CURSORES. 



393 



of New Jersey. In the Eocene Rocks, the most important form 

 is the Niunenius gypsorum, which has been discovered in the 

 Gypseous series of Montmartre, and which is supposed to have 

 been allied to the Ibis. In the later Tertiary deposits occur 

 the remains of birds allied to, if not identical with, the living 

 Cranes ( Grits), Bustards ( Otis), Rails (Rallus), and Coots (Fulica). 

 ORDER III. CURSORES. The third order of Birds is that of 

 the Cursores, or Runners, comprising the Ostriches, Rheas, 

 Cassowaries, Emeus, and the singular Apteryx of New Zealand. 

 In many respects the Cursores are to be looked upon as an 

 artificial assemblage; but in the meanwhile it will be most 

 convenient to consider them as forming a distinct division. 

 The Cursores are characterised by the rudimentary condition 

 of the wings, which are so short as to be useless for flight, and 

 by the compensating length and strength of the legs. In ac- 

 cordance with this condition of the limbs, many of the bones 

 retain their marrow, and the sternum is destitute of the pro- 

 minent ridge or keel, to which the great pectoral muscles are 

 attached (hence the name of Ratita, applied by Huxley to the 



Fig. 332. Apteryx Australis. (Gould.) 



order). In the Ostrich, the pubic bones of the pelvis unite to 

 form a symphysis pubis as they do in no other bird, and in all 

 the pelvic arch possesses unusual strength and stability. The 



