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Broad-billed moa facts for kids

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Broad-billed moa
Temporal range: Pleistocene-Holocene
Euryapteryx.jpg
Restoration
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Genus:
Euryapteryx
Species:
curtus
Synonyms

The broad-billed moa or coastal moa (Euryapteryx curtus) was a extinct moa from New Zealand. It lived in the North and the South Islands and on Stewart Island.

The coastal moa mainly lived in dry shrubland areas. It was widespread throughout most of the North Island. The dominant species lived in the center, the volcanic plateau and along the Wanganui-Taranaki Coast.

The birds were stout and short-legged. Males were about a meter tall. Females were slightly taller (1.3 meters). They varied in size, some being twice as big as others. They weighed about 20 kg. It is thought that they mainly ate fruit, leaves and large insects. Chicks ate insects.

It is thought that because coastal moas (among others) had a small olfactory chamber, they had great vocal abilities.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Moa costero para niños

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