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Dinornis
EntityQ899705· pop 25· linked from 100 articles

Also known as giant moa

Dinornis (from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós), meaning "terrible", and ὄρνις (órnis), meaning "bird"), also known as the giant moa, is an extinct genus of birds belonging to the moa family. As with other moa, it is a member of the order Dinornithiformes. It was endemic to New Zealand. Two species of Dinornis are considered valid, the North Island giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) and the South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus). In addition, two further species (new lineage A and lineage B) have been suggested based on distinct DNA lineages.

Wikidata facts

Mass
278
Image
Extinctbirds1907 P42 Dinornis ingens0375.png
Height
3.6
Show 3 more facts
Commons category
Dinornis
taxon name
Dinornis
end time
1500-00-00
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~6 min read

Article

10 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Taxonomy
  • Palaeobiology
  • Sexual dimorphism
  • Reproduction
  • Habitat
  • Extinction
  • Further reading
  • References
  • External links

Dinornis (from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós), meaning "terrible", and ὄρνις (órnis), meaning "bird"), also known as the giant moa, is an extinct genus of birds belonging to the moa family. As with other moa, it is a member of the order Dinornithiformes. It was endemic to New Zealand. Two species of Dinornis are considered valid, the North Island giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) and the South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus). In addition, two further species (new lineage A and lineage B) have been suggested based on distinct DNA lineages.

==Description== upright|thumb|left|D. robustus skeleton Dinornis may have been the tallest bird that ever lived, with the females standing around tall, and weighing an estimated or in various estimates. However, the males of the genus were much smaller, only around .

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