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The genus Pachyornis is an extinct group of ratites from New Zealand which belonged to the moa family. They are the largest genus of moa, containing 3-5 species, and are part of the Anomalopteryginae or Lesser Moa subfamily. Pachyornis moa were the stoutest and most heavy-legged species of the family. They were generally similar to the Eastern Moa or the Broad-billed moa of the genus Euryapteryx, but differed in having a pointed bill and being more heavyset in general. At least one species (P. australis) is assumed to have had a crest of long feathers on its head. The species became rapidly extinct following human colonization of New Zealand, with the possible exception of P. australis, which may have already been extinct by then.
Two new genetic lineages, which may eventually be described as new species, are now known to have existed, one each from New Zealand's North and South Island (Baker et al., 2005).
Pachyornis
| | Name | Pachyornis | | Status | pre | | Regnum | Animalia | | Phylum | Chordate | | Classis | bird | | Superordo | Paleognathae | | Ordo | Paleognathae | | Familia | Moa | | Genus | Pachyornis | | Genus Authority | Richard Lydekker | | Subdivision Ranks | Species | | Subdivision | Species | | Synonyms | Cela Walter Oliver |
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