THE 
TASMANIAN JOURNAL 
OF 
NATURAL SCIENCE. 
if. 
t 
Art. I. An Account of sonic enormous Fossil Bones , of 
an unknown Species of the Class Atiies, lately discovered 
in New Zealand . By W. Colenso, Esq. 
During the summer of 1838, I accompanied the Rev. 
W. Williams on a visit to the tribes inhabiting the East 
Cape District. Whilst at Waiapu, (a thickly inhabited 
locality about 20 miles S.W. from the East Cape) I 
heard from the natives of a certain monstrous animal; 
while some said it was a bird, and others “a per¬ 
son,” all agreed that it was called a Moa\ —that in 
general appearance it somewhat resembled an immense 
domestic cock, with the difference, however, of its having 
a “ face like a man —that it dwelt in a cavern in the 
precipitous side of a mountain; — that it lived on air;— 
and that it was attended, or guarded, by two immense 
Tnataras* , who, Argus-like, kept incessant watch while 
* The Tuatara is an animal belonging to Class Jleptilia , Order 
VOL. II. NO. VII. G 
