DNA analysis reveals the big, flightless moa birds ate — and pooped out — 13 kinds of fungi, including ones crucial for New Zealand’s forest ecosystem.

Scientists can learn a lot about extinct animals by studying their footprints, bones and even teeth. But, while insightful, these artifacts don’t always paint a complete picture of an ancient creature ...

There are believed to be at least nine species of moa, ranging from small birds under 50kg to large ones over 3m tall and 250kg. These flightless, herbivorous manu went extinct about 600 years ago.

Up until now, no evidence of the extinct birds eating the truffles had been found. The evidence for moa truffle consumption came courtesy of a fossilized ball of poop (coprolite) found in a cave ...

Boast and a team of researchers, for example, are using fossilized dung to learn more about the diets of extinct flightless birds called moa that once roamed around New Zealand. Coprolites helped ...