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59-635: Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. Moa or MOA may also refer to: The Polynesian word for chicken. Moa See text Moa ( order Dinornithiformes ) are an extinct group of flightless birds formerly endemic to New Zealand . During the Late Pleistocene - Holocene , there were nine species (in six genera). The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae , reached about 3.6 metres (12 ft) in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kilograms (510 lb) while
118-488: A nomen oblitum , and the junior name declared a nomen protectum . This rule exists primarily to prevent the confusion that would result if a well-known name, with a large accompanying body of literature, were to be replaced by a completely unfamiliar name. An example is the European land snail Petasina edentula ( Draparnaud , 1805). In 2002, researchers found that an older name Helix depilata Draparnaud, 1801 referred to
177-579: A sister group to ratites. The nine species of moa were the only wingless birds, lacking even the vestigial wings that all other ratites have. They were the largest terrestrial animals and dominant herbivores in New Zealand's forest, shrubland, and subalpine ecosystems until the arrival of the Māori , and were hunted only by Haast's eagle . Moa extinction occurred within 100 years of human settlement of New Zealand, primarily due to overhunting. The word moa
236-767: A certain selectivity in the choice of gizzard stones and chose the hardest pebbles. The pairs of species of moa described as Euryapteryx curtus / E. exilis , Emeus huttonii / E. crassus , and Pachyornis septentrionalis / P. mappini have long been suggested to constitute males and females, respectively. This has been confirmed by analysis for sex-specific genetic markers of DNA extracted from bone material. For example, before 2003, three species of Dinornis were recognised: South Island giant moa ( D. robustus ), North Island giant moa ( D. novaezealandiae ), and slender moa ( D. struthioides ). However, DNA showed that all D. struthioides were males, and all D. robustus were females. Therefore,
295-465: A different scientific name. Given that the correct name of a taxon depends on the taxonomic viewpoint used (resulting in a particular circumscription, position and rank) a name that is one taxonomist's synonym may be another taxonomist's correct name (and vice versa ). Synonyms may arise whenever the same taxon is described and named more than once, independently. They may also arise when existing taxa are changed, as when two taxa are joined to become one,
354-457: A grinding action that allowed them to eat coarse plant material. This grinding action suggests that moa were not effective seed dispersers, with only the smallest seeds passing through their gut intact. These stones were commonly smooth rounded quartz pebbles, but stones over 110 millimetres (4 in) long have been found among preserved moa gizzard contents. Dinornis gizzards could often contain several kilograms of stones. Moa likely exercised
413-437: A junior subjective synonym. Objective synonyms are common at the rank of genera, because for various reasons two genera may contain the same type species; these are objective synonyms. In many cases researchers established new generic names because they thought this was necessary or did not know that others had previously established another genus for the same group of species. An example is the genus Pomatia Beck, 1837, which
472-411: A large loop within the body cavity. They are the only ratites known to exhibit this feature, which is also present in several other bird groups, including swans , cranes , and guinea fowl . The feature is associated with deep resonant vocalisations that can travel long distances. The moa's closest relatives are small terrestrial South American birds called the tinamous , which can fly. Previously,
531-428: A listing of "synonyms", a "synonymy", often contains designations that for some reason did not make it as a formal name, such as manuscript names, or even misidentifications (although it is now the usual practice to list misidentifications separately ). Although the basic principles are fairly similar, the treatment of synonyms in botanical nomenclature differs in detail and terminology from zoological nomenclature, where
590-447: A low fecundity and a long maturation period, taking about 10 years to reach adult size. The large Dinornis species took as long to reach adult size as small moa species, and as a result, had fast skeletal growth during their juvenile years. No evidence has been found to suggest that moa were colonial nesters. Moa nesting is often inferred from accumulations of eggshell fragments in caves and rock shelters, little evidence exists of
649-426: A more detailed, species-level phylogeny, of the moa branch (Dinornithiformes) of the "ancient jawed" birds (Palaeognathae) shown above: † Megalapteryx didinus † D. robustus † D. novaezealandiae † P. australis † P. elephantopus † P. geranoides † Anomalopteryx didiformis † Emeus crassus † Euryapteryx curtus Analyses of fossil moa bone assemblages have provided detailed data on
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#1732847668186708-401: A number of cryptic evolutionary lineages occurred in several moa genera. These may eventually be classified as species or subspecies; Megalapteryx benhami (Archey) is synonymised with M. didinus (Owen) because the bones of both share all essential characters. Size differences can be explained by a north–south cline combined with temporal variation such that specimens were larger during
767-556: A number of plant species evolved to avoid moa browsing. Divaricating plants such as Pennantia corymbosa (the kaikōmako), which have small leaves and a dense mesh of branches, and Pseudopanax crassifolius (the horoeka or lancewood), which has tough juvenile leaves, are possible examples of plants that evolved in such a way. Likewise, it has been suggested that heteroblasty might be a response to moa browsing. Like many other birds, moa swallowed gizzard stones ( gastroliths ), which were retained in their muscular gizzards , providing
826-466: A range of plant species and plant parts, including fibrous twigs and leaves taken from low trees and shrubs. The beak of Pachyornis elephantopus was analogous to a pair of secateurs , and could clip the fibrous leaves of New Zealand flax ( Phormium tenax ) and twigs up to at least 8 mm in diameter. Moa filled the ecological niche occupied in other countries by large browsing mammals such as antelope and llamas . Some biologists contend that
885-659: A reconsideration of the height of larger moa. However, Māori rock art depicts moa or moa-like birds (likely geese or adzebills ) with necks upright, indicating that moa were more than capable of assuming both neck postures. No records survive of what sounds moa made, though some idea of their calls can be gained from fossil evidence. The trachea of moa were supported by many small rings of bone known as tracheal rings. Excavation of these rings from articulated skeletons has shown that at least two moa genera ( Euryapteryx and Emeus ) exhibited tracheal elongation, that is, their trachea were up to 1 m (3 ft) long and formed
944-526: A similar pattern to the South Island. The other moa species present in the North Island ( Euryapteryx gravis , E. curtus , and Pachyornis geranoides ) tended to inhabit drier forest and shrubland habitats. P. geranoides occurred throughout the North Island. The distributions of E. gravis and E. curtus were almost mutually exclusive, the former having only been found in coastal sites around
1003-440: A species is moved to a different genus, a variety is moved to a different species, etc. Synonyms also come about when the codes of nomenclature change, so that older names are no longer acceptable; for example, Erica herbacea L. has been rejected in favour of Erica carnea L. and is thus its synonym. To the general user of scientific names, in fields such as agriculture, horticulture, ecology, general science, etc.,
1062-434: A species, or simple ignorance about an earlier description, may lead a biologist to describe a newly discovered specimen as a new species. A common reason for objective synonyms at this level is the creation of a replacement name. A junior synonym can be given precedence over a senior synonym, primarily when the senior name has not been used since 1899, and the junior name is in common use. The older name may be declared to be
1121-418: A synonym is a name that was previously used as the correct scientific name (in handbooks and similar sources) but which has been displaced by another scientific name, which is now regarded as correct. Thus Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the term as "a taxonomic name which has the same application as another, especially one which has been superseded and is no longer valid". In handbooks and general texts, it
1180-481: A taxon, some of this (including species descriptions, distribution, ecology and more) may well have been published under names now regarded as outdated (i.e., synonyms) and so it is again useful to know a list of historic synonyms which may have been used for a given current (valid) taxon name. Objective synonyms refer to taxa with the same type and same rank (more or less the same taxon, although circumscription may vary, even widely). This may be species-group taxa of
1239-509: 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 traditional stories about it were rare. The earliest record of the name was by missionaries William Williams and William Colenso in January 1838; Colenso speculated that the birds may have resembled gigantic fowl. In 1912, Māori chief Urupeni Pūhara claimed that
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#17328476681861298-643: Is a phylogeny of Palaeognathae generated by Mitchell (2014) with some clade names after Yuri et al. (2013). It provides the position of the moa (Dinornithiformes) within the larger context of the "ancient jawed" (Palaeognathae) birds: Struthioniformes ( ostriches ) [REDACTED] Rheiformes ( rhea ) [REDACTED] Tinamiformes ( tinamous ) [REDACTED] † Dinornithiformes (moa) [REDACTED] Apterygiformes ( kiwi ) [REDACTED] † Aepyornithiformes ( elephant bird ) [REDACTED] Casuariidae ( cassowary ) [REDACTED] Dromaiidae ( emu ) [REDACTED] The cladogram below gives
1357-465: Is characterised by small, slit-shaped pores. The eggs of most moa species were white, although those of the upland moa ( Megalapteryx didinus ) were blue-green. A 2010 study by Huynen et al. found that the eggs of certain species were fragile, only around a millimetre in shell thickness: "Unexpectedly, several thin-shelled eggs were also shown to belong to the heaviest moa of the genera Dinornis , Euryapteryx , and Emeus , making these, to our knowledge,
1416-410: Is not correct for the circumscription , position, and rank of the taxon as considered in the particular botanical publication. It is always "a synonym of the correct scientific name", but which name is correct depends on the taxonomic opinion of the author. In botany the various kinds of synonyms are: In botany, although a synonym must be a formally accepted scientific name (a validly published name):
1475-674: Is the intraspecific variation of bone sizes, between glacial and interglacial periods (see Bergmann’s rule and Allen’s rule ), as well as sexual dimorphism being evident in several species. Dinornis seems to have had the most pronounced sexual dimorphism, with females being up to 150% as tall and 280% as heavy as males—so much bigger that they were classified as separate species until 2003. A 2009 study showed that Euryapteryx curtus and E. gravis were synonyms. A 2010 study explained size differences among them as sexual dimorphism. A 2012 morphological study interpreted them as subspecies, instead. Analyses of ancient DNA have determined that
1534-411: Is useful to have synonyms mentioned as such after the current scientific name, so as to avoid confusion. For example, if the much-advertised name change should go through and the scientific name of the fruit fly were changed to Sophophora melanogaster , it would be very helpful if any mention of this name was accompanied by "(syn. Drosophila melanogaster )". Synonyms used in this way may not always meet
1593-487: The Oligocene drowning. This does not imply that moa were previously absent from the North Island, but that only those from the South Island survived, because only the South Island was above sea level. Bunce et al. (2009) argued that moa ancestors survived on the South Island and then recolonised the North Island about 2 Myr later, when the two islands rejoined after 30 Myr of separation. The presence of Miocene moa in
1652-559: The kiwi , the Australian emu , and cassowary were thought to be most closely related to moa. Although dozens of species were described in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many were based on partial skeletons and turned out to be synonyms . Currently, 11 species are formally recognised, although recent studies using ancient DNA recovered from bones in museum collections suggest that distinct lineages exist within some of these. One factor that has caused much confusion in moa taxonomy
1711-560: The nests themselves. Excavations of rock shelters in the eastern North Island during the 1940s found moa nests, which were described as "small depressions obviously scratched out in the soft dry pumice ". Moa nesting material has also been recovered from rock shelters in the Central Otago region of the South Island, where the dry climate has preserved plant material used to build the nesting platform (including twigs clipped by moa bills). Seeds and pollen within moa coprolites found among
1770-412: The 18.5 Mya split suggested by Baker et al. (2005). This does not necessarily mean there was no speciation between the arrival 60 Mya and the basal split 5.8 Mya, but the fossil record is lacking and most likely the early moa lineages existed, but became extinct before the basal split 5.8 Mya. The presence of Miocene -aged species certainly suggests that moa diversification began before
1829-729: The Otiran glacial period (the last ice age in New Zealand). Similar temporal size variation is known for the North Island's Pachyornis mappini . Some of the other size variation for moa species can probably be explained by similar geographic and temporal factors. The earliest moa remains come from the Miocene Saint Bathans Fauna . Known from multiple eggshells and hind limb elements, these represent at least two already fairly large-sized species. The currently recognised genera and species are: Two unnamed species are also known from
Moa (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-527: The Saint Bathans Fauna. Because moa are a group of flightless birds with no vestiges of wing bones, questions have been raised about how they arrived in New Zealand, and from where. Many theories exist about the moa's arrival and radiation in New Zealand, but the most recent theory suggests that they arrived in New Zealand about 60 million years ago (Mya) and split from the "basal" (see below) moa species, Megalapteryx , about 5.8 Mya instead of
1947-614: The Saint Bathans fauna seems to suggest that these birds increased in size soon after the Oligocene drowning event, if they were affected by it at all. Bunce et al. also concluded that the highly complex structure of the moa lineage was caused by the formation of the Southern Alps about 6 Mya, and the habitat fragmentation on both islands resulting from Pleistocene glacial cycles, volcanism , and landscape changes. The cladogram below
2006-601: The South Island, but the basic pattern of moa-habitat relationships was the same. The South Island and the North Island shared some moa species ( Euryapteryx gravis , Anomalopteryx didiformis ), but most were exclusive to one island, reflecting divergence over several thousand years since lower sea level in the Ice Age had made a land bridge across the Cook Strait . In the North Island, Dinornis novaezealandiae and Anomalopteryx didiformis dominated in high-rainfall forest habitat,
2065-488: The authors have inspected the original material; a . that they take on the responsibility for the act of synonymizing the taxa. The accurate use of scientific names, including synonyms, is crucial in biomedical and pharmacological research involving plants. Failure to use correct botanical nomenclature can lead to ambiguity, hinder reproducibility of results, and potentially cause errors in medicine. Best practices for publication suggest that researchers should provide
2124-419: The beginning of § Zoology . The two are related, with only one word difference between their names.) For example, the scientific name of the red imported fire ant , Solenopsis invicta was published by Buren in 1972, who did not know that this species was first named Solenopsis saevissima wagneri by Santschi in 1916; as there were thousands of publications using the name invicta before anyone discovered
2183-421: The correct name is included among synonyms, although as first among equals it is the "senior synonym": Scientific papers may include lists of taxa, synonymizing existing taxa and (in some cases) listing references to them. The status of a synonym may be indicated by symbols, as for instance in a system proposed for use in paleontology by Rudolf Richter. In that system a v before the year would indicate that
2242-637: The currently accepted binomial with author citation, relevant synonyms, and the accepted family name according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III classification. This practice ensures clear communication, allows proper linking of research to existing literature, and provides insight into phylogenetic relationships that may be relevant to shared chemical constituents or physiological effects. Online databases now make it easy for researchers to access correct nomenclature and synonymy information for plant species. The traditional concept of synonymy
2301-477: The habitat preferences of individual moa species, and revealed distinctive regional moa faunas: The two main faunas identified in the South Island include: A ' subalpine fauna' might include the widespread D. robustus , and the two other moa species that existed in the South Island: Significantly less is known about North Island paleofaunas, due to the scarcity of fossil sites compared to
2360-401: The junior synonym. (Incidentally, this species has since been reclassified and currently resides in the genus Bubo , as Bubo scandiacus ). One basic principle of zoological nomenclature is that the earliest correctly published (and thus available ) name, the senior synonym, by default takes precedence in naming rights and therefore, unless other restrictions interfere, must be used for
2419-537: The moa's traditional name was "te kura" (the red bird). 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 manner of a kiwi . The spine was attached to the rear of the head rather than the base, indicating the horizontal alignment. This would have let them graze on low vegetation, while being able to lift their heads and browse trees when necessary. This has resulted in
Moa (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-436: The most fragile of all avian eggs measured to date. Moreover, sex-specific DNA recovered from the outer surfaces of eggshells belonging to species of Dinornis and Euryapteryx suggest that these very thin eggs were likely to have been incubated by the lighter males. The thin nature of the eggshells of these larger species of moa, even if incubated by the male, suggests that egg breakage in these species would have been common if
2537-408: The name of which it is a synonym. In taxonomy, synonyms are not equals, but have a different status. For any taxon with a particular circumscription , position, and rank, only one scientific name is considered to be the correct one at any given time (this correct name is to be determined by applying the relevant code of nomenclature ). A synonym cannot exist in isolation: it is always an alternative to
2596-422: The nesting material provide evidence that the nesting season was late spring to summer. Fragments of moa eggshell are often found in archaeological sites and sand dunes around the New Zealand coast. Thirty-six whole moa eggs exist in museum collections and vary greatly in size (from 120–240 millimetres (4.7–9.4 in) in length and 91–178 millimetres (3.6–7.0 in) wide). The outer surface of moa eggshell
2655-528: The rules of nomenclature; as for example when an older name is (re)discovered which has priority over the current name. Speaking in general, name changes for nomenclatural reasons have become less frequent over time as the rules of nomenclature allow for names to be conserved, so as to promote stability of scientific names. In zoological nomenclature, codified in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature , synonyms are different scientific names of
2714-408: The same taxonomic rank that pertain to that same taxon . For example, a particular species could, over time, have had two or more species-rank names published for it, while the same is applicable at higher ranks such as genera, families, orders, etc. In each case, the earliest published name is called the senior synonym , while the later name is the junior synonym . In the case where two names for
2773-409: The same rank with the same type specimen , genus-group taxa of the same rank with the same type species or if their type species are themselves objective synonyms, of family-group taxa with the same type genus, etc. In the case of subjective synonyms , there is no such shared type, so the synonymy is open to taxonomic judgement, meaning that there is room for debate: one researcher might consider
2832-520: The same species, but this name had never been used after 1899 and was fixed as a nomen oblitum under this rule by Falkner et al. 2002. Such a reversal of precedence is also possible if the senior synonym was established after 1900, but only if the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) approves an application. (Here the C in ICZN stands for Commission, not Code as it does at
2891-407: The same taxon have been published simultaneously, the valid name is selected accorded to the principle of the first reviser such that, for example, of the names Strix scandiaca and Strix noctua (Aves), both published by Linnaeus in the same work at the same date for the taxon now determined to be the snowy owl , the epithet scandiaca has been selected as the valid name, with noctua becoming
2950-409: The smallest, the bush moa ( Anomalopteryx didiformis ), was around the size of a turkey . Estimates of the moa population when Polynesians settled New Zealand circa 1300 vary between 58,000 and approximately 2.5 million. Moa are traditionally placed in the ratite group. However, genetic studies have found that their closest relatives are the flighted South American tinamous , once considered
3009-770: The southern half of the North Island. About eight moa trackways , with fossilised moa footprint impressions in fluvial silts, have been found in the North Island, including Waikanae Creek (1872), Napier (1887), Manawatū River (1895), Marton (1896), Palmerston North (1911) (see photograph to left), Rangitīkei River (1939), and under water in Lake Taupō (1973). Analysis of the spacing of these tracks indicates walking speeds between 3 and 5 km/h (1.75–3 mph). Their diet has been deduced from fossilised contents of their gizzards and coprolites , as well as indirectly through morphological analysis of skull and beak, and stable isotope analysis of their bones. Moa fed on
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#17328476681863068-536: The split between Megalapteryx and the other taxa. The Oligocene Drowning Maximum event, which occurred about 22 Mya, when only 18% of present-day New Zealand was above sea level, is very important in the moa radiation. Because the basal moa split occurred so recently (5.8 Mya), it was argued that ancestors of the Quaternary moa lineages could not have been present on both the South and North Island remnants during
3127-493: The strict definitions of the term "synonym" in the formal rules of nomenclature which govern scientific names (see below) . Changes of scientific name have two causes: they may be taxonomic or nomenclatural. A name change may be caused by changes in the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, representing a change in taxonomic, scientific insight (as would be the case for the fruit fly, mentioned above). A name change may be due to purely nomenclatural reasons, that is, based on
3186-401: The synonymy, the ICZN, in 2001, ruled that invicta would be given precedence over wagneri . To qualify as a synonym in zoology, a name must be properly published in accordance with the rules. Manuscript names and names that were mentioned without any description ( nomina nuda ) are not considered as synonyms in zoological nomenclature. In botanical nomenclature , a synonym is a name that
3245-406: The taxon. However, junior synonyms are still important to document, because if the earliest name cannot be used (for example, because the same spelling had previously been used for a name established for another taxon), then the next available junior synonym must be used for the taxon. For other purposes, if a researcher is interested in consulting or compiling all currently known information regarding
3304-517: The three species of Dinornis were reclassified as two species, one each formerly occurring on New Zealand's North Island ( D. novaezealandiae ) and South Island ( D. robustus ); D. robustus however, comprises three distinct genetic lineages and may eventually be classified as many species, as discussed above. Examination of growth rings in moa cortical bone has revealed that these birds were K-selected , as are many other large endemic New Zealand birds. They are characterised by having
3363-479: The two (or more) types to refer to one and the same taxon, another might consider them to belong to different taxa. For example, John Edward Gray published the name Antilocapra anteflexa in 1855 for a species of pronghorn , based on a pair of horns. However, it is now commonly accepted that his specimen was an unusual individual of the species Antilocapra americana published by George Ord in 1815. Ord's name thus takes precedence, with Antilocapra anteflexa being
3422-419: The typical contact method of avian egg incubation was used." Despite the bird's extinction, the high yield of DNA available from recovered fossilised eggs has allowed the moa's genome to be sequenced. Synonym (taxonomy) The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. Unlike synonyms in other contexts, in taxonomy a synonym is not interchangeable with
3481-540: Was established for a group of terrestrial snails containing as its type species the Burgundy or Roman snail Helix pomatia —since Helix pomatia was already the type species for the genus Helix Linnaeus, 1758, the genus Pomatia was an objective synonym (and useless). On the same occasion, Helix is also a synonym of Pomatia , but it is older and so it has precedence. At the species level, subjective synonyms are common because of an unexpectedly large range of variation in
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