| Brief Description |
A left femur or thigh bone, one of the strongest bones in a bird’s body. A moa’s femur and knee were held almost horizontally, concealed by body feathers. This bone was collected during a Museum excavation in 1936–37 from a mud hole near Makirikiri, Whanganui.
The North Island Giant Moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae), found throughout North Island forests, was one of two giant moa species. Females stretched up 3 m high, and DNA evidence from bones shows that they were twice the size of males. Giant moa were hunted to extinction 500 years ago.
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