Wellington Philosophical Society. 



655 



Sixth Meeting: 22nd August, 1894. 

 Mr. E. Tregear iu the chair. 

 New Members.— Dr. Teare and Mr. J. P. Campbell. 

 Papers.— I. "On a Eecent Discovery by Mr. Donne of 

 .Bones of Dmornis giganteus, on the Surface," by Sir James 

 Hector. 



Sir James Hector exhibited some moa-bones found by Mr T E 

 Donne in the Wairarapa district. The chief interest is from the position 



on 7^ C i h nST m°w ?T f\ D ° nne Sa ^ s that " wh en deer-s P talking 

 on the 10th April last he found the bones on the top of the Maungaraki 

 Range, seven miles eastward of Gladstone. They were lyin* on the 

 surface on the top of the mountain, and free from bash. Some were 

 exposed to the air but others were covered by a heavy growth of thistles. 

 None were covered by earth. They had evidently lain in the same posi 

 .on for a long time No traces of old native encampments wer? found 



ail III I";:? 1 Th ?*™l &te ^ dgbt and left * emora of Dinomi 

 Kfi \ ' • . right . tlbia and tar so-metatarsus of the same bird 

 SS 1S n , ot ' P resenfc > but the diagram sketched by Mr. Donne shows 

 that the tarsal bone has been rolled over without disturbing the relative 

 positions of the other bones. This observation is supported byan examinl! 



ha n t?l ltr at ^ red , Sm ' f r 6S ° f tb , e bODeS > and to*™ ca » ^ e little doubt 

 £% the T b ? nes hav f b fen ying und.sturbed on the surface since the bird 

 Sip , Thls ,. re l mai -. kab le discovery has suggested the comparison of the 

 JaSd S>W? mineralization of moa-bones has been effected, as com! 

 pared with the mineral contents of recent bones of struthious birds 



in^vht n h S H ater ', 7 hlC ,\ iS VariaWe aCCOrdiD S t0 the " ature of ^e material 

 in which the subfossil bones were imbedded, we have the following :— 



Recent. 

 Ostrich, femur 

 Emu, femur 



* • • • • . 



Subfossil. 

 Dinornis rheides, Tirnaru Cave 

 Dinornis pondcrosus, Maniototo (dry swamp) 

 Dinornis validus, Glenmark 

 Dinornis struthioides, Glenmark . .' 

 Dinornis giganteus, Wairarapa (surface) 

 Dinornis potens, Shelter Rock, Clyde 

 Dinornis casuarinus, Highfield Cave 

 Dinornis didiformis, in pumice-sand 

 Cnemiornis didiformis, Highfield Cave 

 Dinornis didiformis 

 Dinornis struthioides 



Organic. 



Inorganic. 



34-86 



3667 



35-65 

 25-31 

 29-95 

 24-18 

 24-10 

 18-25 

 14-70 

 14-40 

 14-70 

 25-99 

 37-86 



60-14 

 63-33 



64-35 

 74-60 

 70-05 

 75-82 

 76-90 

 81-75 

 85-30 

 85-10 

 85-30 

 74-01 

 62-94 



Attention was drawn to the wonderful discoveries of bones on the 

 surface in South Australia. Under sand-dunes 30ft. in heiSfar 7n the 

 interior and round the margins of desiccated lakes, there isa 3ft depodt 

 of yellow and blue clay resting on sharp sand which is full of bones of 

 extinct animals. The deposit is fifty miles long by five to ten miles wide 

 but similar deposits have now been found in other part of AustmHa 

 Most of the bones belong to extinct forms of marsupial Mammalia out 



