Our Ancient Fauna.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4045, 23 February 1892, Page 2

Our Ancient Fauna.

Mr H. 0, Forbes, the curator of the Christchurch Museum, writes to the Christchurch Press to place on record_ the hot of the identification of tho existence in past times in the zoological province of New Zealand of a most interesting bird. Among the bones and portions of bones from different caves and ewamps of the colony, on whose examination he has been occupied now for a considerable time, he was able i, short time ago to describe the several birds new to our ancient fauna. Among them was one fibia, indicating a large weka, which he named oct/dromus insignis. Among more recently obtained I 'bones are others of the same group, whose. nearest relative, however, is an extinct bird (known pply by a lower jaw and a few tjth'er bpries) which once inhabited the African island of Mauritius,' avid known by'tbi name of apfiampfiryx, The genus aphanapter.yx is founded on so little material, that it may happen, if ever more complete remains of it. should be discovered,' that the bones now found may differ somewhat from those pf the type apkawpteryy; but the relationship is sufficiently ploso to warrant the allocating ot the bones under diepsjon tp that ggnus for the present. Nothing can, however, affect the fact of the close j.aflinity between thgrn, pr detract from the interest of the discovery from the poiul n - W v °f e geographical dis-'; tribulion of life in fli? hemisphere, or from its importance as a lint in the chain of evidence bearing on that most interesting and still unspj|)ed question a.s to what was in'bygpnr ageg ftp configuration of the lands WW coveted beneath the Southern Seas.