#bush moa

[otussketching]

Decided to doodle some moa. As they only became extinct rather recently, we have a plethora of specimens, including mummified remains of skin and feathers. And from these three, we have details from their necks and/or heads.

From the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) two complete heads are known. These are excuisite, and with a complete foot, a whole leg, feathers and more, we have a pretty good understanding of what it was like. The Bush moa ( Anomalopteryx didiformis) has one mummified skeleton with a well-preserved head and beak, and from the Eastern moa (Emeus crassus) a piece of neck skin is known, revealing it had at least a partially bald neck and head, not unlike that of the Emu or Cassowary. From these excuisite specimens one can get a glimpse of Moa diversity.

This also includes a tip for palaeoillustration: before breathing the life into your illustration, drawing the specimens is a good idea, as it lets one observe the structure of the subject in detail. Also, I have a feeling one of these was the first birds the Moa-keeper brought back. The Upland moa, perhaps.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Anomalopteryx didiformis

By José Carlos Cortés on @quetzalcuetzpalin-art​

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Name: Anomalopteryx didiformis

Status: Extinct

First Described: 1852

Described By: Reichenbach

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Palaeognathae, Notopalaeognathae, Tinamiformes + Dinornithiformes Clade, Dinornithiformes, Emeidae 

Anomalopteryx, the Bush Moa or Lesser Moa, was a smaller genus of Moa - only about 1.3 meters tall. It lived mostly in the North Island, though it did extend a little to the South Island. It lived in conifer forests and probably ate a lot of plant material derived from conifer trees. It lived entirely in the Holocene, from about 12,000 years ago until 500 years ago. It was rather slender for a Moa, and had long legs, helping it to move quickly through its forest habitat. It probably would have cut conifer leaves with its sharply-shaped bill, and probably ate a lot of fibrous plant material. It was not a very social bird, living alone or in pairs. It also had the largest head of any Moa compared to its body size. It was covered in hair like, pale feathers all over its body, except for its legs. Eggs from this dinosaur are known in caves, and it probably mostly made nests in secluded areas where the males would incubate the eggs alone. 

Sources:

http://fossilworks.org/?a=collectionSearch&taxon_no=39296&max_interval=Quaternary&country=New%20Zealand&is_real_user=1&basic=yes&type=view&match_subgenera=1 

http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/little-bush-moa 

https://cenozoiclife.blogspot.com/2017/03/bush-moa-anomalopteryx-didiformis.html 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_moa