THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 115 



that two of these birds lived to 1822, when one was mounted 

 entire and placed in the ornithological galleries of the ' Museum ;' 

 the other was prepared as a skeleton and placed in the com- 

 parative anatomy collections. No mention is made of the 

 ultimate fate of the third specimen. 



" Peron was unaware that the emu he had found on the 

 Kangaroo Island was peculiar and specifically quite distinct from 

 the New Holland bird ; this was found out much later, and too 

 late; for after Peron and his colleagues no naturalist evermore 

 set eyes on. the pigmy emu of Kangaroo Island in its wild 

 condition ! It appears that when South Australia was first 

 colonized, a settler squatted on Kangaroo Island and systematic- 

 ally exterminated the small emu and the kangaroos. When the 

 interesting fact was ascertained that Peron's emu was a very 

 distinct species quite peculiar to Kangaroo Island and found 

 nowhere else, Dromaius ater had ceased to exist ; and the only 

 known specimens preserved in any museum were the two men- 

 tioned above, in Paris. 



" For some years past my attention had been drawn to a small 

 skeleton of a Ratitse in the old didactic collection of the 

 R. Zoological Museum under my direction ; it was labelled 

 ' Casoario,' but was in many ways different from a cassowary ; 

 but other work kept me from the proposed closer investigation, 

 and it was only quite recently, during a visit of the Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild, on his telling me that he was working out the casso- 

 waries, that I remembered the enigmatical skeleton. A better 

 inspection showed us that it is, without the least doubt, a 

 specimen of the lost Dromaius ater. I afterwards ascertained 

 that it had been first catalogued in this museum in 1833 ; that 

 most of the bones bore written on them in a bold round hand, 

 very characteristic of the first quarter of the nineteenth century, 

 the words ' Casoar male ; ' and lastly, that during the latter part 

 of Cuvier's life, about 1825-30, an exchange of specimens had 

 taken place between the Paris and Florence Museums. I have 

 thus very little doubt that our specimen is the missing third one 

 brought alive to Paris by Peron in 1804-5. 



" This highly interesting ornithological relic is now on loan at 

 the Tring Museum, and can be seen there by any ornithologist in 

 England who may wish to examine it. I intend shortly to give a 

 fuller notice of this valuable specimen. 



" Henry H. Giglioli. 



"R. Zoological Museum, Florence, 15th May." 



Tasmanian Emu. — It would be interesting to know if any 

 specimens of the extinct Tasmanian Emu exist in museums. 



