GabiPaleo @gabipaleo.bsky.social · 17/02/2025Moas could reach sexual maturity in a few years, but probably social behaviour would prevent them from breeding until much later; much like the cassowary, which doesn't breed until it has its own territory. 9/11 151 5
GabiPaleo @gabipaleo.bsky.social · 17/02/2025Moas were once thought to be closely related to another New Zealand bird - the kiwi - but DNA sequencing has shown that their closest relative is actually the tinamou, a small flying ratite/paleognath from South America. 10/11 151 5
GabiPaleo @gabipaleo.bsky.social · 17/02/2025The two diverged about 60 million years ago, making the moa another example of a paleognath that lost its ability to fly independently after reaching a region without many other large herbivores and predators. 11/11 061 6
