Width of cranium at paroccipital processes less than half the length of the basis cranii. Length of premaxilla less than two-and-a-half times that of the basis cranii. Body of the premaxilla pointed and slightly decurved; its length and breadth less than the basis cranii. The occipital plane slightly declined backwards. Occipital condyle projecting slightly beyond the paroccipital processes. Anterior and posterior lambdoidal ridges separated by a very narrow interval in their middle region only. Width at squamosals slightly more than double the length of the basis cranii. Mammillary tuberosities not very prominent. Margin of tympanic cavity evenly curved. Temporal fossae very large. The distance between the temporal ridges about four-fifths the width of the cranium at the fossae. The posterior temporal ridge confluent with the lambdoidal ridge. Post-temporal fossae very large. The inferior temporal ridge is strongly marked, and there is a pretympanic process. The zygomatic process is well developed. Rostrum dilated towards its anterior end, compressed and carinate beneath the large presphenoid fossae. Mandible very slender. Posterior angular process small. Sternum very convex, and with a very nearly straight anterior border between the tuberosities for the coracoscapular ligaments. Costal processes short but large, with distinct {196} coracoidal facets. The lateral processes are long and distally expanded. The sternum is just as wide as it is long. There are three costal articulations. The most notable character is the enormous length of the toes, the middle one being longer than the tarso-metatarsus. The ungual phalanges are peculiarly long, narrow and curved, instead of being comparatively short and broad, as in most other Moas. Type of the genus _Megalapteryx hectori_, Haast. Number of species 4. {197} MEGALAPTERYX HECTORI HAAST. _Megalapteryx hectori_ Haast, Trans. Zool. Soc. XII, p. 161 (1886); Lydekker, Cat. Fossil B. Brit. Mus., p. 252. This form was described by Sir Julius von Haast as a gigantic _Apteryx_. This error arose from the absence of the skull. There is, however, no doubt now, since the skulls of _Megalapteryx_ are known, that although sufficiently aberrant to form a distinct sub-family, the birds included in this genus are _Dinornithidae_ and not _Apterygidae_. Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. MEGALAPTERYX HAMILTONI SPEC. NOV. Lydekker, Cat. Fossil Birds in Brit. Mus., p. 252, under _M. tenuipes_ (1891). The type is a left femur, No. 32145 in the British Museum. It is smaller and relatively narrower than the femur, of either _M. hectori_ or _M. tenuipes_. This is most noticeable at the distal extremity. Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. (Type locality Waingongoro.) Named after Mr. A. Hamilton, who did so much in discovering deposits of extinct New Zealand birds. {198} MEGALAPTERYX TENUIPES LYD.