Facts about South Island Moa
- 08
Vestigial wings on South Island Moa measured only 20 centimeters in length, utterly useless for flight and likely used for courtship displays or balance during locomotion.
- 07
New Zealand's South Island Moa lacked a crop and had a relatively simple stomach structure compared to modern birds, limiting their ability to store food before digestion.
- 06
Fossilized South Island Moa eggs measured up to 24 centimeters long and 18 centimeters wide, among the largest eggs produced by any bird species in Earth's history.
- 05
South Island Moa possessed a small brain relative to body size, with a cranial capacity estimated at only 40 cubic centimeters despite weighing quarter of a ton.
- 04
Digestion in South Island Moa likely relied on a gizzard containing stones to grind plant material, as evidenced by gastroliths discovered alongside skeletal remains in New Zealand cave deposits.
- 03
Massive leg bones of South Island Moa were proportionally thicker than those of elephants, supporting their immense body weight on two legs rather than four.
- 02
Around 800 years ago, South Island Moa populations were hunted to extinction by Polynesian settlers within just 200 years of human arrival in New Zealand.
- 01
The South Island Moa stood up to 3.6 meters tall and weighed approximately 250 kilograms, making it one of the heaviest bird species ever to exist.