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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 24, 2025

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

Published on: December 10, 2015

Flightless birds.

Florian Maderspacher¹

¹Florian Maderspacher is Current Biology's Senior Reviews Editor.

Current Biology : CB

|October 25, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Richard Owen identified the extinct moa, a giant, flightless bird from New Zealand, through fossilized bones. This discovery highlighted a significant anomaly in avian evolution.

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Area of Science:

Paleontology
Evolutionary Biology
Anatomy

Background:

Richard Owen, a prominent Victorian biologist, was known for his expertise in anatomy.
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was a major scientific development during this period.

Observation:

In 1839, Owen received a bone fragment from New Zealand.
Owen's anatomical skills allowed him to infer the fragment was from a large, flightless bird femur.

Findings:

Further fossil discoveries led Owen to identify the extinct "moa" bird group.
Some moa species were exceptionally large, standing nearly twice Owen's height.

Implications:

The moa represent some of the largest birds to have ever lived.
The existence of giant, flightless birds like the moa presented a notable anomaly in the natural world.