164 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii. 



Palceotringa, allied to the sandpipers, and Telmatobius to the 

 rails, both Cretaceous ; with Graculavus, allied to Graculus ; 

 Laornis allied to the swans ; Hesperornis a gigantic diver ; and 

 Icthyornis a very low form, with biconcave vertebra, such as are 

 only found in fishes and some reptiles — also from Cretaceous 

 deposits. 



South America. — The caverns of Brazil produced thirty-four 

 species of birds, most of them referable to Brazilian genera, and 

 many to still existing species. The most interesting were two 

 species of American ostrich {Rhea), one larger than either of 

 the living species ; a large turkey-buzzard (Cathartcs) ; a new 

 species of the very isolated South American genus Opisthocomus ; 

 and a Cariama, or allied new genus. 



Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. — We have here only 

 evidence of birds that have become extinct in the historical 

 period or very little earlier. First we have a group of birds in- 

 capable of flight, allied to pigeons, but forming a separate family, 

 Dididm ; and which, so far as we yet know, inhabited Mauritius, 

 Eodriguez, and probably Bourbon. Aphanapteryx, an extinct 

 genus of rails, inhabited Mauritius ; and another genus, {Erythro- 

 machus), Rodriguez. A large parrot, said by Prof. Milne Edwards 

 to be allied to Ara and Microglossia, also inhabited Mauritius ; 

 and another allied to Eclectics, the island of Eodriguez. None 

 of these have been found in Madagascar ; but a gigantic Struthious 

 bird, JEpyomis, forming a peculiar family distinct both from 

 the ostriches of Africa and the Binornis of New Zealand 

 inhabited that island ; and there is reason to believe that 

 this may have lived less than 200 years ago. 



New Zealand. — A number of extinct Struthious birds, form- 

 ing two families, Binomithidce and Palapterygidas, have been 

 found in New Zealand. Some were of gigantic size. They seem 

 allied both to the living Aptcryx of New Zealand and the emu 

 of Australia. They are quite recent, and some of them have 

 probably lived within the last few centuries. Eemains of 

 Binornis have also been found in a Post-Pliocene deposit in 

 Queensland, N. E. Australia 1 — a very important discovery, as it 

 1 Trans. Zool. Soc. of London, vol. viii. p. 381. 



