# Colossal Biosciences buys moa egg at US auction for 10.5 thousand dollars to hand over to New Zealand

- Published: 2026-11-14 00:34 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Biology & biochemistry
- Tags: moa egg, Colossal Biosciences, extinct bird, moa DNA, New Zealand, Artemis Gallery auction, Maori researchers, genetic engineering, CRISPR, 3D-printed eggshell
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-334b50f76ed072b0a00830f3_colossal_biosciences_buys/

**The company will study the shell, including for DNA, and then transfer it to New Zealand, where researchers, including Maori scientists, will analyse it.**

![Colossal Biosciences buys moa egg at US auction for 10.5 thousand dollars to hand over to New Zealand](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/2fb17da9705e944a.avif)
*tech.wp.pl*

Colossal Biosciences, a US biotechnology company, bought a rare egg of the extinct giant bird moa at an auction in the United States, tech.wp.pl reports. The auction took place in June at Artemis Gallery in Louisville, Colorado, and the company paid 10.5 thousand dollars [1]. After its own research, the company plans to give the egg to New Zealand, where researchers, including Maori scientists, will use it for DNA analysis and to learn about the birds' habits [1].

The price was lower than earlier expectations because the sale caused objections in New Zealand. The Maori community was especially keen to recover the find [1].

## The egg and what it may reveal

The egg did not survive intact. It is assembled from many shell fragments, and the surface still has gaps [1]. Researchers suspect it may come from a Moa Hunter burial site dated to about 1300 [1]. It measures 22 by 17 cm, is roughly one and a half times longer than an ostrich egg, and its volume is almost twice as large [1]. Fewer than 40 relatively complete moa eggs survive worldwide, and at least 90 percent of the shell is preserved in only eight cases [1].

According to the company, the shell may help recover moa DNA and clarify how the birds built nests and cared for their young. One hypothesis holds that the much lighter females incubated the eggs, which could explain the size differences between males and females [1].

## The moa and Colossal's work

Moa were among the largest birds ever to live. They reached 3.5 metres in height, weighed about 250 kg, could not fly and lived in New Zealand [1]. They probably died out in the XV century after intensive hunting by the Maori. With almost no native land mammals, birds filled many ecological niches there; moa acted as large herbivores, shaping vegetation and spreading seeds [1].

Colossal Biosciences is based in Dallas, Texas, and was founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Ben Lamm and geneticist George Church [1]. It does not restore extinct species literally: it uses genetic engineering, including CRISPR, to give living animals selected traits of extinct relatives [1]. In 2025 the company announced the birth of three genetically modified wolves with traits of the dire wolf; critics note that they are modified grey wolves [1]. In 2026 it reported hatching 26 chicks in artificial 3D-printed eggshells, an experiment meant to help develop incubation systems for projects such as moa [1]. The moa project is supported by New Zealanders including director Peter Jackson [1].

## Sources

1. [tech.wp.pl](https://tech.wp.pl/jajo-wymarlego-olbrzyma-sprzedane-na-aukcji-ma-wrocic-do-nowej-zelandii,7350505274181632a)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-334b50f76ed072b0a00830f3_colossal_biosciences_buys/