The geographical distribution of animals, with a study of the relations ...

;164 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.Palceotringa, allied to the sandpipers, and Telmatobms to therails, both Cretaceous ;with Graculavus, allied to GraculusLaornis allied to the swans ; Hcspcrornis a gigantic diver ; andIcthyornis a very low form, with biconcave vertebra,such as areonly found in fishes and some reptiles—also from Cretaceousdeposits.South America.—The caverns of Brazil produced thirty-fourspecies of birds, most of them referable to Brazilian genera, andmany to still existing species. The most interesting were twospecies of American ostrich {Rhea), one larger than either ofthe living species ; a large turkey-buzzard (Cathartes) ; a newspecies of the very isolated South American genus Opisthocomus ;and a Cariama, or allied new genus. *Madagascar and theMascarene Islands.—We have here onlyevidence of birds that have become extinct in the historicalperiod or very little earlier.First we have a group of birds incapableof flight, allied to pigeons, but forming a separate family,Dididoz ;and which, so far as we yet know, inhabited Mauritius,Eodriguez, and probably Bourbon. Aphanapteryx, an extinctgenus of rails, inhabited Mauritius ; and another genus, {Erythromachus),Rodriguez. A large parrot, said by Prof. Milne Edwardsto be allied to Ara and Microglossia, also inhabited Mauritiusand another allied to Eclectus, the island of Rodriguez. Noneof these have been found in Madagascar ;but a gigantic Struthiousbird, JEpyomis, forming a peculiar family distinct both fromthe ostriches of Africa and the Dinornis of New Zealandinhabited that island ; and there is reason to believe thatthis may have lived less than 200 years ago.New Zealand,—A number of extinct Struthious birds, formingtwo families, Dinomithidce and Palapterygidoe, have beenfound in New Zealand. Some were of gigantic size. They seemallied both to the living Apteryx of New Zealand and the emuof Australia. They are quite recent, and some of them haveprobably lived within the last few centuries. Remains ofDinornis have also been found in a Post-Pliocene deposit inQueensland, N. E. Australia x—a very important discovery, asit1Trans. Zool. Soc. of London, vol. viii. p. 381.