Mantell on Fossil Remains from New Zealand. 37 



Apteryx, a peculiarity denoting a remarkable development of the 

 organs of smell. 



Of this genus there are imperfect crania, mandibles, vertebra?, 

 bones of the extremities, &c. 



3. Aptomis. — Among the bones of small size, those for exam- 

 ple that are comparable in magnitude to the skeletons of the Bus- 

 tard and Apteryx, there are several tarso-metatarsals, femora, 

 tibia, pelves, &c, which indicate a new tetradactyie genus, very 

 closely allied to the living struthious bird of New Zealand, the 

 Apteryx. Some of these bones are referable to the D. otidifor- 

 wis, or Bustard-like Moa, of Professor Owen's second memoir: I 

 believe the name of Aptornis will be assigned to this genus. 



The other birds' bones belong to genera and species of which 

 there are still living forms in New Zealand and Australia. 



4. Notornis. — This genus is established bv Professor Owen 

 irom the skulls, and upper and lower mandibles, vertebrae and 

 bones of the extremities, of birds belonging to the Rallidce or 

 ttails; and closely allied to the living Brachypterix, a species of 



Water 



The mandibles 



are sharp like those of the Raven, but are more compressed lat- 

 erally; the cranium presents some interesting anatomical charac- 

 ters. The original was of the size of a bustard. 



& Nestor. — The collection contains two upper mandibles of a 

 species of Nestor, a genus of nocturnal owl-like parrots, of which 

 only two living species are known. One of these (Nestor hypo- 



(N. 



\fr 



and, which is not more than five miles 



in extent; and Mr. Gould remarks that "so exclusively is the 

 Nestor product us confined to this isolated spot, that many persons 

 who have resided in Norfolk Island for many years have assured 

 toe that its occurrence there is unknown, although the distance 

 irom one island to the other is not more than three or four 



miles.' 5 * 



Such is the brief account of the birds' bones that have been 

 a ecurately examined by Professor Owen ; but it is probable, when 

 me vertebra and other specimens that have as yet been only 

 cursorily inspected are carefully compared with recent skeletons, 

 ol ner species and genera will be detected. Some of the vertebrae 

 a Ppear to belong to the existing species of Apteryx, A. australis. 



*? %-shells. — The fragments of egg-shells imbedded in the 

 °ssiferous deposits had escaped the notice of all previous observ- 

 es, which is not surprising, for they are of small size and of very 

 rare occurrence. My son, in all his wanderings, only procured 

 between thirty and forty pieces. As these precious relics will 

 shortly be described by Professor Owen, I will only mention that 



• Mr. Gould's Birds of Australia. 



