Morphometrics of moa eggshell fragments (Aves : Dinornithiformes) from Late Holocene dune-sands of the Karikari Peninsula, New Zealand

Moa eggshell fragments were examined from Late Holocene coastal dunes at To kerau Beach and Matai Bay, Karikari Peninsula, Northland. The Tokerau eggsh ell fragments, 0.56-1.69 mm thick, were produced by up to six species of mo as recorded from the area. A sample of 1042 fragments was bimodally distrib uted by thickness, with 19% of fragments classed as "thick" (greater than o r equal to 1.12 mm thick) and 81% as "thin" (less than or equal to 1.10 mm) . The thin eggshells were probably produced mainly by the small moa Euryapt eryx curtus, which dominates local bone assemblages. The small Pachyornis m appini, rare in local bone assemblages, may have produced some of the thin eggshells. Thick eggshell could have been produced by E. geranoides or one or more of the three species of Dinornis. In a sample of 51 eggshell fragme nts from Matai Bay, all except one fragment were thin. Thickness distributi ons of thin shell from Matai Bay and Tokerau Beach differed, but the Matai Bay sample may have been too small for reliability. Measurements of the cur vature of 237 larger fragments from Tokerau Beach suggested that thick eggs hell belonged to eggs 161-216 mm long by 116-155 mm wide, while thin eggshe ll was associated with eggs 138-179 min x 99-129 mm, all within the size ra nge of known whole moa eggs.