Extinct Birds Part 36

Differs from _Fulica_ by the much more curved shape of the skull, the deeply marked glandular impressions over the eyes, and the great pneumaticity of the frontal bones.

PALAEOLIMNAS CHATHAMENSIS (FORBES).

_Fulica chathamensis_ H. O. Forbes, Nature, vol. XLVI p. 252 (1892).

_Fulica newtoni_ H. O. Forbes, l.c. (non Milne-Edwards).

_Palaeolimnas newtoni_ H. O. Forbes, Ibis 1893, p. 544.

_Palaeolimnas chathamensis_ Milne Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (VIII) 2, 1896 p. 130.

Dr. Forbes says in Nature "I procured from the same beds which contained _Aphanapteryx_ a certain number of bones of a _Fulica_ which much resemble those of _Fulica newtoni_; like the bones of _Aphanapteryx_ (should be _Diaphorapteryx_, W.R.) they vary much in size, some being equal to, while others were considerably larger than similar bones of _Fulica newtoni_.

This variation is so great that I am inclined to consider them as belonging to different species, or at least different races. I have given the name _Fulica chathamensis_" to the larger species.

Later, in the Ibis, Dr. Forbes says, "The limb-bones and pelvis correspond so closely to those of _F. newtoni_ that I am not able to separate them.

The head of the type is, however, unknown."

Professor Milne-Edwards, however, points out numerous differences. In the humerus the sub-trochanterial groove is bigger, and particularly wider than in typical _Fulica_. The iliac grooves are larger than in _Fulica newtoni_, the pelvic k.n.o.b is more extended, and the sciatic foramen is larger. The first sacral vertebrae are stunted below the median sinus, while in the Mauritius species one observes a very stout one, occupying the four first vertebrae of the pelvis. The feet were also larger and stronger than in the latter.

Habitat: Chatham Islands.

An almost complete skeleton and numerous bones in the Tring Museum, and an almost complete skeleton in the British Museum. {150}

PALAEOLIMNAS NEWTONI (MILNE-EDWARDS).

_Poules d'eau_ Sieur D.B., Voyages 1674.

_Fulica newtoni_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) VIII pp. 194-220, pls. 10-13 (1867).

The translation of the Sieur D.B.'s (Abbe Dubois) description is as follows:--"Waterhens which are as large as fowls. They are always black, and have a large white crest on the head." For the anatomical description I must refer my readers to Professor Milne-Edwards.

Habitat: Bourbon.

Milne-Edwards gives so many details in which _Fulica newtoni_ agrees with _Palaeolimnas chathamensis_ that I feel convinced that the former is not a true _Fulica_, and, until we know its skull and can decide for certain, I think it is best to include it in the genus _Palaeolimnas_. 16 tibiae, 30 metatarsi, 8 humeri, 2 sternums, 4 fragments and an entire pelvis and sacrum, and 3 cervical vertebrae in the Tring Museum.

PALAEOLIMNAS PRISCA (HAMILTON).

_Fulica prisca_ Hamilton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 98 (1893).

This bird was nearly as large as _Notornis_, but with a very small head and with a frontal s.h.i.+eld. It was probably a poor flier, though not flightless, as _Fulica chathamensis_ was. It was smaller than the latter. Measurements, according to Hamilton:--

_prisca_. _newtoni_. _chathamensis_.

Femur: Length 78-93 mm. -- 85 mm.

Tibio-tarsus: Length 143-162 " 144 mm. 152-163 "

Tarso-metatarsus: Length 81-98 " 88 " 96 "

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

{151}

LEGUATIA SCHLEGEL.

Body not larger than that of a goose; wings rather short but still fitted for flight; feathers of the legs reaching down almost to the top of the tarso-metatarsus; toes long and completely free, middle toe almost as long as tarso-metatarsus. Bill with a naked s.h.i.+eld reaching back beyond the eye.

Height about 6 feet.

LEGUATIA GIGANTEA SCHLEGEL.

(PLATE 31.)

_Le Geant_ Leguat, Voyages (1708), p. 171, English edition.

_Leguatia gigantea_ Schlegel, Versl. Med. Akad. Wetensch. Amst. VII, p.

142 (1858).

Leguat's description is as follows: "... and many of those birds called giants, because they are six feet high. They are extremely high mounted, and have very long necks. Their bodies are not bigger than that of a goose.

They are all white, except a little place under their wings, which is reddish. They have a goose's bill, only a little sharper; their claws are very long and divided." This bird was apparently confined to the island of Mauritius.

Professor Newton a.s.serts that Leguat's "Geants" were Flamingos, princ.i.p.ally because bones of Flamingos have been found in Mauritius and not a single bone has ever been got of the "geant." This argument is, in my opinion, insufficient, and no evidence at all. We know that a Didine bird and a gigantic rail existed on Reunion, but no bones are yet known of these. I think, like Professor Schlegel, that Leguat's figure and description cannot be meant for a Flamingo and that they prove the former existence of a gigantic ralline bird in Mauritius.

The figure is made up from Leguat's description. The bill is drawn like that of a gigantic moorhen, and so are the feet.

Habitat: Mauritius.

{153}

ALCA IMPENNIS L.

THE GREAT AUK.

(PLATE 38.)

_Penguin_ h.o.r.e, in Hakluyt's Coll. Voyages III p. 129 (Ed. 1600--ex h.o.r.e).

_Anser Magelanicus s. Pinguinus_ Worm, Museum Wormianum, Lib. III, Cap. 19, p. 300, 301 (1655--Figured from a specimen from the Faroe Islands).

_Penguin_ Willoughby, Orn. Lib. III p. 242 pl. 65 (1676).