Haast's Eagle (Harpagornis moorei), was a massive, extinct eagle that once lived on the South Island of New Zealand. Also known as the Harpagornis Eagle, it was the largest eagle to have ever lived. It is believed that the Māori called it Pouakai; the often-cited name Hokioi (or hakawai) refers to the aerial display of the New Zealand Snipe — specifically, the extinct South Island subspecies.^[1] As the hokioi was only known by the loud noise it produced, the Māori assumed it to be a large, powerful bird and described it as a gigantic eagle, the largest flying bird known to them. Download high resolution version (1375x1101, 329 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Genera Anomalopteryx (bush moa) Euryapteryx Megalapteryx (upland moa) Dinornis (giant moa) Emeus Pachyornis Moa were giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... Families Accipitridae Pandionidae Falconidae Sagittariidae The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that include the diurnal birds of prey. ... Subfamilies Elaninae Perninae Milvinae Accipitrinae Buteoninae Aegypiinae Circinae Circaetinae The Accipitridae is one of the two main families within the order Falconiformes (the diurnal birds of prey). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (May 1, 1824 - August 15, 1887) was a German geologist. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Dodo, shown here in illustration, is an often-cited[1] example of modern extinction. ... Genera Several, see below. ... The South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. ... Languages Māori, English Religions Māori religion, Christianity Related ethnic groups other Polynesian peoples, Austronesian peoples The word Māori refers to the indigenous Polynesian peoples of New Zealand, and to their language. ... Binomial name Coenocorypha aucklandica (Gray, 1845) The New Zealand Snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica, also known as the Subantarctic Snipe, is a species of snipe endemic to New Zealand. ... “Aves” redirects here. ...

Description

A model on display at Te Papa of a Haast's Eagle attacking a moa with its large talons.

Female Haast's Eagles weighed 10 to 15 kg (22 to 33 lb), and males weighed 9 to 10 kg (20 to 22 lb). They had a wingspan of roughly 2.6 to 4 m (8 to 15 ft) at most, which was short for a bird of the eagle's weight (the largest Golden Eagles and Steller's Sea Eagles may have wings of almost the same width), but aided them when hunting in the dense forests of New Zealand. Haast's Eagle is sometimes portrayed as evolving towards flightlessness, but this is not so; rather, it represents a departure from its ancestors' mode of soaring flight and towards higher wing loading and manoeuverability. The strong legs and massive flight muscles would have enabled the birds to take off with a jumping start from the ground, despite their great weight. The tail was almost certainly long (up to 50 cm (20 inches), in female specimens) and very broad, further increasing manoeuverability and providing additional lift.^[2] Total length was perhaps up to 1.4 m (4.7 ft) in females, with a standing height of around 90 cm (about 3 ft) tall or even slightly more. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1728x2304, 3734 KB) Summary A model of a Haasts Eagle attacking a moa on display at Te Papa, photographed by DONeil. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1728x2304, 3734 KB) Summary A model of a Haasts Eagle attacking a moa on display at Te Papa, photographed by DONeil. ... Te Papa (Our Place), The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum of New Zealand. ... Genera Anomalopteryx (bush moa) Euryapteryx Megalapteryx (upland moa) Dinornis (giant moa) Emeus Pachyornis Moa were giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. ... The U.S. National Prototype Kilogram, which currently serves as the primary standard for measuring mass in the U.S. It was assigned to the United States in 1889 and is periodically recertified and traceable to the primary international standard, The Kilogram, held at the Bureau International des Poids et... The pound (abbreviations: lb or, sometimes in the United States, #) is a unit of mass in a number of different systems, including various systems of units of mass that formed part of English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The metre or meter is a measure of length. ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... Binomial name Aquila chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758 World distribution of the golden eagle Light green = Nesting area Blue = Wintering area Dark green = All year distribution The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. ... Binomial name Haliaeetus pelagicus (Pallas, 1811) Red: breeding only Green: resident all year Dark blue: winter only Light blue: vagrant range. ... A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, a wooded area set aside for hunting). ... Flightless birds evolved from flying ancestors; there are about forty species in existence today. ... Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the worlds bird species. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The lift force, lifting force or simply lift is a mechanical force generated by a solid object moving through a fluid. ...

Haast's Eagle preyed on large, flightless bird species, including the moa which was up to 15 times its weight.^[2] It attacked at speeds up to 80 km per hour (50 mph), often seizing its prey's pelvis with the talons of one foot and killing with a blow to the head or neck with the other. Its large beak was used to rip into the internal organs and death was induced by blood loss. In the absence of other large predators or scavengers, a Haast's Eagle could have easily monopolised a single large kill over a number of days. Genera Anomalopteryx (bush moa) Euryapteryx Megalapteryx (upland moa) Dinornis (giant moa) Emeus Pachyornis Moa were giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. ... km redirects here. ... The pelvis (pl. ... A claw is a curved pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger or, in arthropods, of the tarsus. ... For a person who scavenges, see Waste picker. ...

Early human settlers in New Zealand (the Māori arrived about 1,000 years ago) also preyed heavily on large flightless birds including all moa species, eventually hunting them to extinction. This caused the Haast's Eagle to became extinct around 1500 when the last of its food sources dwindled out. It may also itself have been hunted by humans: a large, fast bird of prey that specialised in hunting large bipeds may have been perceived as a threat by Māori — for a creature that could kill a moa weighing 180 kg (400 lb), an adult human may have been a viable prey alternative.^[3] Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... 1500 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Orders Accipitriformes     Cathartidae     Pandionidae     Accipitridae     Sagittariidae Falconiformes     Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Genera Anomalopteryx (bush moa) Euryapteryx Megalapteryx (upland moa) Dinornis (giant moa) Emeus Pachyornis Moa were giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. ...

Comparitive morphology of Haast's Eagle with its closest living relative the Little Eagle.

A noted explorer, Charles Douglas, claims in his journals that he had an encounter with two raptors of immense size in Landsborough River valley (probably in the 1870s), and shot and ate them.^[4] These birds might have been a last remnant of the species, but this is very unlikely because there had not been suitable prey for a population of Haast's Eagle to maintain itself for about half a millennium at that time and 19th century Māori lore was quite adamant that the pouakai was a bird not seen in living memory. Still, Douglas' observations on wildlife are generally trustworthy; a more probable explanation, given that the alleged three-metre wingspan of Douglas' birds is unlikely to have been more than a rough estimate, is that the birds were Eyles' Harriers. This was the largest known harrier (the size of a small eagle) — and a generalist predator — and although it is also assumed to have gone extinct in prehistoric times, its dietary habits alone make it a more likely candidate for late survival. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A group of organisms is said to have common descent if they have a common ancestor. ... Little Eagle is a census-designated place (CDP) in Corson County, South Dakota, United States. ... Charles Douglas is an indie-rock musician from Dayton, Ohio, born in 1977. ... Look up raptor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Landsborough River is located in New Zealands South Island. ... // The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Binomial name Circus eylesi The Eyles Harrier is an extinct bird of prey which lived in New Zealand. ... Genera Circus Geranospiza Polyboroides A Harrier is any of several species of diurnal birds of prey which fly low over meadows and marshes and hunt or harry small animals or birds (hence their common name). ...

Until recent human colonisation, the only terrestrial mammals found on New Zealand were three species of bat, one of which has recently become extinct. Free from mammalian competition and predatory threat, birds occupied or dominated all major niches in the New Zealand animal ecology. Moa were grazers — functionally similar to deer or cattle elsewhere — and Haast's Eagle hunters, filling the same niche as top-niche mammalian predators such as tigers or brown bears. Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and the presence of hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the... “Chiroptera” redirects here. ... Two lichenes species on a rock, in two different ecological niches In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in an ecosystem. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... “Fawn” redirects here. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Binomial name Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of tigers in 1900 (red) and 1990 (green) Synonyms Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 Tigris striatus Severtzov, 1858 Tigris regalis pink, 1867 Tigers (Panthera tigris) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four big cats in the Panthera genus. ... Binomial name Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 Ursus arctos range map. ...

DNA analysis has shown that this raptor is most closely related to the much smaller Little Eagle as well as the Booted Eagle (both recently reclassified as belonging to the genus Aquila.^[5]) and not, as previously thought, to the large Wedge-tailed Eagle^[6] Thus, Harpagornis moorei may be reclassified as Aquila moorei, pending confirmation. H. moorei may have diverged from these smaller eagles as recently as 700,000 to 1.8 million years ago. Its increase in weight by 10 to 15 times over that period is the greatest and fastest evolutionary increase in weight of any known vertebrate. This was made possible in part by the presence of large prey and the absence of competition from other large predators. Genetic fingerprinting, DNA testing, DNA typing, and DNA profiling are techniques used to distinguish between individuals of the same species using only samples of their DNA. Its invention by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester was announced in 1985. ... Little Eagle is a census-designated place (CDP) in Corson County, South Dakota, United States. ... Binomial name Hieraaetus pennatus (Gmelin,, 1788) The Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) is a large bird of prey. ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Aquila audax (Latham, 1802) The Wedge-tailed Eagle or Eaglehawk (Aquila audax) is a very large Australasian raptor and the most common of all the worlds large eagles. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Classes and Clades See below Male and female Superb Fairy-wren Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (within the phylum Chordata), specifically, those chordates with backbones or spinal columns. ...

Haast's Eagle was first classified by Julius von Haast, who named it Harpagornis moorei after George Henry Moore, the owner of the Glenmark Estate where bones of the bird had been found. Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (May 1, 1824 - August 15, 1887) was a German geologist. ... George Henry Moore (1810 - 1870) served as MP for Mayo. ...

See also

• Late Quaternary prehistoric birds
• Island gigantism

Prehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists. ... Island gigantism is a biological phenomenon by which the size of animals isolated on an island increases dramatically over generations. ...

References

1. ^ Miskelly, C. M. (1987): The identity of the hakawai. Notornis 34(2): 95-116. PDF fulltext
2. ^ ^{a b} Brathwaite, D. H. (1992): Notes on the weight, flying ability, habitat, and prey of Haast's Eagle (Harpagornis moorei). Notornis 39(4): 239–247. PDF fulltext
3. ^ Dalley, B. & McLean, G. (2005). Frontier of Dreams - The story of New Zealand. Hodder Moa. ISBN 1869710061.
4. ^ Worthy, T. H. and R. N. Holdaway. (2002): The lost world of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. ISBN 0-253-34034-9
5. ^ Lerner, H. R. L. and D. P. Mindell. (2005): Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 327-346. PDF document
6. ^ Bunce, M., et al. (2005): Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into the Evolutionary History of New Zealand's Extinct Giant Eagle. PLoS Biol 3(1): e9 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030009 HTML open-access article

Indiana University, founded in 1820, is a nine-campus university system in the state of Indiana. ... Genera See text. ... Nuclear DNA is DNA contained within a nucleus of eukaryotic organisms. ... Mitochondrial DNA (some captions in German) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria. ...

External links

• New Zealand Birds Limited Haast Eagle page
• New Zealand Eagle website
• NZ Conservation Trust (Charles Douglas' reputed sighting)