Australian Museum Journal Moa’s Ark: Miocene fossils reveal the great antiquity of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) in Zealandia. In Proceedings of the VII International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, ed. W.E. Boles and T.H. Worthy
- Shortform:
- Tennyson et al., 2010, Rec. Aust. Mus. 62(1): 105–114
- Author(s):
- Tennyson, Alan J. D.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Jones, Craig M.; Scofield, R. Paul; Hand, Suzanne J.
- Year published:
- 2010
- Title:
- Moa’s Ark: Miocene fossils reveal the great antiquity of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) in Zealandia. In Proceedings of the VII International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, ed. W.E. Boles and T.H. Worthy
- Serial title:
- Records of the Australian Museum
- Volume:
- 62
- Issue:
- 1
- Start page:
- 105
- End page:
- 114
- DOI:
- 10.3853/j.0067-1975.62.2010.1546
- Language:
- English
- Date published:
- 26 May 2010
- Cover date:
- 26 May 2010
- ISSN:
- 0067-1975
- CODEN:
- RAUMAJ
- Publisher:
- The Australian Museum
- Place published:
- Sydney, Australia
- Subjects:
- AVES; PALAEONTOLOGY; MIOCENE; NEW ZEALAND
- Reference number:
- 1546
- EndNote package:
- EndNote file
- Title page:
- Title page (40kb PDF)
- Complete work:
- Complete work (329kb PDF)
Abstract
Fossil eggshell and bone fragments from New Zealand's Miocene St Bathans Fauna indicate that two taxa of giant flightless moa (one weighing 20–25 kg and another much larger than this) were present in Zealandia 19–16 Ma. Contrary to recent suggestions, we conclude that moa have a long history in Zealandia, almost certainly extending to before the Oligocene "drowning". This conclusion is consistent with biotic evidence from other sources, which indicates a great antiquity of several Zealandian animals and plants.