149 



PALAEOLIMNAS FORBES. 



DIFFERS from Fulica by the much more curved shape of the skull, the 

 deeply marked glandular impressions over the eyes, and the great 

 pneumaticity of the frontal bones. 



PALAEOLIMNAS CHATHAMENSIS (FORBES). 



Fulica chathamensis H. O. Forbes, Nature, vol. XLVI p. 252 (1892). 

 Ftilica newtoni H. O. Forbes, I.e. (non Milne-Edwards). 

 Palaeolimnas newtoni H. O. Forbes, Ibis 1893, P« 544* 



Palaeolimnas chathamensis Milne Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (VIII) 2, 1896 p. 130. 



DR. FORBES says in Nature " I procured from the same beds which 

 contained Aphanapteryx a certain number of bones, of a Fulica 

 which much resemble those of Fulica newtoni ; like the bones of 

 ApJianapteryx (should be Diaphorapteryx, w.r.) they vary much in size, some 

 being equal to, while others were considerably larger than similar bones of 

 Fulica newtoni. This variation is so great that I am inclined to consider 

 them as belonging to different species, or at least different races. I have 

 given the name Fulica chathamensis " to the larger species. 



Later, in the Ibis, Dr. Forbes says, " The limb-bones and pelvis 

 correspond so closely to those of F. newtoni that I am not able to separate 

 them. The head of the type is, however, unknown." 



Professor Milne-Edwards, however, points out numerous differences. 

 In the humerus the sub-trochanterial groove is bigger, and particularly wider 

 than in typical Fulica. The iliac grooves are larger than in Fulica newtoni, 

 the pelvic knob is more extended, and the sciatic foramen is larger. The 

 first sacral vertebrae are stunted below the median sinus, while in the 

 Mauritius species one observes a very stout one, occupying the four first 

 vertebrae of the pelvis. The feet were also larger and stronger than in the 

 latter. 



Habitat: Chatham Islands. 



An almost complete skeleton and numerous bones in the Tring 

 Museum, and an almost complete skeleton in the British Museum. 



