A MAN has admitted to stealing two human toes in New Zealand.

Joshua Williams, 28, was arrested after plucking the middle and index toes from the body of a woman being publicly exhibited in Auckland and then bragging about it on social media.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to charges of theft and interfering with human remains in the Wellington District Court.

The court heard Williams was visiting the travelling Body Worlds exhibition - which features dissected bodies preserved through plastination - in May when he suddenly decided to grab and pocket the digits from an unguarded foot.

He then gave one away and posted a photo of the other online, prosecutors said.

"Chur to the Body Worlds festival. I stole a toe from an uncovered display lol," Williams wrote on Instagram.

"I saw them so I took them. Sorry," he told police officers later.

The exhibition's owners say it will cost about $NZ5500 to replace the pair.

Only one toe has been recovered.

Williams is scheduled for sentencing later in the year.