Moa diet fits the bill: virtual reconstruction incorporating mummified remains and prediction of biomechanical performance in avian giants

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
Marie R G AttardStephen Wroe

Abstract

The moa (Dinornithiformes) are large to gigantic extinct terrestrial birds of New Zealand. Knowledge about niche partitioning, feeding mode and preference among moa species is limited, hampering palaeoecological reconstruction and evaluation of the impacts of their extinction on remnant native biota, or the viability of exotic species as proposed ecological 'surrogates'. Here we apply three-dimensional finite-element analysis to compare the biomechanical performance of skulls from five of the six moa genera, and two extant ratites, to predict the range of moa feeding behaviours relative to each other and to living relatives. Mechanical performance during biting was compared using simulations of the birds clipping twigs based on muscle reconstruction of mummified moa remains. Other simulated food acquisition strategies included lateral shaking, pullback and dorsoventral movement of the skull. We found evidence for limited overlap in biomechanical performance between the extant emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) and extinct upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) based on similarities in mandibular stress distribution in two loading cases, but overall our findings suggest that moa species exploited their habitats in different ways, relativ...Continue Reading

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Citations

Oct 26, 2018·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Russell D C BicknellJohn R Paterson
Oct 9, 2019·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Ada J KlinkhamerStephen Wroe
Feb 15, 2018·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Alexander P BoastAlan Cooper
Feb 18, 2021·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Sarah BroydeKarl T Bates
Jul 10, 2021·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Case Vincent Miller, Michael Pittman
Aug 28, 2021·Biology·An YenJia-Yang Juang

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