300 Hon. W. Rothschild on Apteryx Ilaastli. 



In addition to these I have notice of some A. Ilaasf ii stnt 

 to me lately by n man named Danneford, which also came 

 from the Nortli Island. Moreover, Professor Reichenow 

 exhibited before the German Ornitliological Society a speci- 

 men of A. Haastii from the North Island. 



Mr. Forbes has stated further, in sup))ort of his theory, 

 that the caecum of A. Haastii, being different in the two 

 sexes, was rather a sign of hybridity than otherwise. Unfor- 

 tunately he has read my notes quite wrongly. I said : — 

 "Another distinctive character will be found in the caecum, 

 which seems to differ not only in the two sexes, but also in 

 all the various species of the genus." By this I meant to 

 say that a further difference lay in the distinction of the 

 Cfficura in each species, not in the sexes, for, as I have 

 proved, the male and female cgeca are distinct in each 

 species. Professor Owen was the first to describe this strange 

 difference in his article on the anatomy of Apteryx australis, 

 in the ' Transactions of the Zoological Society.' As regards 

 my argument upon the size of the beak of A. Haastii, I 

 never mentioned the subject of length ; I can only say that 

 as to length I have several A. Mantellii with longer beaks; 

 but what I said was that, " though not so long as that of 

 A. maximus, it is very much stouter even than that of the 

 recently discovered extinct species." This is a fact, as my 

 largest female A. Haastii has a beak nearly if not quite 

 twice as large in circumference at the base as any known 

 Apteryx. 



Finally, I must reiterate the fact that not only have I found 

 the caeca of Apteryges differ in the two sexes, but also most 

 of the Struthionidai present this difference ; and I have to 

 point out that the caecum of the Emu {Dromceus) is about 

 3 inches long, while that of the much smaller Rhea americana 

 is nearly 7 feet long, and Apteryx Mantellii has a caecum 

 9 inches long, while in A. maximus it is barely 4 inches 

 long*. 



Walter Rothschild. 



* If, however, it should be proved, which I for one very much doubt, 

 that the two specimens of A. Haastii described by Potts are hybrids, 

 both South-Island, North-Island, and Stewart's-Island specimens of large 

 grey Apteryx will have to be described as new species ; for I know they 

 come from districts where no A. Oivenii have ever been found, and are 

 totally unlike anything which could be produced by crossing. 



