280 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



a stream, in some loose sand, where evidently was once the channel 

 of a river. Digging down, he found the evidence of extinct fires; 

 and in these charred places were found bones of this character, to- 

 gether with human bones, those of a dog, the remains of shell-fish, 

 and fragments of egg-shells curved in the contrary direction by the 

 action of fire. The skin and beak of this monster bird had been 

 found in this place. The reason for supposing the animal to have 

 been contemporaneous with man was, that the bones presented a 

 white appearance, which can only be produced by burning the bones 

 while they contain animal matter. 



FOSSIL BONES FROM NEW ZEALAND. 



A FINE collection of the remains, of the gigantic bipeds of New 

 Zealand has recently been received, in England, from Mr. Walter 

 Mantell, of Wellington. The series consists of upwards of 450 

 bones, referable to several genera of birds; they were obtained from 

 two localities remote from each other, and under very different cir- 

 cumstances. One series is in the same condition as those formerly 

 received by Dr. Mantell, and among which were the skulls and man- 

 dibles and egg-shells described by Professor Owen in the Zoological 

 Transactions. These are from the west shore of the north island, 

 and w r ere dug up from a bed of marl and volcanic sand. The other 

 series is from a tertiary deposit, on the coast of the south island, at 

 a place called Waikonaiti. These belong principally to the most co- 

 lossal species of Dinornis, the D. giganteus. The gems of this collec- 

 tion are two entire legs and feet of the same individual, which were 

 found erect, about a yard apart, in the very position in which they 

 were when the bird was alive; the twelve bones of each foot, to- 

 gether with the tarso-metatarsals, are as fresh and perfect as if in- 

 humed but a few years. Indications of winged birds, of genera, and 

 probably species, still indigenous to the islands, are among these 

 treasures. London Literary Gazette, Nov. 17. 



DISCOVERY OF FOSSIL FOOTPRINTS IN THE LIMESTONE OF 



TEXAS. 



A NUMBER of singular footprints of a gigantic size have recently 

 been found in the limestone strata on the Brushy River, Texas. They 

 occur in the soft argillaceous limestone, and are as distinct as if they 

 had been made in plastic clay. The stride is so large that a man of 

 ordinary size can with difficulty jump from one footprint to another. 

 The limestone in which they are found, we believe, is similar to that 

 which extends through Austin, New Braunfels, and Bexar, and from 

 the quarries in this rock, most of the stones in the Alamo, and other 

 buildings of Bexar, were obtained. The strata contain many marine 

 fossils, among which are the ammonite, nautilus, gryphite, &c. 

 These footmarks, like those discovered in the red sandstone forma- 

 tions, were probably made by an extinct species of bird. Corpus 

 Christi Star. 



