Pachyornis
Including P. elephantopus (Heavy-footed Moa), P. geranoides
(Mantell’s Moa), and P. australis (Crested Moa).
Name:
Pachyornis (thick bird).
Phonetic: Pak-e-or-niss.
Named By: Richard Lydekker - 1891.
Synonyms: Anomalopteryx geranoides,
Dinornis expunctus, Euryapteryx compacta, Euryapteryx Kuranui,
Emeus booth, Emeus haasti, Emeus parkeri, Palapteryx
geranoides, Euryapteryx geranoides, Pachyornis mappini are
considered to be synonyms to P. geranoides. Dinornis elephantopus,
Dinornis queenslandiae, Euryapteryx ponderosus, Pachyornis
immanus, Pachyornis inhabilis, Pachyornis major, Pachyornis
rothschildi, Pachyornis valgus.
Classification: Chordata, Aves,
Struthioniformes, Dinornithidae.
Species: P. elephantopus, P.
geranoides, P. australis. 2 Further species are in
the process of being studied at the time of writing.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Largest species (P. elephantopus)
up to
1.8 meters tall at maximum elevation, and 145 kilograms in
weight, other species as light as half this weight.
Known locations: Across New Zealand.
Time period: Pleistocene to Holocene, extinct
around 1400-1500AD.
Fossil representation: Several individuals.
The
Pachyornis genus of moa
has a taxonomic history
going all the way back
to the early days of moa study, though like with many other moa
genera, the first remains of Pachyornis were
attributed to the
Dinornis
genus. The Pachyornis genus was spread across
virtually all
of New Zealand, with P. australis being most
common in the northern
and southern regions of South Island, P. elephantopus
being known
from South Island, and P. geranoides being
known from North
Island, South Island and Stewart Island.
So
far the largest species of Pachyornis is P.
elephantopus, which can
weigh as much as one hundred and forty-five kilograms, while smaller
species such as P. australis were about
seventy-five kilograms. P.
australis also stands out because of pitting on the back of
the skull
which were likely attachment points for large crest forming display
feathers, hence the more common name of Crested Moa. This
pitting however has also been seen in other moa species, including
other species of Pachyornis, so in this respect
the crest of
Pachyornis may not have been that unique amongst
the moa.
As
a whole, Pachyornis tend to be more heavily built
than other moa
genera, with the species P. elephantopus being
noted as
particularly robust.
Further reading
- Genus Pachyornis - Catalogue of the Fossil
Birds in the British
Museum (Natural History) - Richard Lydekker - 1891.
- Rediscovery of the types of Dinornis curtus
Owen and Palapteryx
geranoides Owen, with a new synonymy (Aves:
Dinornithiformes)
- Tuhinga (16): 33–43 - Trevor H. Worthy - 2005.
- Reconstructing the tempo and mode of evolution in an extinct clade
of birds with ancient DNA: The giant moas of New Zealand -
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102 (23):
8257–8262 - Allan J. Baker, Leon J. Huynen, Oliver
Haddrath, Craig D. Millar & David M. Lambert -
2005.
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