DISCOVERIES IN AVIAN PALAEONTOLOGY. 413 



all flightless forms, including Anomalopteryx, a large species 

 Fulica, much like that found in the Chatham Islands (see 

 below), a small Weka-rail, Aptoruis, Notornis, and several 

 others. An account of these, together with elaborate tables 

 of measurements of the limb bones of some of them, will be 

 found in Hamilton's paper (30). 



The most important of all the recent discoveries in this 

 region is, without doubt, that made by Dr. H. O. Forbes. 

 In 1892 (32) he announced in Nature that he had received 

 from the Chatham Islands (about 500 miles east of New 

 Zealand) a skull of a large rail closely resembling the 

 extinct Aphanapteryx of Mauritius ; to this the name Apha- 

 napteryx Hazvkinsi was given. A large collection of bird 

 remains, subsequently obtained from the same locality, 

 contained all the more important bones of many individuals 

 not only of this species, but also of several other extinct 

 forms. Among the more notable of these were a large 

 Coot, Fulica chathamica, very similar to the Mauritian 

 species, F. Newtoni ; a new type of Crow, Palccocorax 

 moriorum, said to be most nearly related to the Gymnorhine 

 group ; an extinct Swan, Chenopis, besides several other 

 species, most of which are still inhabitants of the Islands. 

 Several of the extinct forms have not yet been described, 

 but of Aphanapteryx Hawkinsi and Palcsocorax moriorum 

 a short account was published in the Ibis. At the same 

 time a new genus, DiapJiorapteryx, was established for the 

 reception of the former species. Subsequently, however, 

 the new name was withdrawn, and Forbes expressed his 

 conviction that the Chatham Island and Mauritius birds are 

 not generically distinct, and must, therefore, both be referred 

 to Aphanapteryx. This opinion he defends in a short paper 

 (34), illustrated by figures of the humerus, sternum, and 

 premaxillse of the two forms. 



In a paper by the present writer (35), on the osteology 

 of the Chatham Island bird, a number of differences between 

 it and Aphanapteryx broecki are pointed out ; and some of 

 them, as, for example, the great dissimilarity between the 

 metatarsi, are clearly of generic value, so that the name 

 Diaphorapteryx was again adopted. 



