Dinornithiformes (Noun)
Meaning
A ratite bird order: recently extinct flightless birds of New Zealand.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- The Moa was part of the Dinornithiformes, a group of flightless birds native to New Zealand that went extinct in the 15th century.
- The earliest known member of the Dinornithiformes is believed to date back to the Palaeocene epoch around 60 million years ago.
- New Zealand once had numerous species of Dinornithiformes ranging in size from the tiny 20-kilogram Mantell's Moa to the massive three-meter-tall giant Harpagornis rostratus.
- Scientists believe humans and their introduced species were the primary cause of extinction for the Dinornithiformes after initial settlement of New Zealand around the 13th century.
- Despite comprehensive fossil evidence and ancient Maori legends, the Dinornithiformes were only rediscovered by science as a distinct group in the mid-1800s when numerous fossilized remains were uncovered.