The Key to Scientific Names
- DINORNIS
‡ (Dinornithidae; † North Island Giant Moa D. novaezealandiae) Gr. δεινος deinos mighty, prodigious; ορνις ornis, ορνιθος ornithos bird; the giant moas may have survived until the early 15th century; "Professor Owen exhibited various bones, being the remains of a gigantic Struthious Bird (Dinornis Novæ-Zealandiæ, Owen) which has become extinct in the North Island of New Zealand ... The results of the foregoing comparisons justify the reference of the Great Bird of New Zealand to a distinct genus in the Struthious order, for which I propose the name Dinornis, with the specific appellation Novæ Zealandiæ." (Owen 1843); "Dinornis Owen, 1843, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 11 (121): 10 — type (by monotypy) Dinornis novae-zealandiae Owen." (Checklist Birds New Zealand, 3rd ed., 1990, p. 5) (see Megalornis).
Synon. Megalornis, Moa, Movia, Owenia, Palapteryx, Tylopteryx.