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

  • Author
    Alan J. D. Tennyson; Trevor H. Worthy; Craig M. Jones; R. Paul Scofield; Suzanne J. Hand
  • Year
    2010
  • Journal
    Records of the Australian Museum
  • Publisher
    The Australian Museum

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.

 
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Bibliographic Data

Short Form
Tennyson et al., 2010, Rec. Aust. Mus. 62(1): 105–114
Author
Alan J. D. Tennyson; Trevor H. Worthy; Craig M. Jones; R. Paul Scofield; Suzanne J. Hand
Year
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
en
Date Published
26 May 2010
Cover Date
26 May 2010
ISSN (print)
0067-1975
CODEN
RAUMAJ
Publisher
The Australian Museum
Place Published
Sydney, Australia
Subjects
AVES; PALAEONTOLOGY; MIOCENE; NEW ZEALAND
Reference Number
1546
EndNote
1546.enw
Title Page
1546.pdf
File size: 40kB
Complete Work
1546_complete.pdf
File size: 329kB