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
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
