References
Original scientific description:
Owen, R. (1846) Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 14:48
Other references:
Allentoft, Morten E., Bunce, Michael et al. (2010). Highly skewed sex ratios and biased fossil deposition of moa: ancient DNA provides new insight on New Zealand's extinct megafauna. Quaternary Science Reviews 29(5-6): 753-762. [Abstract]
Allentoft, Morten E., Heller, R., Holdaway, R. N. and Bunce, M. (2015). Ancient DNA microsatellite analyses of the extinct New Zealand giant moa (Dinornis robustus) identify relatives within a single fossil site. Heredity. doi:10.1038/hdy.2015.48 [Abstract]
Allentoft, Morton E., Scofield, R. P., Oskam, C. L.,Hale, M. L., Holdaway, Richard N. and Bunce, M. (2011). A molecular characterization of a newly discovered megafaunal fossil site in North Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 42(4): 241-256.
Allis, T. (1865a). Notice of a nearly complete skeleton of Dinornis; presented by Mr Gibson to the Museum of Yorkshire Philosophical Society.Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnaean Society 8: 50-52.
Allis, T. (1865b). Further note on a skeleton of Dinornis robustus, Owen, in the York Museum. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnaean Society 8: 140-141.
Anonymous. (1999). Moa Hunt is On. Crypto 2(2): 17.
Attard, M. R. G., Wilson, L. A. B., Worthy, T. H., Scofield, P., Johnston, P., Parr, W. C. H. and Wroe, S. (2016). Moa diet fits the bill: virtual reconstruction incorporating mummified remains and prediction of biomechanical performance in avian giants. Proc. R. Soc. B 283: 20152043.
Baker, Allan J. et al. (2005). Reconstructing the tempo and mode of evolution in an extinct clade of birds with ancient DNA: The giant moas of New Zealand. PNAS 102(23): 8257-8262.
Bishop, Peter J. (2015). A critical re-evaluation of the hindlimb myology of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum - Nature 59: 187-246. [automatic download]
Bunce, M. et al. (2003). Extreme reversed sexual size dimorphism in the extinct New Zealand moa Dinornis. Nature 425(6954): 172-175.
Bunce, M. et al. (2009). The evolutionary history of the extinct ratite moa and New Zealand Neogene Paleogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 106(49): 20646-20651.
Checklist Committee (OSNZ). (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica (4th ed.). Ornithological Society of New Zealand & Te Papa Press, Wellington. [p. 18]
Checklist Committee (OSNZ). (2022). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand (5th edition). Ornithological Society of New Zealand Occasional Publication No. 1. Wellington: Ornithological Society of New Zealand. [p. 19]
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Dallas, W. S. (1865a). On the feathers of Dinornis robustus, Owen, a skeleton in the Yorkshire Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for (3) 5: 265-268.
Dallas, W. S. 1865b. On the feathers of Dinornis robustus. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (3) 16:66-69. PDF (No direct access outside the US)
Dallas, W. S. 1865c. Note sur les plumes de Dinornis rubustus (Extr.). Annales des Sciences Naturelles (Zool. Paléont.) (5) 4: 292.
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McCallum, J., Hall, S., Lissone, I., Anderson, J., Huynen, L. and Lambert, D. M. (2013). Highly Informative Ancient DNA ‘Snippets’ for New Zealand Moa. PLoS ONE 8(1): e50732.
Oskam, Charlotte L. et al. (2010). Fossil avian eggshell preserves ancient DNA. Proc. R. Soc. B DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.2019
Oskam, Charlotte L. et al. (2012). Ancient DNA analyses of early archaeological sites in New Zealand reveal extreme exploitation of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) at all life stages. Quaternary Science Reviews 52: 41-48. [Abstract]
Owen, Richard. (1866). On Dinornis (part IX): containing a description of the skull, atlas, and scapulo-coracoid bone of Dinornis robustus. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 5: 337-358.
Owen, Richard. (1869). On Dinornis (Part XI): containing a description of the integument of the sole, and tendons of a toe, of the foot of Dinornis robustus, Owen. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 6: 495-496.
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Verry, Alexander J. F., Schmidt, Matthew and Rawlence, Nicolas J. (2022). A partial skeleton provides evidence for the former occurrence of moa populations on Rakiura Stewart Island. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 46(1): 3458.
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11176750
http://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/9344/dinornis-robustus-south-island-giant