Dinornis
| Dinornis Temporal range: Late Pleistocene-Holocene
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|---|---|
| D. novaezealandiae, Natural History Museum of London | |
Extinct (c. 1500)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
| Order: | †Dinornithiformes |
| Family: | †Dinornithidae |
| Genus: | †Dinornis Owen, 1843 |
| Species | |
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D. novaezealandiae North Island giant moa | |
| Synonyms | |
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Dinornis (from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós), meaning "terrible", and ὄρνις (órnis), meaning "bird"), also known as the giant moa, is an extinct genus of birds belonging to the moa family. As with other moa, it is a member of the order Dinornithiformes. It was endemic to New Zealand. Two species of Dinornis are considered valid, the North Island giant moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) and the South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus). In addition, two further species (new lineage A and lineage B) have been suggested based on distinct DNA lineages.