DINOR'NIS (Gr. deinos, terrible or wonderful, and ornis, a bird), a genus of large birds of the tribe breripennes (q.v.), of *Melt no species is now known to exist, but of which the bones have been found in New Zealand, in the most recent deposits, in the sand of the sea-shore, in swamps, in the soil of forests, in river-beds, and In caves; and concerning which, along with other large birds nearly allied to them (palaptergx and aptornis), traditions are still current among the natives, rendering it probable that they continued to inhabitNew Zealand, if not to the 18th, at least to the 17th century. The name by which these birds are known in the traditions of New Zealand is moa. They are said to have been decked in gaudy plumage, for the sake of which they were objects of pursuit, as well as for their flesh, which was much esteemed. They are also described as having been stupid, fat, and indolent birds, incapable of flying, living in forests and mountain-fastnesses, and feeding on vegetable food. With all this, the inferences deduced from their bones by comparative anatomists perfectly agree. These bones are not properly fossil or mineralized, but retain great part of their anhnal matter. It is even thought not impossible that some of the smaller species of D. may yet be found alive; of the larger ones, this can no longer be hoped. And these much exceeded in size any existing bird, some of the bones being at least twice the size of those of the ostrich; but the body seems to have been more bulky in proportion, and to have more resembled that of the dodo, although the legs were long, and D. giganteui must have
stood at least ten feet and a half in height. The frame-work of the leg is the most massive of any in the class of birds, and the bones are remarkable for the solidity of their struct ure. The toe-bones of D. dephantopes almost rival those of the elephant.
The number of bones of D. which have been found is great; several species have been distinguished, and an almost complete restoration of skeleton has been effected. The first bone ever seen by a naturalist—a bong of the leg—was brought under the notice of prof. Owen in 1839; and it is worthy of being'bornc in mind, that from that one bone he assigned to the D. its true place in the system of nature, and pointed out some of the most important characters which are now most fully proved to have belonged to it.
DINOSAIrRIA (Gr. terrible or wonderful lizards), rm order of extinct lizards, which are found in the lias, oolite, and wealden, and disappear in the lower cretaceous beds. They were gigantic reptiles, with a structure approaching nearer to the mammalian type than any other of their class. Their bodies were supported, at a considerable height, on four strong limbs, and the sacrum was composed of five amalgamated vertebra; The principal genera are megalosaurus (q. v.), iguanodon (q.v.), and hylaosaurus (q.v.).