94 THE LESSON OF EVOLUTION 



titles of Moa-bones have been obtained for the 

 Museum at Christchurch , N. Z. There is Glenmark 

 in north Canterbury ; Kapua in south Canterbury ; 

 and Enfield in north Otago. The distance from 

 Glenmark to Enfield is about 170 miles. The 

 .geological evidence shews that the Enfield deposit is 

 the youngest of the three, as the bones were found 

 in a peat-bog close to the surface ; while the fact 

 that the two different species of Syornis are less 

 differentiated from each other at Glenmark than 

 ihey are at Kapua, is good palaeontological evidence 

 that Glenmark is older than Kapua. 



I cannot give here the measurements of all the 

 species, but select the length of the leg in Syornis 

 casuarinus , as this was the most abundant species ; 

 and consequently gives the most trustworthy 

 results. 20 



An inspection of these tables will shew that at 

 Glenmark the majority of the metatarsi had a 

 length of eight inches, and that there were con- 

 siderably more positive than negative variations. 

 This may be taken as definite and pointing to a 

 future increase in the length of the bone. And we 

 see that this actually took place ; for at Kapua one 

 half of the metatarsi are eight and a half inches in 

 length, but the majority of the variations are now 

 negative. Still this seems to have had but little 

 effect, for the metatarsus is about the same size at 

 Enfield as it was at Kapua, and shews indefinite 

 variation. 



M See Trans. N. Z. Institute, Vols. 28 and 29. 



