JEWELLERY ANTIQUE & ART Tuesday, 4 August 2020 - 9:30 AM start

Lot 0250 « Prev Lot View All Lots Next Lot »

An extinct adult little bush moa skeleton display

Realised: $26,000 plus premium

Lot Details

the near complete moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis) skeleton principally from the one bird found c.1969/1970 on a private farm, in Hill Top Cave, Oparure, South Waitomo by our vendor. A couple of years later a quarry license was issued and the spoil infilled into the cave. Some minor restoration. Mounted on a steel rod with number 8 and fine wire support. H.900mm. This skeleton was on display in the Waitomo Museum from c.1972 for a number of years. Note: The little bush moa was the smallest moa species, occurring in forest throughout the North and South Islands. Slender with relatively long legs, it inhabited dense forest and shrubland. Little bush moa lived in wet rainforests and were probably preyed on by both Haast's eagle (South Island only) and Eyles' harrier.