Haast. — On the Measitrements of Dinornis Bones. 21 



Art. II. — On the Measurements o/ Dinornis Bones, obtained from JExeavations 

 in a Sioamp situated at GlenmarJc, on the Po^'operty of Messrs. Kermode 

 and Co., up to 15th February, 1868. By pJuliits Haast, Ph.D., E.E.S., 

 Grovernment Greologist, Canterbury, N.Z. 



\^Bead lefore the Wellington PJiilosopliical Society, 28^/^ July, 1868.] 



The locality in question, situate on the property of Messrs. Kermode 

 and Co., north of the river "Waipara, has long been celebrated for the great 

 number of Moa bones found there, and which have been dug out of drainage 

 channels cut in various directions through the swamp. The New Zealand 

 partner, G-. H. Moore, Esq., at my request, not only handed over all the 

 bones in his possession to the Canterbury Museum, but allowed me, more- 

 over, to make extensive excavations, the results of which exceeded my most 

 sanguine expectations. Last October, when sending a collection of Moa 

 bones to "W. H. Elower, Esq., E.E.S., the Conservator of the Hunterian 

 Museum, for exchange with the British Museum, I gave a list of the 

 measurements of the different species of Dinornis and Balapteryx for publi- 

 cation in England. Since then some more excavations have been undertaken 

 for the Provincial Grovernment of Canterbury ; and as I consider that the 

 exact measurements of the bones found will not be without interest to 

 scientific societies in New Zealand, I have the honour to forward a copy 

 of the list sent previously to England, after adding to it the results of the 

 latest excavations made since that time. Next winter I hope to embody the 

 results of my observations on Dinornis in a more extended paper, with a full 

 description of the ground in which the bones were embedded, the probable 

 causes through which the numerous specimens were destroyed, and to- which 

 they owe the preservation of their osseous remains. 



Before proceeding to the main subject of these notes, namely, to give the 

 measurements of the different species and their varieties, I wish to state that 

 it was on very few occasions only that I was able to obtain all the bones of 

 a specimen lying together in situ, as in general a great quantity of the 

 remains of different species were mixed together. In fact, as I shall show 

 in some future notes, there were often twenty -five to thirty specimens so 

 closely embedded and packed together that the whole formed one mass, 

 rendering it impossible to separate the bones of each bird from the rest. 

 Consequently I was compelled, with the active co-operation of my assistant, 

 Mr. E. EuUer, to select, first, all. the bones belonging to the same species, 

 and afterwards to articulate each specimen from the whole material, a 

 work which required much time, as the quantity of excavated bones was so 

 great. 



