Page:Rothschild Extinct Birds.djvu/240

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206



CELA OWENI(HAAST).

Dinornis oweni Haast, Trans. Zool. Soc. XII, p. 171, pl. XXXI, XXXII (1886).
Cela curtus Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., XXIV, p. 127 (1892), portion.

Dr. von Haast (Sir Julius von Haast) took as his type of Dinornis oweni the almost complete skeleton collected by Mr. Cheeseman in a cave at Patana, Whangarei, and now in the Auckland Museum. While referring my readers to the original diagnosis for the specific characters, I wish to specially draw attention to the fact that Dr. von Haast says that in the collections he examined, made by Mr. Thorne and Mr. Cheeseman, there are bones belonging to at least 20 skeletons of his D. oweni, and that some were even smaller than the type, and the only difference was the constant average difference due to sex. I draw special notice to this, as Captain Hutton has united this form with curtus, saying Haast's type is only a small individual of that species. The fact of bones of at least 20 different individuals, showing the same characters and the same differences from curtus, is quite sufficient evidence for me to consider Dr. von Haast's D. oweni as a distinct species. I append measurements of the leg bones of the types of Cela curtus and C. oweni:—

Tarso-metatarsus. Tibio-tarsus. Femur.
Cela curtus 5.0 inches 11.25 inches 5.65 inches
Cela oweni 4.4 inc" 09.6 inc" 6.5 0inc"

Locality: Whangarei.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand.



CELA GERANOIDES(OWEN.)

Palapteryx geranoides Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 345 (1848).
Cela geranoides Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 126 (1892).

This species is confined to the North Island. The type came from Waingongoro. It is most commonly found in the South of the Island.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand.