| Collection |
Matthews |
| Description |
Bone, possibly Moa, peat-stained. Found on Bert Dick's farm, Te Hau, at Lake Grassmere. Has Latin writing on it.
Information from Professor Richard Holdaway of Canterbury Museum 25 August 2012: This is a right tarsometatarsus (foot) bone lacking third trochlec of either a Euryapteryx curtus (Stout-legged moa) or a Emeus crassus (Eastern moa). Archaeological, meaning it has been cooked and eaten.
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.]
.....................................................................................................................................................................
Stout-legged moa
Euryapteryx curtus
The stout-legged moa was one of the most widespread moa species, inhabiting open areas, such as the Central Plateau which was periodically cleared by volcanic activity. It was common in lowland habitats such as the coastal regions of the north and southeast of the North Island, as well as in the mix of forest, shrubland and grassland found in the eastern South Island.
As its common name suggests, the species was a stoutly built moa, with short legs. It had a short, blunt beak with the most rounded tip of any moa species. Its small number of gizzard stones, and gizzard contents of fruit and leaves of plants such as matai and pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia australis), indicate that it plucked more succulent vegetation than the branchlets sheared off by some other moa species.
The stout-legged moa had such a long windpipe that it formed a loop about a metre long inside the body. As with the eastern moa, such an extraordinary length of windpipe would have enabled it to produce loud calls that would have been heard a great distance away.
Until recently, the stout-legged moa was considered to be two species because of its highly variable size. Re-examination of its bones and new genetic work has now shown that females could weigh as much as an ostrich (Struthio camelus), though they were much shorter and more robustly built, while some males were little bigger than a turkey and smaller than adults of any other species of moa.
Remains of this moa and its eggs are common in archaeological sites. It was the most common moa found at the extensive archaeological sites of the Wairau Bar in Marlborough (13th century) and at Shag Mouth in coastal Otago (14th century). Thousands of stout-legged moa were eaten at the Wairau Bar and most of the many moa eggs consumed there were probably from this species. Its calls may have facilitated flocking and allowed it to be easily located and killed. Its eggs were also the most common type associated with human burials.
Distribution: North, South and Great Barrier Islands.
Time of extinction: About 1400 AD.
Primary cause of extinction: Human hunting.
Weight: Females 78 kg (range 49 - 105 kg); males 20 kg (range 12 - 34 kg, but one late Pleistocene specimen 9 kg).
Meaning of Scientific name: Described by Owen in 1846; Euryapteryx refers to the broad form of this wingless bird, curtus means 'short'.
Number of specimens known: Fossil remains of hundreds of individuals; 15 largely complete eggs.
Painting [see image in 1985.035.0022]: A stout-legged moa near dunes on the Wairarapa coast. Pingao sedge (Desmoschoenus spiralis), left, and shore bindweed (Calystegia soldanella) grow in the sand. An Australasian gannet (Morus serrator), left, and a pair of paradise shelducks (Tadorna variegata) pass behind. [Source: Extinct Birds of New Zealand, by Alan Tennyson & Paul Martinson, published 2006 by Te Papa Press, Wellington.]
...................................................................................................................................................................... |
| Object ID |
1985.035.0048 |
| Object Name |
Bone, Moa |
|
