567

third greater than that of the largest Emeu's
with which I have compared it. The bones of the extremities
of the great Testudo Elephantopus are solid throughout.
Those of the Crocodile bone, no cancellous, shrunken
like the present bone. The cancellous texture of
mammiferous bones, again, is of a much finer
& more fibrous character than in the fossil.

Although I speak of the bone much, this ........,
it must be observed that it does not present the
character of a true fossil, being by no means
completely mineralized, it has probably been
on or in the ground for some time, but still
retains much of its animal matter.
The discovery of the relic of a larger struthious
bird in New Zeland is one of peculiar interest on
account of the remarkable character of the ex......
farma* of that I found, which still includes one of
the most extraordinary and anomalous* genera,
of the Struthious order; & because of the close
analogy which the event indicated by the present
relic offers to the extinction of the Dodo of the
islands of the Mauritious & Rodriguez. So far
as a judgement can be formed from a single
fragment, it seems probable that this bird to
which the above described bone belonged, presented
proportions more nearly resembling those of
the Dodo than of any of the existing Struthionidae.
In the partially explored state of the islands
of New Zealand it would be premature to
pronounce the large Struthious bird thus in-
dicated to be extinct. The present notice it is
hoped, may tend to accelerate its discovery,
if it be still in being, or may stimulate to the
collection of the remaining parts of the skeleton ,
if the species no longer exists."