Bush moa
Anomalopteryx is an extinct bird genus known colloquially as the lesser moa, little bush moa, or bush moa. It stood more than tall and weighed. It inhabited much of the North Island and small sections of the South Island of New Zealand. Its habitat was lowland conifer, broad-leafed, and Southern beech forests. It is monotypic with the only species discovered is Anomalopteryx didiformis. It is also the smallest known species of moa, weighing barely 30kg and standing less than a metre tall.
It is a ratite and a member of the order Dinornithiformes. The Dinornithiformes are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate.
The most complete remains, a partially articulated skeleton with substantial mummified tissue were discovered in 1980 in Lake Echo Valley, east of Te Anau, Southland. It is now in the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, in Invercargill.
The entire genome has been sequenced.Footnotes
