Chapter VI: Part 6

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This bird was first made known by Leguat in 1708, but some confusion seems to have arisen, owing to his applying the same name to them as the Sieur D.B. (Dubois) gave to the Bourbon Dodo in 1674. This is the original description:--

"The feathers of the males are of a brown-grey colour, the feet and beak are like a turkey's, but a little more crooked. They have scarce any tail, but their hind part covered with feathers is roundish, like the crupper of a hare. They are taller than turkeys. Their neck is straight, and a little longer in proportion than a turkey's when it lifts up his head. Its eye is black and lively, and its head without comb on cop. They never fly, their wings are too little to support the weight of their bodies; they serve only to beat themselves and flutter when they call one another. They will whirl about for twenty or thirty times together on the same side during the space of 4 or 5 minutes. The motions of their wings make then a noise very like that of a rattle, and one may hear it two hundred paces off. The bone of their {178} wings grows greater towards the extremity, and forms a little round mass under the feathers as big as a musket ball. That and its beak are the chief defences of this bird. 'Tis very hard to catch in the woods, but easy in open places, because we run faster than they, and sometimes we approach them without much trouble. From March to September they are very fat, and taste admirably well, especially while they are young, some of the males weigh 45 pounds. The females are wonderfully beautiful, some fair, some brown. I call them fair, because they are the colour of fair hair; they have a sort of peak like a widow's, upon their breasts, which is of a dun colour. No one feather is straggling from the other all over their bodies, they being very careful to adjust themselves, and make them all even with their beaks. The feathers on their thighs are round like shells at the end, and being there very thick, have an agreeable effect. They have two risings on their craws, and the feathers are whiter there than the rest, which livelily represents the fine neck of a beautiful woman. They walk with so much stateliness and good grace that one cannot help admiring them and loving them, by which means their fine mien often saves their lives."

The unfortunate Solitaires, owing to the depredations by the pigs and monkeys introduced by the settlers, and the unceasing slaughter by the latter, became extinct between the years 1760 and 1780.

Of their habits we only have the accounts of Leguat:--

"Though these birds will sometimes very familiarly come up near enough to one, when we do not run after them, yet they will never grow tame, as soon as they are caught they shed tears, without crying, and refuse all manner of sustenance till they die.

When these birds build their nests, they choose a clean place, gather together some palm leaves for that purpose, and heap them up a foot and a half high from the ground, on which they sit. They never lay but one egg, which is much bigger than that of a goose. The male and female both cover it in their turns, and the young is not hatched till at 7 weeks end. All the while they are sitting upon it, or are bringing up their young one, which is not able to provide for itself in several months, they will not suffer any other bird of their species to come within two hundred yards round of the place. But what is very singular is, the males will never drive away the females, only when they perceive one they make a noise with their wings to call their own female--she drives away the unwelcome stranger, not leaving it till it was without her bounds. The female does the same as to males, which she leaves to the male who drives them away. We have observed this several times, and I {179} affirm it to be true. The combats between them on this occasion last sometimes pretty long, because the stranger only turns about, and does not fly directly from the nest. However, the others do not forsake it till they have quite driven it out of their limits. After these birds have raised their young one, and left it to itself, they are always together, which the other birds are not, and though they happen to mingle with other birds of the same species, these two companions never disunite.

We have often remarked, that some days after the young one leaves the nest, a company of 30 or 40 bring another young one to it, and the new fledged bird, joining the band with its father and mother, they march to some bye place. We frequently followed them, and found that afterwards the old ones went each their way alone, or in couples, and left the two young ones together, which we called a marriage."

Leguat's, d'Heguerty's, and the Abbé Pingré's descriptions were all we had of this great ground pigeon down to 1866, except a few bones. When Mr. Strickland proved its distinctness from the Dodo of Mauritius in 1844, and up to 1852, these bones numbered 18. In 1864 Mr. E. Newton and Captain Barclay got 3 more bones, in 1865 Mr. Jenner, the resident magistrate, collected 8 bones, and in 1866 nearly 2,000 bones were collected, but during the Transit of Venus expedition in 1874, a thorough search was made, and a number of complete skeletons was collected.

Habitat: Island of Rodriguez.

Represented in Museums by a number of complete skeletons and a large number of bones.

Explanation of Plates.

_Plate 23._

Coloured drawing made from Leguat's description and figure.

_Plate 25 (a)._

_Fig. 1._ Outline of figure in Leguat's Voyage, 1708.

_Fig. 2._ Outline of Schlegel's reconstructed figure of the Solitaire,
1854.

_Fig. 3._ Outline of Solitaire in Frontispiece to Leguat's Voyage,
1708.

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TYMPANUCHUS CUPIDO (L.)

HEATH HEN.

_Tetrao cupido_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. X, p. 160 (1758--ex Catesby,
Carolina II, App. p. 1, pl. 1, 1743. "Habitat in Virginia"); Vieillot,
Gal. Ois. II, p. 55, p. 219 (1825).

_Pinnated Grouse_ Latham, Gen. Syn. II, 2, p. 740 (1783).

_Bonasa cupido_ Stephens, in Shaw's Gen. Zool. XI, p. 299 (1819--New
Jersey and Long Island).

_Cupidonia cupido_ Baird, B. N. Am. p. 628 (1860--partim); Maynard, B.
E. Massach. p. 138 (1870--Martha's Vineyard and Naushon Island);
Brewster, Auk 1885, p. 82 (Massachusetts).

_Cupidonia cupido var. cupido_ Baird, Brewer & Ridgway, N. Amer. B.
III, p. 440 (1874).

_Cupidonia cupido brewsteri_ Coues, Key N.A.B., App. p. 884 (1887).

_Tympanuchus cupido_ Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. VIII, p. 355 (1885);
Bendire, Life-Hist. N. Amer. B. I, p. 93 (1892); Grant, Cat. B. Brit.
B. XXII, p. 77; Check-List N. Amer. B. Ed. II, p. 115, No. 306 (1895);
Hartlaub, Abh. Naturw. Ver. Bremen XIV, 1 (second ed. of separate copy,
p. 15) (1896).

Linnaeus' brief diagnosis is: "Tetrao pedibus hirsutis alis succenturiatis cervicalibus." After the habitat he adds: "Color Tetricis feminae; vertex subcristatus; a tergo colli duae parvae alae: singulae pennis quinque." This diagnosis is taken from Catesby, who gives a fairly good description and a recognizable coloured plate. He specially mentions that the neck-tufts are composed of five feathers, and in his figure they are shown to be much pointed. Catesby expressly states that he does not know exactly from which part of America his specimen came--yet Linnaeus says "Habitat in Virginia."

Formerly the Heath Hen inhabited New England and part of the Middle States (Southern Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Nantucket, Eastern Pennsylvania), but in 1887 Ridgway stated already that it was then apparently extinct, except on Martha's Vineyard. About that time it was still common on that island, inhabiting the woods and chiefly haunting oak scrub and feeding on acorns. They were then "strictly protected by law," but this protection seems not to have been effectual, as from 1893 to 1897 a number were killed, skinned, and sold to various museums. This was, perhaps, fortunate rather than unfortunate, because Mr. Hoyle (the man who collected them) told us that in 1894 a fire destroyed many of them, and in the fall of 1897 they were practically gone. But almost worse than this, perhaps, two pairs of "Prairie Chicken" (_Tympanuchus americanus_) were liberated and broods of young (of the latter apparently) were seen, so that it {182} is to be feared that birds shot now on Martha's Vineyards Island may have blood of _T. americanus_ in them, the two forms being closely related, somewhat difficult to distinguish, and evidently sub-species of each other. Nevertheless, a bird taken in 1901 was pronounced to be typical _cupido_ by Mr. Brewster.

From these facts it is pretty clear that the Heath Hen is among the birds the fate of which is sealed, and which, if not already exterminated or mixed with foreign blood, will soon have disappeared. The footnote in the Proceedings of the IV. International Ornithological Congress, p. 203, is herewith corrected.

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COTURNIX NOVAEZELANDIAE QUOY & GAIM.

(PLATE 28, FIG. 2.)

_Coturnix Novae-Zelandiae_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. Astrolabe, Zool. I.
p. 242, pl. 24, fig. 1 (1830--"Il habit la baie Chouraki (rivière
Tamise de Cook), à la Nouvelle-Zélande"); Gould, Syn. B. Austr., text
and pl. fig 2 (1837-38); Buller, B. New Zealand, p. 161, pl. (1873);
Hist. B. New Zealand, 2nd ed. I, p. 225, pl. XXIII (1888); Grant, Cat.
B. Brit. Mus. XXII p. 245 (1893).

This Quail, though a typical _Coturnix_, is easily distinguished from all other species. The male has the upper-side almost black, each feather bordered and indistinctly barred with rufous-brown, and with a wide, creamy white shaft-line. The throat and sides of the head are rufous-cinnamon, the feathers of the chest and breast at their basal half buff with a broken black cross-bar, the distal half black, with two pale buff spots near the tip, or with a continuous white border.

This sole representative of the "gamebirds" in New Zealand was in former days very numerous in both islands, but especially so in the South Island, wherever there was open grass-land, but is now evidently extinct. Its disappearance is apparently not due to excessive shooting, but rather to the introduction of rats, cats, and dogs, and last, but not least, to bush-fires and to the regular burning of the sheep-runs, according to Sir Walter Buller. No doubt the establishment itself of extensive sheep-farms in the once, more or less, uninhabited grass-land was ominous for the future of the Quail.

It is not quite clear when the Quail disappeared. The last on the North Island was shot by Captain Mair at Whangarei in 1860. Specimens were recorded in 1867 and 1869, but were apparently not procured. In Haast's "Journal of Exploration in the Nelson Province" it is said to be still very abundant in 1861 on the grassy plains of the interior.

Sir Walter Buller mentions two specimens said to be from an island in Blue Skin Bay, shot in "1867 or 1868." In his Second Edition of the Birds of New Zealand he informs us that it was found occasionally in the South Island down to 1875, but in the "Supplement" he speaks of a specimen said to have been shot in 1871, but adds, "There is no absolute evidence of it," and "if true, this individual bird must have been about the last of its race." Therefore, evidently the note about 1875 was erroneous. {184}

The statement of Mr. Cheeseman, that he took eggs on Three Kings Islands is erroneous. The eggs belonged to a _Synoecus_, and the egg given to Sir Walter Buller is now in my collection.

I have, however, also two eggs of _Coturnix novaezealandiae_, brought home by Dr. H. O. Forbes. They have a brownish-white shell, covered and washed all over with deep brown patches and lighter brown underlying markings. They show distinctly the character of Quails' eggs, but, besides being much larger, are easily distinguished from eggs of _Coturnix coturnix_. They measure 34.3 by 25 and 34.5 by 21.3 mm.

Of birds I have in my collection: One [male] ad. Shot at Whangarei, North Island, by Major Mair, in 1860. (This is the specimen figured in the Second Edition of the "Birds of New Zealand." I bought it with Sir Walter Buller's collection eighteen years ago. By a curious _lapsus memoriae_ Sir Walter Buller, in the "Supplement," p. 35, in 1905, states that this bird was in his son's collection.) One [female] ad. and one [male] in the first year's plumage, shot by Messrs. Walter Buller and E. French near Kaiapoi, South Island, in the summer of 1859.

Seven specimens are in the British Museum, the types in Paris, three in Cambridge, a pair in Christchurch in New Zealand, some in the Canterbury Museum, and doubtless many others, most of which have never been recorded.

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DINORNITHIDAE.

MOAS.

The first announcement of the former existence of large Struthious birds in New Zealand was made by Mr. J. S. Polack in 1838. In his book _New Zealand_, he states that he found large bird bones near East Cape in the North Island. The first specimen, however, that came into the hands of a scientific man was the bone sent to Professor Owen in 1839 by Mr. Rule, who reported that the natives had told him that it was the bone of a large Eagle which they called "_Movie_." Professor Owen, with his extraordinary knowledge, at once saw that far from any connection with the _Raptores_, Mr. Rule's bone was a portion of a femur of a gigantic Struthious bird. He described it on November 12th, 1839, at a meeting of the Zoological Society, and it was figured on Plate 3 of Volume III of the Transactions of the Zoological Society.

The next notice of the Moas takes the form of a letter, received by Professor Owen from the Rev. W. C. Cotton, dated Waimate, near the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, July 11th, 1842; and in it the writer gives an account of his meeting with the Rev. Mr. Wm. Williams, a fellow missionary at East Cape. The latter had collected a lot of "Moa" bones and sent them to a Dr. Buckland. Mr. Williams also reported a conversation with two Englishmen, who declared they had been taken out by a native at night and had seen a Moa alive, but had been too frightened to shoot it.

On January 24th, 1843, Professor Owen exhibited a number of bones from Mr. Williams' collection, and described them, giving the bird the name of "_Megalornis novaezealandiae_," afterwards changing the generic title into _Dinornis_, as _Megalornis_ was preoccupied. Afterwards, when describing these bones and those contained in the second box of Mr. Williams' collection more fully, he somewhat inconsistently changed the specific name to _struthioides_, which Captain Hutton, in his later classification, retained. Following the laws of priority, however (_novaezealandiae_ has 10 months' priority over _struthioides_), we must reinstate the name _novaezealandiae_.

A number of other finds occurred between 1842 and 1847, but by far the largest and most important collections were made and sent home between 1847 and 1852 by the Hon. W. Mantell, who sent to Professor Owen many hundreds of bones and eggshells, from which the Professor was enabled to determine and describe a large number of species, and even as early as this to separate some genera. {186}

The bulk of later finds were made by Sir Julius von Haast, Captain Hutton, and Mr. Aug. Hamilton, and the two most famous deposits were Glenmark Swamp and Te Aute; but it would take too much space to give here an account of all the other extraordinary discoveries of Moa deposits made by such men as Dr. Thomson, Mr. Earl, Mr. Thorne, Dr. H. O. Forbes, and many others. Besides many fragments of eggshell, a number of eggs have been found, which will be enumerated elsewhere.

Feathers have been found at Clutha River, near Roxburgh, and also in caves near Queenstown. Those from Clutha are mostly dark, being black with white tips; while the Queenstown ones resemble feathers of _Apteryx australis_ in colours. Professor Owen has shown that _Megalapteryx huttoni_ was feathered down to the toes, and in the plate I have represented it clothed with feathers similar to the Clutha ones, which I believe belong to this species. The Moas at one time must have been extraordinarily numerous, both in numbers and species, and they varied in height from 2½ feet to 12 feet. Professor Parker has shown that some of the species had crests of long feathers on the head, and, as some adult skulls of the same forms show no signs of this, he infers that the males alone had this appendage. There has been much discussion as to the time when the Moas became extinct, and we know for certain that the two species, _Dinornis maximus_ and _Anomalopteryx antiquus_, belong to a much earlier geological epoch than the bulk of the other species. It would be too lengthy for my purpose to go into the arguments, but we can, by the study of the "_kitchen middens_" of Maoris and their traditions, fairly adduce that the Maoris arrived in the North Island some 600 years ago, that they hunted Moas, and that they exterminated them about 100 to 150 years after their arrival. In the South, or rather Central, Island, the Maoris appear to have arrived about 100 years later, and to have exterminated the Moas about 350 years ago. It is only fair to say, however, that Monsieur de Quatrefages adduces evidence in his paper which goes far to prove that Moas existed down to the end of the 18th or even beginning of the 19th century in those parts of the Middle Island not, or scantily, inhabited by Maoris.

The _Dinornithidae_ form a separate group of the order _Ratitae_, in no way closely related to the Australian Emu (_Dromaius_), as many ornithologists have asserted, but nearer to the South American Nandu (_Rhea_) than any other living _Ratitae_, though exhibiting many characters in common with the _Apterygidae_. There have been a number of classifications set up of this family. The first by Reichenbach, in 1850, with 7 species and 7 genera! {187} The next was by Von Haast, in 1873, who enumerated 10 species, divided into 4 genera. The third was Lydekker's, in 1891, who acknowledged 23 species, divided into 5 genera. Then came Hutton's, in 1892, which left out _Megalapteryx_, with its then known 2 species, and acknowledged 26 species, divided into 7 genera. Lastly we have Professor Parker's, in 1895, in which again _Megalapteryx_ is left out, and 21 species are acknowledged, divided into 5 genera. There has been a great amount of controversy as to the number of species of Moas which really ought to be distinguished, and of late years there has been a tendency to unite most of the species as synonyms, the authors declaring that bones vary to such a degree that all the characters relied on for the distinguishing of the various species were individual variations, and that, besides, it was impossible that so many distinct forms could have occurred in such a small area. The extreme of this lumping was reached when Professor Forbes, in the Bulletin of the Liverpool Museums, III, pp. 27 and 28 (1900), divided the Moas into six genera, each with a single species. He thus ignores the fact that by doing so he has united forms which were founded on FULLY ADULT bones, and yet some of them were only about half or two-thirds the size of the others. I personally think that too many species have been made, and at least 7 of Captain Hutton's forms must be sunk. On the other hand some have been described since 1895 and 1900, and I have been obliged to name others rather against my will, so that in spite of uniting so many species of others I find I am obliged to acknowledge more species than anyone else. I have divided these into genera according to Professor Parker's classification, only adding _Palaeocasuarius_ of Forbes, with 3 species, and _Megalapteryx_, with 5, which brings my number up to 38 species, divided into 7 genera. My reasons for not uniting these into 7 species and 7 genera, as those of the "lumping school" do, are twofold,--first, the bones of the _Ratitae_ are much more solid than those of other birds, and are not given to so much individual variation; and, secondly, in the face of the great number of species of Paradise Birds and Cassowaries found on New Guinea, the contention that there could not be so many species of Moa on so small an area is not easily maintained. Moreover, we have strong support in the present fauna and flora for the presumption that, when the Moas first came into existence and differentiated into species, New Zealand was a much larger area, stretching at least from the Macquarie Islands in the south to the Kermadecs in the north, and from Lord Howe's Island on the west to the Chatham Islands on the east. So that, like the giant tortoises on the Galápagos Islands, {188} they only got driven so closely together after their specific differentiation, when the land gradually subsided, owing to volcanic action. The differentiation of the family is as follows:--

DINORNITHIDAE.

Skull with a short and wide beak. Pectoral girdle very small or absent, wing absent, only an indication in _Dinornis dromioides_. Hallux absent or present. An extension bridge to the tibio-tarsus, which is placed near the inner border of the bone. No superior notch to the sternum. Most of the species of very large size. The tarso-metatarsus is either long and slender or short and wide, and its anterior surface may or may not be grooved. The second trochlea is longer than the fourth, the third is not pedunculated, and there is no perforation in the groove between the third and fourth trochlea. In the tibio-tarsus the cnemial crest rises well above the head; the extensor groove is separated by a considerable interval from the inner border of the bone. There is a well-defined intercondylar tubercle; the intercondylar gorge is deep, and there is no deep pit on the lateral surface of the entocondyle. The femur may be either slender or stout, but is not markedly curved forwards. The popliteal depression is deep, and the summit of the great trochanter rises considerably above the level of the head. The pelvis approximates to that of the _Apterygidae_, but the pectineal process of the pubis is less developed, and the ischium and pubis may be longer and more slender. The coracoid and scapula are aborted and may be absent. The sternum, which may be either long and narrow, or broad and short, differs from that of the _Apterygidae_ by the absence of the superior notch, the divergent lateral processes, and the reduction of the coracoidal grooves to small facets or their total disappearance. The cervical vertebrae are relatively short, an expanded neural platform as far as the sixth.

In _Anomalopteryx_ and _Megalapteryx_ the number of cervical vertebrae is 21, and there are 2 cervico-dorsal and 4 free dorsal vertebrae, so it is fair to assume that this is the correct number throughout the family.

The feathers had after-shafts.

THE GENERA ARE AS FOLLOWS:

_Dinornis_ Owen.
_Palapteryx_ Owen, part.
_Palapteryx_ Hutton.
_Tylapteryx_ Hutton.

_Megalapteryx_ Haast.
_Anomalopteryx_ Lydekker, part.
*_Mesopteryx_ Hutton.

{189}
_Cela_ Reichenbach.
_Dinornis_ Owen, part.
_Meionornis_ Haast.
_Anomalopteryx_ Lydekker.
_Mesopteryx_ Parker.

_Emeus_ Reichenbach.
_Euryapteryx_ Haast.
_Syornis_ Hutton.
_Dinornis_ Owen, part.

_Pachyornis_ Lydekker.
_Palapteryx_ Haast.
_Dinornis_ Owen, part.
_Euryapteryx_ Hutton.

_Palaeocasuarius_ Forbes.
*_Megalapteryx_ Forbes, part.

_Anomalopteryx_ Reichenbach.
_Meionornis_ Haast.
_Dinornis_ Owen, part.

I have adopted Professor Parker's classification in the genera, only substituting _Cela_ Reichenbach for _Mesapteryx_ Hutton, which is a synonym of _Megalapteryx_ Haast. As to the species I have used my own judgment; I felt obliged to name a number of species acknowledged by Parker and Lydekker but not named, because this system of indicating species by the letters A, B, C, &c., which has crept into our nomenclature, will make all understanding impossible, as not always the same species is denoted by the same letter. A few of these species will naturally later have to be sunk, as some have been founded on skulls and others on leg bones, or so, which, when we get perfect individual skeletons may prove to be identical, but I do not think these will be many.

Besides a number of imperfect eggs, particulars of which will be found in Dr. A. B. Meyer's article in the Ibis, 1903, pp. 188-196, there are known two perfect Moa eggs and one almost perfect one.

1. Otago Museum. Molyneux River, 1901. _Pachyornis pondorosus_.

2. Tring Museum. Molyneux River, 1901. _Megalapteryx huttoni_.

3. Rowley Collection. South Island, 1859. _Dinornis novaezealandiae_.

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DINORNIS.

The skull is broad and much depressed, with a comparatively wide, somewhat pointed and deflected beak. Breadth at the squamosals twice the height at basi-temporal. It has a flattened frontal region, and a wide median ridge on the upper surface of the praemaxillae. The mandible is in the form of a narrow U, with the angle much inflected, no distinct anticular process, and the symphysis moderately wide, narrowing anteriorly, with a prominent and broad inferior ridge, widest in front. The quadrate is elongated, with a very large pneumatic foramen. The sternum is nearly as long as broad, very convex, with distinct coracoidal facets, 3 costal articulations, very small and reflected costal processes, the lateral processes very broad and widely divergent, and a wide xiphisternal notch. The pelvis is narrow with a high ilium, in which the inferior border of the postacetabular portion is flat, and does not descend as a sharp ridge below the level of the anterior postacetabular vertebrae. The pubis has a small pectineal process; and the ventral aspect of the true and postacetabular vertebrae is very broad and much flattened.

The distal extremity of the tibio-tarsus is not inflected. A hallux is present in some species. The tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus are long and slender, the length of the latter equalling and more often exceeding the length of the femur, and also exceeding half the length of the tibio-tarsus. The femur is comparatively long and slender, with a short neck, the head rising but slightly and projecting only a small distance, the linear aspera in the form of a long irregular line, the outer side of the distal extremity moderately expanded, the popliteal depression small, deep, and sharply defined, the profile of the inner condyle semi-ovoid and narrow, and the interior trochlear surface nearly flat. The phalangeals of the pes are long and comparatively slender, the proximal surface of the terminal segments not being trefoil-shaped. In the vertebral column the middle cervicals are long and narrow, with the postzygapophyses directed much outwardly and separated by a very deep channel, and the posterior face of the centrum low and wide. The dorsals have short transverse processes and neural spine, the anterior and middle ones (those with a haemal spine or carina) having a large anterior pneumatic foramen between the nib-facet, the foramen being triangular in shape. All the species of this genus are of comparatively large size, and include the tallest members of the family.

Type of the genus: _Dinornis novaezealandiae_ (Owen).

Number of species: 7. {192}

DINORNIS MAXIMUS OWEN.

_Dinornis maximus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VI. p. 497 (1868).

_D. excelsus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV. p. 110 (1892).

_D. giganteus_ Haast, Trans. N.Z. Inst. I p. 88, No. 20 part.

This is the largest species of Moa, the tibio-tarsus being from 37.5 to 39.2 inches in length, while that of the largest _D. giganteus_ does not exceed 35 inches, but by far the largest number of the latter are considerably shorter.

The type bones were obtained in Glenmark Swamp, Middle Island of New Zealand, and were sent to Professor Owen by Major J. Michael of the Madras Staff Corps. Casts of these bones are in the British Museum, No. A 161 in the Palaeontological Department.

This bird was the tallest of all known birds, though it must have been considerably exceeded in bulk by _Aepyornis ingens_ and _Aepyornis titan_ of Madagascar.

Locality: Glenmark Swamp, Middle Island, New Zealand.

DINORNIS ALTUS OWEN.

_Dinornis maximus_ Owen, Ext. Birds N.Z. p. 253 (Dr. Lillie's specimen)
(1879).

_D. altus_ Owen, Ext. Birds N.Z. (1879) p. 361.

_D. giganteus var maximus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VI p. 497 (1868).

Only known by a tarso-metatarsus, femur and tibio-tarsus from the Middle Island, New Zealand. The bones at once noticeable by their great length, and are more slender than the same bones in _D. maximus_. This form must therefore, till further material comes to hand, be treated as a separate species.

Locality: Middle Island, New Zealand. Collected by Dr. Lillie. {193}

DINORNIS GIGANTEUS OWEN.

_Dinornis giganteus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 237 (1843) and p.
307 (1846).

_Moa giganteus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. XXX (1850).

_Dinornis maximus_ (non _D. maximus_ Owen of 1867!) Trans. Zool. Soc. X
p. 147 (1877).

_D. validus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. p. 111 (1892).

This is, as regards size, one of the more variable forms in the tarso-metatarsus, while the tibio-tarsus is remarkably constant. The tibio-tarsus is almost invariably 35 inches in length, while the tarso-metatarsus varies from 17.5 to 19 inches in length.

The type of _D. giganteus_ Owen is from Poverty Bay; the type of _D. validus_ is from Glenmark.

Habitat: North and Middle Islands, New Zealand.

Portion of skeleton in Tring Museum, from Kopua Swamps, Canterbury, New Zealand.

DINORNIS INGENS OWEN.

(PLATE 42.)

_Dinornis ingens_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 237 (1843).

_Movia ingens_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. xxx (1850).

_D. ingens var. robustus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 307 (1846).

_Palapteryx robustus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 345 (1848).

_D. firmus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV p. 114 (1892).

_D. potens_ Hutton, l.c. p. 115.

_D. ingens_ shows considerable variation in size, but the inter-gradation is so complete that it seems impossible to retain the four species _ingens_, _firmus_, _potens_ and _robustus_, which Captain Hutton admits. This form was widely distributed over the North and Middle Islands. The type skull of _P. robustus_ came from Timaru, the type of _firmus_ from Wanganui, that of _ingens_ from Poverty Bay, while that of _potens_ is quoted from the East side of Middle Island, without specific type locality.

Habitat: North and Middle Islands.

The plate of this species was reconstructed by Mr. Frohawk from the skeleton and feathers in my museum, and the feathers found with the skeleton now in the York Museum. The only criticism that might be made in connection with this picture is that the feathers are drawn a little too much like those of _Apteryx australis_, but this is not of any consequence, as the Moa feathers in the Tring Museum and elsewhere vary considerably in appearance, though being more or less coloured like _Apteryx_ feathers.

There is an almost perfect skeleton in the Tring Museum. {194}

DINORNIS GRACILIS OWEN.

_Dinornis gracilis_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. IV (1855) p. 141.

_D. torosus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV p. 117 (1892).

If we acknowledge that _D. novaezealandiae_ occurs both on the North and Middle Islands, then I feel sure that the distinctness of _D. gracilis_ and _D. torosus_ cannot be maintained, as the measurements intergrade completely.

The type of _D. gracilis_ came from Wanganui, while that of _D. torosus_ is a nearly perfect skeleton found in a cave at Takaka, near Nelson.

Habitat: New Zealand.

There is an imperfect skeleton in the Tring Museum, from a limestone cave at Takaka, near Motueka, Province of Nelson, New Zealand.

DINORNIS DROMIOIDES OWEN.

_Dinornis dromioides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III. p. 235 (1843).

_Palapteryx dromioides_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. XXX (1850).

_Palapteryx plenus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV p. 122 (1892).

This form also inhabited both islands, but was probably one of the rarest. The type of _D. dromioides_ came from Poverty Bay, and that of _P. plenus_ from Glenmark.

Habitat: New Zealand.

DINORNIS NOVAEZEALANDIAE OWEN.

_Dinornis novaezealandiae_ Owen, P.Z.S. (1843) p. 8.

_D. struthioides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 244 (1844).

_D. strennus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV p. 8 (1893).

Professor Owen changed the name of this form, but we cannot accept this change, as it is against the laws of nomenclatorial priority, though we all appreciate the motive the Professor had in making this change. The type came from Poverty Bay, but the bird inhabits both islands.

This species had wings.

Habitat: New Zealand.

A nearly perfect skeleton in the Tring Museum from Waitomo district, Auckland, New Zealand.

{195}

MEGALAPTERYX HAAST.

Originally distinguished by Haast from the _Dinornithidae_ as an ancient form of the _Apterygidae_, but afterwards united by Lydekker with the _Dinornithidae_. Mr. Lydekker's diagnosis of the genus is as follows:--

"Distinguished from _Dinornis_ by the extreme slenderness and length of the femur and tibio-tarsus, and the relatively shorter tarso-metatarsus, of which latter the length is considerably shorter than that of the femur. The pelvis is much narrower than in Dinornis, with the ventral surface of the postacetabular sacrals ridged and narrower, and a more developed pectineal process to the pubis. The femur is markedly curved forwards, with the distal extremity moderately expanded, the popliteal depression larger and less defined, the linea aspera narrower and sharper, and a more distinct anterior intermuscular ridge."

The following additional diagnostic characters are taken from Mr. Charles W. Andrews' description of the complete skeleton of _Megalapteryx tenuipes_ in the Tring Museum (Nov. Zool. IV, pp. 188-194, fig. 1-2 in text and pl. VI):--

Width of cranium at paroccipital processes less than half the length of the basis cranii. Length of premaxilla less than two-and-a-half times that of the basis cranii. Body of the premaxilla pointed and slightly decurved; its length and breadth less than the basis cranii. The occipital plane slightly declined backwards. Occipital condyle projecting slightly beyond the paroccipital processes. Anterior and posterior lambdoidal ridges separated by a very narrow interval in their middle region only. Width at squamosals slightly more than double the length of the basis cranii. Mammillary tuberosities not very prominent. Margin of tympanic cavity evenly curved. Temporal fossae very large. The distance between the temporal ridges about four-fifths the width of the cranium at the fossae. The posterior temporal ridge confluent with the lambdoidal ridge. Post-temporal fossae very large.

The inferior temporal ridge is strongly marked, and there is a pretympanic process. The zygomatic process is well developed. Rostrum dilated towards its anterior end, compressed and carinate beneath the large presphenoid fossae. Mandible very slender. Posterior angular process small. Sternum very convex, and with a very nearly straight anterior border between the tuberosities for the coracoscapular ligaments. Costal processes short but large, with distinct {196} coracoidal facets. The lateral processes are long and distally expanded. The sternum is just as wide as it is long. There are three costal articulations. The most notable character is the enormous length of the toes, the middle one being longer than the tarso-metatarsus. The ungual phalanges are peculiarly long, narrow and curved, instead of being comparatively short and broad, as in most other Moas.

Type of the genus _Megalapteryx hectori_, Haast.

Number of species 4. {197}

MEGALAPTERYX HECTORI HAAST.

_Megalapteryx hectori_ Haast, Trans. Zool. Soc. XII, p. 161 (1886);
Lydekker, Cat. Fossil B. Brit. Mus., p. 252.

This form was described by Sir Julius von Haast as a gigantic _Apteryx_. This error arose from the absence of the skull. There is, however, no doubt now, since the skulls of _Megalapteryx_ are known, that although sufficiently aberrant to form a distinct sub-family, the birds included in this genus are _Dinornithidae_ and not _Apterygidae_.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

MEGALAPTERYX HAMILTONI SPEC. NOV.

Lydekker, Cat. Fossil Birds in Brit. Mus., p. 252, under _M. tenuipes_
(1891).

The type is a left femur, No. 32145 in the British Museum. It is smaller and relatively narrower than the femur, of either _M. hectori_ or _M. tenuipes_. This is most noticeable at the distal extremity.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. (Type locality Waingongoro.)

Named after Mr. A. Hamilton, who did so much in discovering deposits of extinct New Zealand birds. {198}

MEGALAPTERYX TENUIPES LYD.

_Megalapteryx tenuipes_ Lydekker, Cat. Foss. Birds Brit. Mus. p. 251
(1891).

This species was described from the tibio-tarsus, which is longer and relatively more slender than in _M. hectori_. Its distal width is about one-ninth of its length, while in _M. hectori_ it is about one-seventh. The length of the tibio-tarsus is approximately 0.405 mm. = 16 inches, and width of distal extremity about 0.044 = 1.74 inches. Type specimens Nos. 49989 and 49990, British Museum.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand, and perhaps North Island. (Type locality Lake Wakatipa, Queenstown, Otago.)

Complete skeleton in the Tring Museum.

Mr. Lydekker mentions also a right femur from the North Island, of the same proportions as those of _M. tenuipes_ and 0.255 m. (= 10.1 inches) long. It may probably belong to a different form, as we know _M. tenuipes_ otherwise only from the Middle Island. {199}

MEGALAPTERYX HUTTONII (OWEN).

(PLATE 41.)

_Dinornis huttonii_ Owen, Ext. Birds, N.Z., p. 430 (1879).

_Dinornis didinus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. XI, p. 257 (1883).

_D. didiformis_ Haast, (non Owen 1844) Trans. N.Z. Inst. I, p. 83, Nos.
5 & 6 (1869).

_Mesopteryx didinus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 129 (1892).

The synonymy of this form is somewhat confused, but I think it is clear that _huttonii_ of Owen is its proper name. Professor Owen (Ext. B. p. 430) says:

"In the collection from the Glenmark Swamp, South Island, are bones that scarcely differ, save in size, from the dimensions (? W.R.) of the type bones of _Dinornis didiformis_ from the NORTH ISLAND. They are noted as of a large variety of that species." Captain Hutton remarks: "The bones that I have arranged under the name _D. didiformis_ belong probably to a new species. The tibia is well marked and quite distinct, but the femur and metatarsus, that I have associated with it, pass almost into _D. casuarinus_, but are rather smaller. _D. casuarinus_ is undoubtedly a good species, easily distinguished by its tibia." Possibly the _Dinornis_ of the SOUTH ISLAND, with the tibia characteristic of _D. didiformis_ of the NORTH ISLAND, may need to be noted for the convenience of naming the bones as _Dinornis huttonii_.

When describing his _D. didinus_, Professor Owen failed to recognise its identity with his previously named _D. huttonii_, doubtless owing to the leg bones being hidden by the dry integument. This being the case, it is necessary to reinstate the name _huttonii_, as it has four years' priority over _didinus_.

Captain Hutton says that a few bones of this form have been obtained in the North Island at Poverty Bay and Te Aute; but I am convinced he is in error and that these bones are aberrant individual bones of _A. didiformis_ and that _M. huttonii_ is confined to the South or rather Middle Island. The plate of this species has been reconstructed by Mr. Lodge from the mummified remains which form the type specimen of _Didornis didinus_, and the feathers found in the alluvial sands of the CLUTHA RIVER. The type of _Dinornis didinus_ was found at Queenstown by Mr. Squires.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

Mr. C. W. Andrews, in his description of my complete skeleton of _Megalapteryx tenuipes_ has shown that Owen's type specimens of his _Dinornis didinus_ are certainly of a species of the genus _Megalapteryx_, and closely {200} allied to _M. tenuipes_. Mr. Andrews, however, throws some doubt as to whether the pelvis and femora, referred to this species by Hutton, really belong to it.

A complete egg which I consider must be of this species is preserved in the Tring Museum. Its measurements are as follows:--

Large circumference, 21.4 inches = 535 mm.
Small " 17.5 " = 437.5 mm.

This egg was dredged up on the Molyneux River, near Otago, during gold dredging operations in 1901; a second perfect egg was dredged up a few months before in the same river, and was referred by Dr. Benham to _Pachyornis ponderosus_.

{201}

ANOMALOPTERYX REICHENBACH.

The skull is narrow and vaulted, with a long, sharp and slightly deflected beak. Breadth at the squamosals 1½ times the height at basi-temporal, which has a constricted praemaxillary ridge, and the quadrate with a very small pneumatic foramen. The mandible is V-shaped, with a slight inflection of the angle, and a distinct postarticular process. The symphysis is very narrow and pointed, with a long and narrow inferior ridge, not expanding markedly at either extremity. The sternum is longer, flatter and narrower than in _Dinornis_, having no distinct xiphisternal notch, three costal articulations, long and narrow costal processes, slender lateral processes which are often elongated, and usually no coracoidal facets. The pelvis is wider and lower than in _Dinornis_, with the lower border of the postacetabular portion of the ilium descending as a sharp ridge much below the level of the sacral ribs, and without any distinct pectineal process. A hallux is present. The tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus are relatively shorter and stouter than in _Dinornis_, the latter being shorter than the femur, which is usually stouter and relatively shorter than in _Megalapteryx_. The length of the tarso-metatarsus is less than half that of the tibio-tarsus. The femur, besides being usually relatively shorter is readily distinguished from that of _Dinornis_ by its more expanded extremities, the rather longer neck, and the much larger and ill-defined popliteal depression.

The vertebrae are of the general type of those of _Pachyornis_, but the anterior pneumatic foramen commences in the third dorsal. The phalangeals are intermediate between those of _Dinornis_ and _Pachyornis_. Haast considered that the coracoid was aborted and often absent in this genus, in _Emeus_, and _Pachyornis_. As additional characters of the skull it may be mentioned that there is a prominent supra-occipital protuberance, and a depression on the squamosal above the quadrate; the par-occipital processes are pointed, and the basi-occipital processes only slightly prominent; so that the posterior profile of the basi-occipital is nearly straight. The quadrate has a very short anterior process.

All the species of the genus are small, in fact _parvus_ is the smallest but one of the family.

Type of the genus: _Anomalopteryx didiformis_ (Owen).

Number of species: 4. {202}

ANOMALOPTERYX DIDIFORMIS (OWEN.)

_Dinornis didiformis_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 242 (1844).

_Anomalopteryx didiformis_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. 30
(1850).

_A. didiformis_ Lydekker, Cat. Fossil B. Brit. Mus., p. 275.

The present form is confined to the North Island. Owen's type was collected by the Revd. Wm. Williams, and came from Poverty Bay.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand.

Portion of skeleton in Tring Museum.

ANOMALOPTERYX PARVUS (OWEN.)

_Dinornis parvus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. XI, pp. 233-256, pls. LI-LVII
(1883).

_Anomalopteryx didiformis_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 123
(1892), part.

_A. parva_ Lydekker, t.c., p. 278.

This small form is confined to the Middle Island. The type, a skeleton in almost complete condition, was dug up in a cave at Takaka, near Nelson, and is now in the British Museum. A much less perfect skeleton is in my museum at Tring.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

ANOMALOPTERYX ANTIQUUS HUTT.

_Avian Remains_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIII, p. 369 (1891).

_Anomalopteryx antiquus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 124 (1892).

_A. antiquus_ was named by Captain Hutton from the photographs of bones described by Dr. Forbes in the above-quoted article. The evidence is very slight on which to found a species, but I prefer to treat it as one, for the bones were discovered in the Upper Miocene, a much older stratum than most remains of _Dinornithidae_ occur in.

Locality: Timaru, Middle Island, New Zealand. {203}

ANOMALOPTERYX FORTIS HUTT.

Anomalopteryx fortis Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 9 (1893).

This is the largest of the genus, and the type bones came from Glenmark. I append comparative table of Measurements:

--------------+-------------------+------------------+-------------
| Tarso-metatarsus. | Tibio-tarsus. | Femur.
--------------+-------------------+------------------+-------------
A. fortis | 8.0 inches. | 17.5 inches. | 9.8 inches.
A. didiformis | 6.3 " | 13.3 " | 8.0 "
A. parvus | 6.3 " | 13.7 " | 8.5 "
--------------+-------------------+------------------+-------------

Locality of Type: Glenmark.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

{205}

CELA REICHENBACH.

Skull convex, the temporal fossae very large. Breadth at the squamosals 1.6-1.7 times the height at the basi-temporal. Length from the supra-occipital to the nasals rather less than the breadth at the squamosals. Occipital condyle hidden by the supra-occipital. Ridge between temporal fossae and supra-occipital narrow. Beak short, slightly compressed and rounded at the tip, though more pointed than in _Anomalopteryx_. Lower mandible nearly straight and rather slighter than in _Anomalopteryx_, V-shaped. Sternum with coracoid pits faintly indicated or absent; length less than breadth. Costal processes well developed, lateral processes diverging at different angles.

Pelvis broader in proportion than in _Dinornis_, the acetabula set more forward. Tarso-metatarsus shorter than the femur, and less than half the length of the tibio-tarsus. Hallux present in some species. The smallest species of Moa is _Cela curtus_.

Type of the genus: _Cela curtus_.

Number of species: 5.

CELA CURTUS (OWEN.)

_Dinornis curtus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 325 (1846).

_Cela curtus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. 30 (1850).

_Cela curta_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIX, p. 550, pl. XLVII, Fig. B.

This and the following are the two smallest species of _Moa_, having been about the size of a large turkey. It also is the most abundant species at Whangarei, and appears to have been most common in the North of the Island. The type is from Poverty Bay.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. {206}

CELA OWENI (HAAST).

_Dinornis oweni_ Haast, Trans. Zool. Soc. XII, p. 171, pl. XXXI, XXXII
(1886).

_Cela curtus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., XXIV, p. 127 (1892), portion.

Dr. von Haast (Sir Julius von Haast) took as his type of _Dinornis oweni_ the almost complete skeleton collected by Mr. Cheeseman in a cave at Patana, Whangarei, and now in the Auckland Museum. While referring my readers to the original diagnosis for the specific characters, I wish to specially draw attention to the fact that Dr. von Haast says that in the collections he examined, made by Mr. Thorne and Mr. Cheeseman, there are bones belonging to at least 20 skeletons of his _D. oweni_, and that some were even smaller than the type, and the only difference was the constant average difference due to sex. I draw special notice to this, as Captain Hutton has united this form with _curtus_, saying Haast's type is only a small individual of that species. The fact of bones of at least 20 different individuals, showing the same characters and the same differences from _curtus_, is quite sufficient evidence for me to consider Dr. von Haast's _D. oweni_ as a distinct species. I append measurements of the leg bones of the types of _Cela curtus_ and _C. oweni_:--

Locality: Whangarei.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand.

CELA GERANOIDES (OWEN.)

_Palapteryx geranoides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 345 (1848).

_Cela geranoides_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 126 (1892).

This species is confined to the North Island. The type came from Waingongoro. It is most commonly found in the South of the Island.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. {207}

CELA RHEIDES (OWEN).

_Dinornis rheides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. IV, p. 8 (1850--partim).

_Syornis rheides_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 131 (1892).

This is a very difficult form to consider, as the type bones consisted of those of three different forms. Whether Professor Owen, were he now alive, would concur in Captain Hutton's treatment is very questionable, and I doubt if it ought not to be united to _Emeus crassus_, while Haast united it to _P. gravis_. I have kept it separate as no bones of a single individual united are known, and it might prove sufficiently distinct if a good skeleton were obtained. The type bones were sent from Waikawaite, Middle Island, by Colonel Wakefield, in 1849.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

CELA CASUARINUS (OWEN).

_Dinornis casuarinus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 307 (1846).

_Syornis casuarinus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög, p. XXX (1850).

_Meionornis casuarinus_ Haast, Trans. N.Z. Inst., VII, pp. 54-91
(1875).

_Syornis casuarinus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., XXIV, p. 133 (1892).

_C. casuarinus_ is found in both Islands, and is abundant in the Middle Island.

The type came from Waikowaiti.

Habitat: New Zealand.

Portions of one skeleton and two almost complete skeletons in Tring Museum; one of the latter from Kapua Swamps.

{209}

EMEUS REICHENBACH.

The skull is very short and wide, with a blunt and slightly deflected rostrum, and a very small pneumatic foramen to the quadrate. The mandible is in the shape of a wide U, with a slightly inflected angle, and a large post-articular process. The symphysis is very wide and deeply excavated, with a broad and slightly prominent inferior ridge narrowing in front. The sternum resembles that of _Anomalopteryx_, but the pelvis is much wider and approaches that of _Pachyornis_. The tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus are relatively shorter and thicker than in _Anomalopteryx_, but less stout than in _Pachyornis_; the distal extremity of the tibio-tarsus is not inflected. A hallux is present. The length of the tarso-metatarsus is considerably less than that of the femur, and than half that of the tibio-tarsus, its width at the middle of the shaft being rather more than one-fourth of its length.

The vertebrae are of the type of _Anomalopteryx_. The species are larger than most of those of _Cela_ and _Anomalopteryx_. Additional cranial characters are that the skull usually has very broad and blunt paroccipital processes; there is no distinct supraoccipital prominence, and no well-marked depression upon the frontal aspect of the squamosal above the head of the quadrate. The basi-occipital tubercles are prominent, and give an arched posterior profile to this bone. The quadrate is elongated with a long anterior bar; the cavity of the squamosal for the reception of its head is inclined much more outwardly than in either of the other genera.

Type of genus: _Emeus crassus_ (Owen).

Number of species: 6.

EMEUS CRASSUS (OWEN).

_Dinornis crassus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 307 (1846--partim).

_Emeus crassus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög., p. XXX (1850).

_Syornis crassus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 132 (1892).

This species has led to much confusion, owing to Professor Owen having associated with the real portions of _crassus_ in his possession bones of _elephantopus_, _ponderosus_ and _struthioides_. The type came from Waikouaiti.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

Imperfect skeleton in Tring Museum. {210}

EMEUS BOOTHI NOM. NOV.

_Emeus_, Species [Alpha], Parker, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 379
(1895), pl. XVI.

Easily distinguished by the shorter and narrower beak. Type specimen--the skull found by Mr. R. S. Booth at Stag Point--now in Otago University Museum, figured as above.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

EMEUS GRAVIPES LYD.

_Emeus gravipes_ Lydekker, Cat. Foss. Birds Brit. Mus., p. 298 (1891)
Nos. A95, on p. 299, to 47444d, on p. 300.

_Dinornis gravis_ (portion) Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VIII, p. 361
(1872).

_Euryapteryx gravis_ Haast, Ibis 1874, p. 213.

The present species is smaller than _E. crassus_ and has the tarso-metatarsus relatively wider. Length, 198 mm. = 7.8 inches; width at middle of shaft, 51 mm. = 2 inches.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

EMEUS HAASTI NOM. NOV.

_Emeus_ species [Beta], Parker, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII p. 379 (1895).

_Emeus gravipes_ Lydekker, Cat. Foss. Birds Brit. Mus. p. 301 Nos.
32017, 32016, a-e and c to 32044 e on p. 307 (1891).

Sir J. von Haast united this form with _Dinornis gravis_, and the skull which is the type of _E. haasti_ is put on a skeleton of _D. gravis_ in the Canterbury Museum. The measurements of this species are much smaller than those of the other species.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. {211}

EMEUS PARKERI NOM. NOV.

_Emeus_ species [Gamma], Parker, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 380 (1895).

This species is at once distinguished from the other species of the genus by having right-angled orbits. The type is a skull from Hamilton Swamp, named _Euryapteryx gravis_, by Prof. Hutton, in the Otago Museum.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

EMEUS EXILIS (HUTT.)

_Dinornis didiformis_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, pl. 24 (1846), part.

_Euryapteryx exilis_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIX, p. 552, pl.
XLVIII, Fig. C (1897).

Differs from _E. crassus_ in the tibia being more convex on the anterior surface. The skull, among other differences, has a very slight frontal rising to the cranial roof, as opposed to the very conspicuous one in the remaining species. The type is a nearly complete skeleton in the Wanganui Museum. For full description see Hutton, l.c.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand.

{213}

PACHYORNIS LYDEKKER.

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