1850.] MANTELL ON THE GEOLOGY OF NEW ZEALAND. 339 



estimated at 16 inches, and the width of its imprint at 17 or 18 

 inches. 



According to the scale of proportions given by Professor Owen in 

 the Zoological Transactions, the corresponding tibia of the tarso-meta- 

 tarsal above described would be about 2 feet 9 inches, and the femur 

 ] 4^ inches in length ; the total height of the li^dng bird about 10 feet. 

 The larger tibiae and metatarsals must have belonged to a bird yet more 

 gigantic ; and there is reason to conclude that some individuals attained 

 a height of 1 1 or 12 feet, or one-third higher than the tallest Ostrich. 

 I may add, that the height of some of the other species has been 

 estimated by Professor Owen as follow : — 



Falapteryx ingens, 9 feet. 



Binornis struthioides, 7 feet ; the height of an Ostrich of moderate 



size. 



dromioideSf 5 feet, or that of the Emu. 



didiformis, 4 feet, or intermediate between the Cassowary and 



the Dodo. 



The largest Ornithichnite or fossil footmark in the sandstone of 

 Connecticut, would be surpassed in size by the imprint of the foot of 

 the most colossal Dinornis. 



Phalangeal bones. — Among the numerous phalangeal bones belong- 

 ing to birds of various species and ages, there are a few which do not 

 present the characters of the Dinornis, but evidently belong to other 

 genera. Among these are several which are relatively flatter and 

 shorter, and somewhat resemble those of the Emu ; and there are 

 a few middle proximals in which the trochlear articulation is as un- 

 equally divided as in the Ostrich, suggesting the idea that didactyle 

 or two-toed struthious birds may have inhabited New Zealand, con- 

 temporaneously with the colossal tridactyle Moa, and tetradactyle 

 Apteryx and Palapteryx. 



Egg-shells. — Of the egg-shell of the Moa, a few small portions, and 

 one fragment 4 inches long and 2 wide, from Waingongoro, are the 

 only additional examples. The sculp turings on the outer surface of 

 the shells are of three distinct types, and unlike any recent eggs with 

 which I have been able to compare them ; they approach nearest to 

 those of the Emu. Some burnt fragments of egg-shells, evidently 

 charred when recent, were found in the ancient fire-heaps mentioned 

 in my former paper, intermingled with roasted bones of dogs, Moas, 

 and men. This fact tends to confirm the opinion that the Dinornis 

 existed when cannibalism was practised by the aborigines of New 

 Zealand. 



The present collection has also established the interesting fact, that 

 the Ajiteryx australis, the only known existing type of the Struthio- 

 nidse of these islands, was coeval with the more gigantic species of 

 Dinornis and Palapteryx ; the bones in my possession leave no doubt 

 on that point. We have likewise evidence that the yellow-billed Al- 

 batros, and some species of Penguin, Water-rail, Teal, and Nestor, were 

 comprised in that ancient ornithic fauna. The only terrestrial qua- 



