192 Walter Rothschild : 



eruptions, destruction of food, and apparently the exhaus- 

 tion of the protoplasmic constituents of the creatures 

 themselves. The latter circumstance, as a factor in the 

 extinction of species, is certainly the most interesting, as it 

 raises an almost unlimited number of questions for dis- 

 cussion, and opens up a very wide field for research. 



Starting with the birds only known from bones, etc., I 

 will take the Ratitae first, as they have awakened the most 

 widespread interest. The two families JDinornithidae and 

 Aepyornitli idae included the largest known of birds, both fossil 

 and recent. They were inhabitants of New Zealand and 

 Madagascar respectively. 



According to the traditions of the Maoris, when they 

 arrived in New Zealand, some 600 years ago, the islands were 

 covered with these huge struthious birds, which varied in 

 size from that of a bustard to the enormous Dinornis 

 maxim.us, which was over 12 feet in height. According to 

 Maori traditions (which are very correct in most things, 

 though scanty in amount) they used to kill very few in a 

 direct manner, as the hunting' of Moas, as these birds were 

 called, was uninteresting owing to their sluggish, slow habits, 

 but they killed them wholesale by setting fire to the scrub 

 and grass, and then collecting the ready roasted meat. This 

 is proved by finding remains of hundreds of Moas which have 

 perished in the swamps, evidently fleeing from bush fires, 

 as some of the bones show traces of fire. Of the Moas the 

 following 30 species, divided by recent authors into 8 genera, 

 are described : I. Dinornis with 7 species ; maximus, the 

 largest, 12 feet high, Glenmark Swamp, South Island; 

 robustus, one of the commoner forms of which a fine almost 

 complete skeleton is exhibited, South Island; novaezealandiae, 

 a form which has received a number of names, giganteus, 

 validuS; etc., and is very rare, Grlenniark ; poteus, east side of 

 South Island ; excelsus, Te Aute ; torosus, northern part of 

 South Island; and struthioides, a species common to both 

 islands. II. Anomalopteryx, 2 species ; didiformis from 

 both islands, and parva from the South Island. This 

 is the smallest of the Moas, with the exception of 

 Pseudapteryx gracilis and Mesopteryx curtus. Mesojderyx, 

 7 sj^ecies ; antiquus, geranoides, and curtus, from the 



