150 



PALAEOLIMNAS NEWTONI 



(MILNE-EDWARDS). 



Poules d'eau Sieur D.B., Voyages 1674. 



Fulica newtoni Milne -Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) VIII pp. 194-220, pis. 10-13 ( l86 7). 



THE translation of the Sieur D.B.'s (Abbe Dubois) description is as 

 follows : — " Waterhens which are as large as fowls. They are always 

 black, and have a large white crest on the head." For the anatomical 

 description I must refer my readers to Professor Milne- Edwards. 

 Habitat : Bourbon. 



Milne- Edwards gives so many details in which Fulica newtoni agrees 

 with Palaeolimnas chathamensis that I feel convinced that the former is not 

 a true Ftdica, and, until we know its skull and can decide for certain, 

 I think it is best to include it in the genus Palaeolimnas. 16 tibiae, 

 30 metatarsi, 8 humeri, 2 sternums, 4 fragments and an entire pelvis and 

 sacrum, and 3 cervical vertebrae in the Tring Museum. 



PALAEOLIMNAS PRISCA (HAMILTON). 



Fulica prisca Hamilton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 98 (1893). 



THIS bird was nearly as large as Notornis, but with a very small head 



and with a frontal shield. It was probably a poor flier, though 



not flightless, as Fulica chathamensis was. It was smaller than 

 the latter. Measurements, according to Hamilton: — 



prisca. newtoni. chathamensis. 



Femur: Length 78 — 93 mm — .... 85 mm. 



Tibio-tarsus : Length .... 143—162 „ .... 144 mm. .... 152—163 „ 

 Tarso-metatarsus : Length 81—98 „ .... 88 „ .... 96 „ 



Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. 



