Part 48 (1/2)

CELA REICHENBACH.

Skull convex, the temporal fossae very large. Breadth at the squamosals 1.6-1.7 times the height at the basi-temporal. Length from the supra-occipital to the nasals rather less than the breadth at the squamosals. Occipital condyle hidden by the supra-occipital. Ridge between temporal fossae and supra-occipital narrow. Beak short, slightly compressed and rounded at the tip, though more pointed than in _Anomalopteryx_. Lower mandible nearly straight and rather slighter than in _Anomalopteryx_, V-shaped. Sternum with coracoid pits faintly indicated or absent; length less than breadth. Costal processes well developed, lateral processes diverging at different angles.

Pelvis broader in proportion than in _Dinornis_, the acetabula set more forward. Tarso-metatarsus shorter than the femur, and less than half the length of the tibio-tarsus. Hallux present in some species. The smallest species of Moa is _Cela curtus_.

Type of the genus: _Cela curtus_.

Number of species: 5.

CELA CURTUS (OWEN.)

_Dinornis curtus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 325 (1846).

_Cela curtus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vog. p. 30 (1850).

_Cela curta_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIX, p. 550, pl. XLVII, Fig. B.

This and the following are the two smallest species of _Moa_, having been about the size of a large turkey. It also is the most abundant species at Whangarei, and appears to have been most common in the North of the Island.

The type is from Poverty Bay.

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. {206}

CELA OWENI (HAAST).

_Dinornis oweni_ Haast, Trans. Zool. Soc. XII, p. 171, pl. x.x.xI, x.x.xII (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 s.e.x. 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 ”

9.6 ”

6.5 ”