MOA SKELETON

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19140, 8 October 1936, Page 15

MOA SKELETON

MUSEUM'S EXHIBIT Of the 21 species of moa known to have existed in New Zealand, the- first and only complete skeleton of one kind has been assembled by Mr. G. Shepherd, curator of the Alexander Museum, Wanganui. Its head almost touches the ceiling of the second floor of the museum, for it is 10ft. sJin. high. Its scientific name is dihornis giganteus. The bones were discovered last February at the Makirikiri deposit, where Mr. Shepherd and his helpers worked patiently for months, and were rewarded with a large collection to form the basis of several skeletons.

Mr. Shepherd told the Dominion that when alive, this particular moa. must have stood about 10ft. 7in. high, and could have stretched another 2ft. when feeding from trees. Ho said that according to records, only small parts of the species had been found previously—at To Aute, Hawke's Bay, and in the- Rimutaka Ranges. The variety was equal m size- to the largest South Island species, and could possibly be 2000 or more year 3 old. It was not generally known there Were two families of moa, comprising live genera. The first, family, _ the dinornis group, are all larger birds. When all the skeletons were assembled, Wangahui would have four of the five species. The second family was of smaller birds, of-which the museum will have four species when work he was now engaged upon was completed.