256 On the Question — Is there Identity between the 



has not been observed elsewhere. The race is now, there- 

 fore, extinct, as appears to be the case with that of the gi- 

 gantic horned stag. 



Yet this ruminant was represented in the pictures of an- 

 cient Rome, and, according to the writers of antiquity, it 

 was sent from England on account of the delicacy and excel- 

 lence of its flesh. The same animal was known to Oppian, 

 Jonston, Aldrovandus, and Munster, who appear to have 

 seen it alive ; the latter even pretends that he ate of it, which 

 would prove that the species was not extinct in 1550. 



The bone of a gigantic stag, presenting a callosity pro- 

 duced by a pointed and cutting instrument, and found by Mr 

 Hart in the Vale of Arno in Italy, confirms the report of 

 these writers, or, at least, demonstrates that the destruc- 

 tion of this animal has taken place posterior to historical 

 times. 



The Dinornes are likewise birds of which we know no re- 

 presentatives now living. They belong, however, to our 

 epoch, for their nests have been discovered on the coasts of 

 New Holland. These nests are as remarkable for their di- 

 mensions as the birds which construct them. These animals 

 evidently belong to the existing period, for the natives of 

 New Zealand have preserved the recollection of them, and 

 name them Moa. 



It is even possible that the ancients may have represented 

 the Dinornes on their monuments, and that these birds are 

 no other than the gigantic cranes mentioned in the legends 

 of eastern nations. M. Bonomi saw, upon the tomb of an 

 officer of Pharaoh belonging to the fourth dynasty, a bas-re- 

 lief on which birds of this kind were represented, the di- 

 mensions of which were very large.* 



No doubt the disappearance of those species which lived 

 not long since, may appear at first sight very extraordinary, 

 but it is easily explained when we attend to the organization 

 of these animals. Thus the Dodo, for example, which was 

 formed neither for running nor flight, could not escape from 

 our pursuit. The size of the gigantic stag prevented it, in 



* See Bibl. Univ., 1845, vol. Iviii,, p. 395. 



