#eastern moa

Decided to doodle some moa. As they only became extinct rather recently, we have a plethora of specimens, including mummified remains of skin and feathers. And from these three, we have details from their necks and/or heads.

From the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) two complete heads are known. These are excuisite, and with a complete foot, a whole leg, feathers and more, we have a pretty good understanding of what it was like. The Bush moa ( Anomalopteryx didiformis) has one mummified skeleton with a well-preserved head and beak, and from the Eastern moa (Emeus crassus) a piece of neck skin is known, revealing it had at least a partially bald neck and head, not unlike that of the Emu or Cassowary. From these excuisite specimens one can get a glimpse of Moa diversity.

A vintage photograph of the skeleton of an Eastern moa (Emeus crassus) from the Otago Museum in New Zealand. [x]

This species of moa stood about 5-6 feet (1.5-1.8 meters) tall, and lived on the South Island of New Zealand. Like other moa species, it likely went extinct around the year 1500.

By Scott Reid on @drawingwithdinosaurs

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Name: Emeus crassus

Status: Extinct

First Described: 1852

Described By: Reichenbach

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Palaeognathae, Notopalaeognathae, Tinamiformes + Dinornithiformes Clade, Dinornithiformes, Emeidae

Emeus, or the Eastern Moa, is a monotypic genus of Moa from the South Island of New Zealand. It has lived since the Tarantian of the Pleistocene until the Holocene, from about 100,000 years ago to 500 years ago. It, like Dinornis, had extreme sexual dimorphism, with the females ranging between 15 and 25% larger than the males. They stood between 1.5 to 1.8 meters tall, and it had no wings like all other Moa. It had long, shaggy feathers that were beige in color, a long thick neck, and strong, muscular legs to help them move through their environment without the balance afforded by wings. The feathers grew shorter as they went up to the head until, at the head, they were small short bristles. It lived primarily in lowland forests, grasslands, dunes, and shrublands, and was one of the major large herbivorous animals in the region until it was driven to extinction by human hunting. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_moa 

Fossil Friday Eastern Moa. Check out the legs on this guy.

© The Field Museum, GEO80071.

Eastern Moa (Emeus Crassus) Skeleton. Hall 38 Case 39 Geology specimen P25145.

8x10 negative