Canterbury and Westland. 417 



considerable time past, but the estuary had also since then been formed, 

 or perhaps more correctly stated, the sands had gained so much upon 

 the sea shore, that the purely marine species had disappeared from the 

 neighbourhood of the cave, the estuary species taking their place. On 

 the top of these deposits, formed by an aboriginal population, beds of 

 minor thickness, the result of European occupancy together with dung 

 of goats, sheep, cattle and horses, had in many localities been accu- 

 mulated. 



In the lower, or Moa-hunters' beds, were bones of the following 

 species : — Dinomis robustus, JPalapteryx crassus, Euryapteryx gravis, 

 Euryapteryx rlieides, Meionornis casitarinus, Meionornis didiformis, 

 Aptornis defossor, Aptornis otidiformis, of which those of JSLeionornis 

 didiformis and ~Euryapteryx rlieides were the most numerous, and 

 tracheal rings and portions of eggshells of Moas. Besides them remains 

 of the following Mammals were obtained : — Ziphioid whales, sea 

 leopard, Stenorliynchus leptonyx ; fur seal, Arctocephalus lobatus (?) and 

 cinereus ; small fur seal, Gypsophoca subtropicalis ; dog, Canis, sp. 

 Porpoise. 



Of birds still belonging to the Avifauna of New Zealand, the follow- 

 ing species were represented : — Graculus punctatus, spotted shag ; 

 Eudypiula undina, small blue penguin ; Anas superciliosa, grey duck ; 

 Graculus carbo, black shag ; Gracidus varius, pied shag ; Graculus 

 Irevirostris, white throated shag ; Ossifraga gigantea, nelly ; Apteryx 

 australis, large kiwi, Nestor meridionalis, kaka ; Stringops habroptilus, 

 kakapo, and some other undetermined species. The Kiwi and Kakapo 

 are long extinct in the Peninsula, and now only found on the western 

 side of the Central Chain in this part of the South Island. There 

 were also a few bones of Oligorus gigas, hapuku. 



The upper or shell beds were principally made up of Mytilus smarag- 

 dinus, mussel ; Cliione stucliburyi, cockle; Mesodesma cJiemnitzii, pipi; 

 Amphibola avellana, periwinkle; Mesodesma cuneata ; all four numerous ; 

 Lutraria deshayesii, kokotu, about thirty of them lying very close to- 

 gether on the dirt-bed, of Mactra discors. Voluta pacijica, Turbo 

 smaragdinus, Unio aucJclandicus, and Saliotis iris, a few of each. 

 Besides them, most of the mammals and birds already enumerated 

 as occuring in the lower beds, were also represented, except of course 

 the extinct DinomitJiidce ■. 



Close to the cave, numerous kitchen middens, both of the Moa- 

 hunters and Shellfish-eaters are situated. When speaking of the 



