Massey scientists find evidence to discredit Moa's Ark

Two Massey University scientists have compiled DNA evidence they say discredits the Moa's Ark theory - that New Zealand's animal and plant life evolved largely untouched over 80 million years since the Gondwana supercontinent broke up.

Dr Steve Trewick and Gillian Gibb, of Auckland, have reviewed genetic evidence for New Zealand's bird life and studies of now-extinct birds, including moa, some populations of kiwi and the giant Haast's eagle.

"A very high proportion of birdlife in New Zealand has its origins in Australia, but others come from various other parts of the Pacific or northern regions," Dr Trewick said yesterday.

Some species were so like those in Australia they could not be distinguished even with molecular data.

At the other extreme were some that shared ancestors but were different, such as the giant eagle which evolved within the past two million years and was most closely related to a small Australian eagle.

"Evolution can happen quickly given the right circumstances," Dr Trewick said. "We now know that most moa species evolved in the last three or four million years, which is young compared to the earlier ideas that related diversification to a much older 80-million year history of New Zealand."

- NZPA