Pachyornis elephantopus Owen, 1856
Heavy-footed moa, Moa Waewae Taumaha (Māori)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Dinornis elephantopus Owen, 1856:462; Pachyornis elephantopus (Owen, 1856:462); Euryapteryx elephantopus (Owen, 1856:462); Dinornis elephantopus major Hutton, 1875:276; Dinornis queenslandiae De Vis, 1884:23; Pachyornis queenslandiae (De Vis, 1884:23); Dromiceius queenslandiae (De Vis, 1884:23); Euryapteryx ponderosus Hutton, 1891:249; Pachyornis immanis Lydekker, 1891:343; Euryapteryx immanis (Lydekker, 1891:343):150; Pachyornis rothschildi Lydekker, 1892:481; Pachyornis inhabilis Hutton, 1893:11; Pachyornis valgus Hutton, 1893:12; Euryapteryx crassa Benham 1910:354; Pachyornis (Pounamua) murihiku Oliver, 1949:59; Pachyornis murihiku Oliver, 1949:67
A complete synonymy taken from (Checklist Committee (OSNZ), 2022:16):
Synonym/s: Dinornis elephantopus Owen, 1856 (12 Apr.): The Athenaeum 1485: 462 – Awamoa, Otago.; Pachyornis elephantopus (Owen); Lydekker 1891, Cat. Fossil Birds Brit. Museum: 321.; Euryapteryx elephantopus (Owen); Hutton 1892, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 24: 135.; Dinornis elephantopus var. major Hutton, 1875: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 7: 276, table A – Hamilton Swamp, Otago.; Dinornis queenslandiae De Vis, 1884: Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 1: 23 – King’s Creek, Queensland, Australia, error for New Zealand midden (fide Scarlett 1969, Mem. Queensland Mus. 15(3): 211).; Pachyornis queenslandiae (De Vis); Oliver 1949, Dom. Mus. Bull. 15: 80.; Dromiceius queenslandiae (De Vis); A.H. Miller 1963, Rec. South Austr. Museum 14(3): 417.; Euryapteryx ponderosus Hutton, 1891: New Zealand Journ. Sci. (new series) 1(6): 249 – Hamilton Swamp, Otago.; Pachyornis immanis Lydekker, 1891: Cat. Fossil Birds Brit. Museum: 343 – South Island.; Euryapteryx immanis (Lydekker); Lambrecht 1933, Handb. Palaeornithologie: 150.; Pachyornis rothschildi Lydekker, 1892: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1891 (33): 481, pl. 38 – New Zealand.; Pachyornis inhabilis Hutton, 1893: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 25: 11 – ?Canterbury.; Pachyornis valgus Hutton, 1893: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 25: 12 – Enfield, Canterbury.; Euryapteryx crassa; Benham 1910, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 42: 354. Not Dinornis crassus Owen, 1846.; Pachyornis (Pounamua) murihiku Oliver, 1949: Dom. Mus. Bull. 15: 59 – Greenhills dunes, Southland.; Pachyornis murihiku Oliver, 1949: Dom. Mus. Bull. 15: 67 – Greenhills dunes, Southland.
Conservation Status
Extinct
Last record: Holocene
Distribution
South Island, New Zealand
Previous reports of the species from the North Island (Scarlett 1968; Millener 1981a) are in error (Worthy & Holdaway, 2002 and references therein; fide Checklist Committee (OSNZ), 2022).
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
Above: Heavy-footed Moa. Pachyornis elephantopus. 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 (2006-0010-1/20)
References
Original scientific description:
Owen, R. (1856) The Athenaeum 1485: 462
Other references:
Alexander, R. M. (1983). On the massive legs of a moa (Pachyornis elephantopus, Dinornithes). Journal of Zoology (London) 201(3): 363-376. [Abstract]
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