North Island giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) Description
English: The giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) is an extinct genus of ratite birds belonging to the moa family. It was endemic to New Zealand. In Rothschild's book 'Extinct Birds' this moa has been given the scientific name Dinornis ingens.
Date 1907
Source This file was derived from: Extinctbirds1907 P42 Dinornis ingens0375.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Extinctbirds1907_P42_Dinornis_ingens0375.png
Author Frederick William Frohawk (16 July 1861 - 10 December 1946), an English zoological artist and lepidopterist.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dinornis_novaezealandiae.png
The North Island giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) is one of two extinct moa in the genus Dinornis. It is a ratite and a member of the order Struthioniformes. The Struthioniformes are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. The origin of these birds is becoming clearer as it is now believed that early ancestors of these birds were able to fly and flew to the southern areas where they have been found. This particular moa lived on the North Island of New Zealand, and lived in the lowlands (shrublands, grasslands, dunelands, and forests). Order: Struthioniformes, Family: Dinornithidae.
Synonyms:
Dinornis giganteus Owen, 1844
Dinornis struthoides Owen, 1844
Owenia struthoides (Gray 1855)
Dinornis ingens Owen, 1844
Dinornis gigas Owen, 1846 spelling lapse
Moa ingens (Owen 1844) Reichenbach, 1850
Movia ingens (Owen 1844) Reichenbach, 1850
Dinornis gracilis Owen, 1855
Dinornis dromioides Oliver 1930 non Owen 1846
Dinornis hercules Oliver 1949
Dinornis gazella Oliver 1949
Dinornis excelsus Hutton, 1891
Dinornis firmus Hutton, 1891
Tylopteryx struthoides (Owen 1844) Hutton, 1891
Palapteryx ingens (Owen 1844) Haast 1869