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Prehistoric Life

How tall was Dinornis robustus?

An adult Dinornis robustus stood about 3.6 m (12 ft) tall.

What is measured: adult upright height

Dinornis robustus (3.6 m) drawn to scale beside a doorway (2 m) and a 20-foot shipping container (6.06 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Doorway (2 m), Dinornis robustus (3.6 m) and Shipping container (20 ft) (6.06 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 1.8× as tall as a doorway
  • About 2.1× as tall as an adult person
  • About 59% of the length of a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 9.4× as tall as a bowling pin
  • About 30% of the length of a city bus

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Facts about Dinornis robustus

Giant moa were flightless birds from New Zealand, and their bones show that females were much larger than males.

Source: Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand — Moa; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa — Giant moa

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Dinornis robustus
Hieraaetus moorei3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.83×
Glyptodon clavipes3.3 m (11 ft)0.92×
Arctodus simus3.4 m (11 ft)0.94×
Megatherium americanum3.5 m (11 ft)0.97×
Edaphosaurus pogonias3.5 m (11 ft)0.97×
Ornithomimus edmontonicus3.5 m (11 ft)0.97×
Dinornis robustus3.6 m (12 ft)this page
Palaeoloxodon antiquus4 m (13 ft)1.1×
Deinotherium giganteum4 m (13 ft)1.1×
Mammuthus columbi4 m (13 ft)1.1×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Dinornis robustus or Hieraaetus moorei?

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