HuTTON. — Ou the Moas of New Zealand. 139 



Euryapteryx pygmsBus. 



Type 



Height. 



Metatarsus : Breadth at proximal end, 2-65in. ; at middle 

 of shaft, 1 -55111. ; at distal end, 3-4in. ; antero-posterior thick- 

 ness of shaft, 0'9in. 



Distribution. — This species is founded on a pair of meta- 

 tarsi in the Nelson Museum from Takaka. With them I have 

 a.ssociated a tibia and a femur from Otago, which were ex- 

 hibited at the Dunedin Exhibition in 1865, the measurements 

 of which are given by Sir James Hector in Proc. Zool. Soc, 

 1865. It appears to have been a very rare species. 



History of the Moas. 



The history of the moas presents several interesting 

 problems not yet completely solved, prominent among which 

 are their origin, their advent in New Zealand, their develop- 

 ment, and the date of then- extinction. 



Origin of the Moas. 



The moas belong to that group of birds called "Eatitse" 

 by Merrem (1813), to which also belong the ostrich, the 

 rhea, the emu, the cassowary, and the kiwi. All of these 

 have small, or even rudimentary, wings, and loosely-arranged 

 feathers ; while all but the kiwi are birds of large size. 

 Whether the Eatitaj — or struthious birds — form an offshoot 

 from the CarinataB — or flying birds^or whether the Carinatge 

 are descended from the Eatitae, is a question which has been 

 much discussed. But the writings of Professor T. J. Parker 

 on Notoruis and on Aj^teryx-'- have, I think, conclusively 

 settled it in favour of the first view. Indeed, the structure of 

 the rudimentary wings, and the cellular texture of some of the 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xiv., p. 254; N.Z. Journal of Science, 

 1891, pp. Sand 66; Phil. Trans., vol. clxxxii., p. 25. 



