Upland moa
species of bird
The upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) or moa pukepuke (Māori), is an extinct species of moa that was endemic to New Zealand. Richard Owen described the species in 1883. It belongs to the ratites, a group of predominantly flightless birds characterized by a sternum lacking a keel. Megalapteryx didinus is known from well preserved specimens, several of which retain impressions of soft tissues. The upland moa inhabited the South Island, where it primarily favored alpine and subalpine environments. Its diet consisted mainly of flowers, herbs and other vegetation. Following the arrival of the Māori, the species was hunted and became extinct around 1500 CE. It was the last known surviving species of moa.
Taxonomy
The upland moa was named as Dinornis didinus in 1883 by Richard Owen from mummified material found in 1878 by H. L. Squires in Queenstown, New Zealand and subsequently sent to the British Museum. The holotype specimen consists of a mummified head and partial neck, and two mummified legs and feet which preserve the feathers.
In 2005, a genetic study suggested that Megalapteryx benhami, which had previously been considered a junior synonym of M. didinus, may be a valid species after all.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of bird. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q998863. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1883, 1500, 1878 and 2005.
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This entry incorporates text from “Upland moa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.