| Collection |
Matthews |
| Description |
Long bone, possibly Moa, peat-stained. Found on Bert Dick's farm, Te Hau, at Lake Grassmere.
Information from Professor Richard Holdaway of Canterbury Museum 25 August 2012: This is a right tibiotarsus (shin) bone from an Emeus crassus (Eastern moa).
Te Hau, the Dick's farm, was on the north side of Lake Grassmere near the World War 2 bomb-aiming bunker. It was originally a swamp and most of the bones were excavated during ploughing. All the bones found here are stained with peat from the swamp.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
Eastern moa
Emeus crassus
The eastern moa was a short-legged, heavily built, medium-sized moa once common on the eastern lowlands of the South Island.
Its beak was relatively delicate for a moa. This and the preserved fruits, especially of matai (Prumnopitys taxifolia), and leaves (but not twigs) in gizzard samples indicate that its diet included little of the highly fibrous material often found with the remains of other moa species.
This species and the stout-legged moa had the longest windpipe of any moa - this was probably used to make deep or resonant calls that would have been loud and far reaching. These species may have used sound for social interaction more than other moa because they often lived in dense vegetation. It is uncertain whether both sexes had a long windpipe, but one theory is that moa may have been partly nocturnal to avoid being attacked by eagles and that males called at night to attract females. Only a few other birds, mainly large species such as some cranes and swans, have elongated windpipes.
The eastern moa was common in areas of mixed forest, shrubland and grassland, and was the dominant moa species found below 200 metres. Its remains are usually found in association with the stout-legged moa, the heavy-footed moa and the South Island giant moa, all of which would have filled different ecological niches based on their differing sizes and feeding habits. Although they must have often associated with each other, their habitat preferences differed, with the eastern moa favouring the wetter swamp forests on low-lying flats.
After the stout-legged moa, the eastern moa was the most abundant species found in the large collection of moa unearthed at the famous Wairau Bar archaeological site in Marlborough. During the brief occupation of this site in the late 13th century, more than 4000 moa were consumed. These moa would have been hunted on the plains and surrounding hills of the Wairau Valley. Large numbers of moa eggs were also eaten here.
Distribution: South Island.
Time of extinction: About 1400 AD.
Primary cause of extinction: Human hunting.
Weight: 58 kg (range 36 - 79 kg).
Meaning of Scientific name: Described by Owen in 1846; Emeus reflects an outdated theory that this species was closely related to an emu; crassus refers to the thickness of its leg bones.
Number of specimens known: Fossil remains of hundreds of individuals; 1 - 3 largely complete eggs.
Painting [see image in record 1985.035.0027]: An eastern moa steps over divaricating shrubs in swamp forest on the Canterbury Plains. [Source: Extinct Birds of New Zealand, by Alan Tennyson & Paul Martinson, published 2006 by Te Papa Press, Wellington.]
......................................................................................................................................................................
|
| Object ID |
1985.035.0029 |
| Object Name |
Bone, Moa |
|
