MOA 579 
and Moas were derived from an Asiatic stock of Ratite birds; but 
Capt. Hutton objects to this view, and suggests that the Moas are 
descended from volant birds, allied to the TINAMoUs, which inhabited 
New Zealand during the Eocene. The Moas are thus regarded as 
the ancestral stock of all the Australasian Ratitz, while those of Asia 
and America are supposed to have had a totally independent origin. 
There are, however, many objections to this view ; one of the most 
obvious being the absence of any evidence of the presumed Tinamou- 
like Kocene birds.+ 
Although, as already mentioned, there is some uncertainty as to 
the actual number of species of Moas, yet there is no doubt that the 
Fig. 1, Ricur Trera of Euryapteryx gravis (A), 1/6, of Dinornis gracilis (B), 1/8, and Megalapteryx 
tenuipes (C), 1/8. Anterior view. 
(From Lydekker’s ‘ Catalogue of Fossil Birds in the British Museum.’) 
number was.large. The Family may be divided into at least 5 
genera, of which the first and last are very widely separated, 
although connected to a certain extent by the intermediate forms.” 
The typical genus Dinornis, Owen, includes the tallest of the 
Moas, and is characterized by the length and slenderness of the 
1 It is not easy to reconcile Capt. Hutton’s views as to the impossibility of an 
immigration of flightless birds having taken place into New Zealand, while he 
admits that emigrations must have happened. 
2 Capt. Hutton adopts 7 genera (one of which he subdivides into two sub- 
genera), exclusive of one of those noticed below. 
