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Story: Moa

Richard Owen (1st of 2)

Richard Owen

Richard Owen, who was to found London's Natural History Museum, stands beside the skeleton of a giant moa. Owen had been given a 15-centimetre bone in 1839 and from this deduced that a large flightless bird had lived in New Zealand.

About this item

National Library of New Zealand
Reference: Richard Owen, Memoirs on the extinct wingless birds of New Zealand. Vol 2. London: John Van Voorst, 1879, plate XCVII.

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

How to cite this page:

Trevor H. Worthy. 'Moa', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Mar-09
URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/moa/4/3/1