XX 
INTRODUCTION. 
Yet another form, with a stature of about five feet, had to be discriminated, and this Owen 
named Dinornis dromioides, on account of its similarity in size to the Emu. 
Not content with this large addition to the hitherto known Struthious birds of the world from one 
small area of land, the learned Professor made a happy forecast of further discoveries yet in store, 
for he then wrote : — . . „ 
“ Already the heretofore recorded number of the Struthionidm is doubled by the six species of 
Dinornis determined or indicated in the foregoing pages; and both the Maori tradition of the 
destruction of the Moa by their ancestors and the history of the extirpation of the Dodo by the Dutc i 
navigators in the Isles of Maurice and Rodriguez, teach the inevitable lot of bulky birds unable to fly 
or swim, when exposed, by the dispersion of the human race, to the attacks of man. We may t ere- 
fore reasonably anticipate that other evidences await the researches of the naturalist, which will 
demonstrate a further extent of the Struthious order of Birds anterior to the commencement of the 
present active cause of their extinction. _ 
Among the most important contributors to the history of Dinornis at this early period were t le 
Rev. William Colenso, E.R.S., who not only collected specimens of the bones, but published a very 
interesting memoir on the subject in the ‘Tasmanian Journal ’ (vol. vii., 1843), and the Rev. Richard 
Tavlor, who, in 1844, wrote as follows: — 
“ Early in 1843 I removed from the Bay of Islands to Wanganui, and my first journey was along 
the coast of Waimate. As we were resting on the shore near the Waingongoro stream, I noticed the 
fragment of a bone which reminded me of the one I found at Waiapu. I took it up and asked my 
natives what it was. They replied ‘ a Moa’s bone ; what else 1 Look around and you will see 
plenty of them.’ I jumped up, and to my amazement I found the sandy plain covered with a number 
of little mounds entirely composed of Moa-bones ; it appeared to me to be a regular necropolis of the 
race. I was struck with wonder at the sight, but lost no time in selecting some of the most perfect 
of the bones. I had a box in which my supplies for the journey were carried ; this I emptied, and 
filled with the bones instead, to the amazement of my followers, who exclaimed ‘ What is he doing \ 
What can he possibly want with these old Moa-bones 1 ’ One suggested ‘ hei rongoa pea (to make 
medicine perhaps) ; to this the others consented, saying ‘ koia pea ’ (most likely).” 
Other stray collections continued to arrive from time to time, till at length Mr. Percy Earl, in 
1846, unearthed from the turbary deposits of Waikouaiti and sent to England a more extensive series 
of bones than any other collector had succeeded in bringing together. These collections all 
found their way, more or less directly, into Professor Owen’s hands, and he was thus enabled to 
rectify or confirm many of his former deductions. He was also enabled to add several new species. 
One of these was Dinornis casuarinus, nearly agreeing in size with D. dromioides, and combining the 
stature of the Cassowary with more robust proportions and especially more gallinaceous characters m 
the feet A mutilated femur of this bird he had previously regarded as belonging to a young indi- 
vidual of the last-named species, and when he afterwards corrected the error he pointed out that it 
was a mistake on the safe side, “ the caution which refrains from multiplying specific names on 
incomplete evidence being less likely to impede the true progress of zoological science than the oppo- 
site extreme.” The most abundant of the remains collected by Mr. Earl belonged to this species 
(D. casuarinus) ; but there were also in the collection bones of another very remarkable species, which 
was named Dinornis crassus, in allusion to the strength of its osseous frame. It was intermediate m 
size between Dinornis ingens and D. struthioides, and, with a stature equal to that of the Ostrich, the 
