| Brief Description |
A tibiotarsus or shin bone, the largest bone in a moa’s body. Made up of a fused tibia and foot bones, it was partly feathered and flexed mostly at the ankle. This bone was collected in Canterbury by a Mr James Patterson. The distal end of the bone is broken off, and "Dinornis maximus / Canterbury / Mr James Patterson" is written on the middle (Dinornis maximus is the former name for the species).
The South Island Giant Moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) was one of two giant moa species. Females were the tallest birds that ever existed, over 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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