Plant remains in coprolites: diet of a subalpine moa (Dinornithiformes) from southern New Zealand

Abstract

Analysis of plant macrofossils and pollen in putative coprolites (2538 ± 95 ¹⁴C years ago) of Megalapteryx didinus, a southern subalpine species of the extinct moa, indicates that this bird browsed branchlets of forest trees (mainly Nothofagus), and grazed on tussockland and lake edge herbs (Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Isoetes). The data provide the first direct evidence of diet of an upland moa.