Moa (order Dinornithiformes) are an extinct group of flightless birds formerly endemic to New Zealand. During the
Moa … See more

The word moa is a Polynesian term for domestic fowl. The name was not in common use among the Māori by the time of European contact, likely because the bird it described had been extinct for some time, and traditio… See more

Moa skeletons were traditionally reconstructed in an upright position to create impressive height, but analysis of their vertebral articulations indicates that they probably carried their heads forward, in the man… See more

The moa's closest relatives are small terrestrial South American birds called the tinamous, which can fly. Previously, the kiwi, the Australian emu, and cassowary were thought to be most closely related to moa.
Although d… See more

The currently recognised genera and species are:
• Order †Dinornithiformes (Gadow 1893) Ridgway 1901 [Dinornithes Gadow 1893; Immanes Newton 1884] (moa)
Two unna… See more

Analyses of fossil moa bone assemblages have provided detailed data on the habitat preferences of individual moa species, and revealed distinctive regional moa faunas:
The two main faunas identified in the South Island inclu… See more