New Zealand's extinct giant Moa

The moa were large flightless birds. They lived only in New Zealand, and are now all extinct. There were eleven species, in six genera of Moa. The largest, and best known, was the genus Dinornis, which grew up to 3.6 meters, or 12 feet tall, and weighed as much as 230 kilograms, or 510 pounds. The group of birds to which the moa belong, had been in existence since the Cretaceous period. Moa, are classed scientifically as ratites, and closely related to the living ostrich, emu, and cassowary, as well as the extinct elephant bird from Madagascar.