Bush moa (Anomalopteryx didiformus) Description Dinornis parvus
Date 1885
Source Transactions of the Zoological Society of London v. 11 https://archive.org/details/transactionsofzo11zool
Author J. Erxleben
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anomalopteryx_didiformis.jpg
Anomalopteryx is an extinct bird genus known colloquially as the lesser moa, little bush moa. or bush moa. It stood more than 1.3 metres tall and weighed 30 kilograms. It inhabited much of the North Island and small sections of the South Island of New Zealand. Its habitat was lowland conifer, broad-leafed, and beech forests. It is a ratite and a member of the order Dinornithiformes. The Dinornithiformes are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. The most complete remains, a partially articulated skeleton with substantial mummified tissue were discovered in 1980 in Lake Echo Valley, east of Te Anau, Southland. It is now in the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, in Invercargill. Order: Dinornithiformes, Family: Emeidae.
Synonyms:
Dinornis didiformis Owen, 1844
Anomalopteryx didiformis (Owen 1844) Lydekker 1891
Anomalornis didiformis (Owen 1844) Hutton 1897
Dinornis dromioides Owen, 1846 non Oliver 1930
Anomalopteryx dromaeoides (Owen 1846) Lydekker 1891
Dinornis parvus Owen, 1883
Anomalopteryx parva (Owen 1883) Lydekker 1891
Dinornis oweni Haast, 1886
Anomalornis owenii (Haast 1886) Hutton 1897
Pachyornis owenii (Haast 1886) Archey 1941
Anomalopteryx oweni (Haast 1886) Oliver 1949
Anomalopteryx antiquus Hutton, 1892 (may be a valid predecessor species)
Anomalopteryx fortis Hutton, 1893
Anomalornis gracilis Hutton 1897 non Dinornis gracilis Owen 1854
Anomalornis (Hutton, 1897)
Graya (Bonaparte, 1956)