The Giant Bird Diatryma 



195 



a few more pieces of the foot-bones of Diatryma of an apparently larger species 

 than the southern one. This Dr. Shufeldt has called Diatryma ajax. Last 

 summer, however, Mr. William Stein, one of the American Museum's trained 

 fossil collectors, while searching a small and hitherto unexplored section of the 

 fossil beds or 'badlands' of the Bighorn Basin in northwestern Wyoming came 

 upon this magnificent new specimen which represents a third species and which 

 has been named in honor of its discoverer, Diatryma steini. 



The bones were found somewhat disorganized and were inbedded in a layer 

 of soft bluish shale. Parts of both legs had been weathered out for some years 

 and were lying on the surface, and it was the sight of these which led to the 

 discovery. 



Because of the remarkable completeness 

 of this new specimen we are able to recon- 

 struct the skeleton of Diatryma with a fair 

 degree of accuracy — even to make a life 

 restoration of the bird. All important parts 

 of the skeleton, with the exception of the 

 sternum, are present, and when the bones 

 are articulated we have a bird standing 







RECONSTRUCTED SKELETON OF DIATRYMA STEINI. X yy 

 (Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History) 



