Eastern moa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eastern moaTemporal range: Pleistocene-Holocene
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| Skeleton in Musee des Confluences, Lyon | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Emeus
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| Species: |
crassus
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| Synonyms | |
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List
Dinornis crassus Owen, 1846
Syornis crassus (Owen 1846) Hutton 1891 Euryapteryx crassus (Owen 1846) Hutton 1896 non Benham 1910 Dinornis casuarinus Owen, 1846 Dinornis huttonii Owen, 1846 (male) Emeus huttonii (Owen 1879) Oliver, 1930 Megalapteryx huttoni (Owen 1879) Rothschild 1907 Dinornis major (Hutton, 1875) Dinornis rheides (Owen, 1851) Cela rheides (Owen 1850) Rothschild 1907 Dinornis casuarinus Oliver 1846 Emeus casuarinus (Oliver, 1930) Syornis casuarinus (Owen 1846) Reichenbach 1850 Anomalopteryx casuarina (Owen 1846) Lydekker 1891 Mesopteryx casuarina (Owen 1846) Parker 1895 Meionornis casuarinus (Owen 1846) Hutton 1896 Cela casuarinus (Owen 1846) Rothschild 1907 Mesopteryx didina Hutton 1893 non Dinornis didinus Owen 1883 Meionornis didinus (Hutton 1893) Hutton 1896 non Dinornis didinus Owen 1883 Meionornis Haast, 1874 Mesopteryx Hutton, 1891 Syornis Reichenbach, 1850 |
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The eastern moa, Emeus crassus, is an extinct species of moa. When the first specimens were originally described by Richard Owen, they were placed within the genus Dinornis as three different species, but, was later split off into their own genus, Emeus. E. crassus is currently the only species of Emeus, as the other two species, E. casuarinus and E. huttonii are now regarded as synonyms of E. crassus. It has been long suspected that the "species" described as Emeus huttonii and E. crassus were males and females, respectively, of a single species. This has been confirmed by analysis for sex-specific genetic markers of DNA extracted from bone material; the females of E. crassus were 15-25% larger than males. This phenomenon — reverse size dimorphism — is not uncommon amongst ratites, being also very pronounced in kiwis.
Description
Emeus was of average size, standing 1.5 to 1.8 metres (4.9–5.9 ft) tall. Like other moa, it had no vestigial wing bones, hair-like feathers (beige in this case), a long neck and large, powerful legs with very short, strong tarsi. It also had a sternum without a keel and a distinctive palate. Its feet were exceptionally wide compared to other moas, making it a very slow creature. Soft parts of its body, such as tracheal rings (cartilage) or remnants of skin were found, as well as single bones and complete skeletons. As they neared the head, the feathers grew shorter, until they finally turned into coarse hair; the head itself was probably bald.
Range and habitat
Eastern moa lived only on the South Island, and lived in the lowlands (forests, grasslands, dunelands, and shrublands). Human colonists hunted Emeus into extinction with relative ease. Like almost all moa, it was gone by the year 1500.
