ORDER RATIT^i. 1225 



terminal mass, there being at the same time clear indications that the 

 tail was capable of an up and down movement in a vertical plane, thus 

 probably fitting it to serve as a swimming-paddle or rudder. The ver- 

 tebrae of the cervical and dorsal regions are of the ordinary ornithic type. 

 The legs were powerfully constructed, and the feet were adapted to assist 

 the bird in rapid motion through the water. The known remains of the 

 typical Hesperornis regalis (fig. 1 1 13) prove it to have been of larger 

 dimensions than any of the aquatic members of the class with which 

 we are acquainted at the present day. It appears to have stood between 

 five and six feet high, and its inability to fly is fully compensated for 

 by the numerous adaptations of its structure to a watery life. Its teeth 

 prove it to have been carnivorous in its habits, and it probably lived 

 upon fishes. A second species of this genus occurs in the same deposits, 

 and is known as Hesperornis crassipes ; but it was originally regarded as 

 belonging to a distinct genus, and named Lestomis. 



Toothless Series. — This series, which includes the whole of the 

 remaining forms, is characterised by the absence of teeth. 



Suborder 2. ^pyornithes. — This suborder is represented by a 

 single family, the sEpyornithidce, of the Pleistocene of Madagascar. 

 The one known genus, s&pyornis, is characterised by the shortness 

 of the beak ; the small wings ; the absence of a tibial bridge over 

 the extensor tendons ; and the presence of a hallux in the pes. 

 The typical ^s. maximus appears to have attained dimensions 

 rivalling those of the largest species of Dinornis (to be shortly 

 mentioned) ; and eggs have been found in association with the 

 bones measuring fourteen inches in diameter, and computed to be 

 equal in capacity to three eggs of the Ostrich. At least two 

 smaller species of the same genus occur in the Madagascar 

 Pleistocene. 



Suborder 3. Apteryges. — The members of the second suborder 

 of this series are confined to New Zealand, and may all be included 

 in the family Apterygidce, which is now represented by the Kiwis 

 or Apteryx (fig. 1 1 1 4). They are distinguished from all other ex- 

 isting members of the order by their extremely long and slender 

 beak, which is adapted for probing the soft marshy ground which 

 they frequent in search of worms and other food. Omitting mention 

 of the peculiar cranial and sacral characters, it may be observed that 

 the wing has a comparatively short humerus, and not more than 

 one ungual phalangeal. The tibia is furnished with a bony bridge 

 over the extensor tendons ; and there is a hallux to the pes. The 

 feathers have no aftershafts. The Kiwis are essentially nocturnal 

 in their habits. Remains of the existing species of Apteryx are 

 found fossil in the Recent and Pleistocene deposits of New Zealand ; 

 while some much larger bones from the same deposits have been 

 described by the late Sir Julius von Haast under the name of 

 Megalapteryx, which appears to have been a giant form closely 

 allied to the existing genus. 



