The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand

This book investigates one of the richest and most unusual faunas in the world, one that thrived in isolation for 80 million years, but that over the past 2000 years has been reduced to a shadow of its former glory. It was a fauna dominated by birds. In one of the most dramatic extinctions of modern times, half of these species were removed from the planet forever. Among these lost animals was the giant, flightless bird, the moa, an evolutionary novelty that was one of the largest birds ever known. In this definitive volume, Trevor H. Worthy and Richard N. Holdaway summarise all that is presently known about these incredible birds. The authors present the various species of moa, describe their skeletons, and reconstruct their life and ecology. Then they discuss the only threat to the survival of an adult moa, the world's largest eagle. Paying particular attention to the more interesting and unique forms known only or largely from the fossil record, Worthy and Holdaway describe the primary herbivores, the top predator, and other species. These are placed in the total fauna, where ducks, gruids, and even bats all followed an evolutionary path to flightlessness. Wonderful as these species were, most were ill-prepared to face new, mammalian predators - first rats brought by human visitors, then other mammals, and finally humans themselves. Copiously illustrated and carefully documented from the most current scientific research, The Lost World of the Moa reconstructs a fascinating evolutionary experiment that survived all manner of climatic and geological change, only to succumb to contact with the outside world.