Feb. 1, 1SC6.] 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



■13 



GEOLOGY. 



The Dodo.— About last September, M. Gaston de 

 Bissy caused to be dug from a marsh on bis property, 

 known as "La Mare aux Songes,"in the Mauritius, 

 the alluvium contained in it, to use as manure. After 

 digging two or three feet tbe men came in contact 

 with bones of tortoises and deer, the former in vast 

 numbers. As soon as Mr. Clark heard of this he 

 went to M. De Bissy, and stated to him what had 

 long been his opinion as to the position in which 

 Dodoes' bones might be found, requesting him to 

 give orders to the diggers to lay by carefully what- 

 ever bones they might turn up. M. De Bissy was 

 much pleased with the chance of making so inter- 

 esting a discovery, and at once ordered that Mr. 

 Clark's request should be fulfilled. Mr. Clark 

 visited the estate many times, but without obtaining 

 any satisfactory intelligence. He at length en- 

 gaged two men to enter the dark-coloured water 

 about three feet deep, and feel in the soft mud at 

 the bottom with then; feet. In a short time he had 

 the inexpressible satisfaction of finding a broken 

 tarsus, an entire tibia and part of another. He at 

 once commenced operations in earnest, and has been 

 fortunate enough to find every important bone of 

 that remarkable bird, including crauium, upper and 

 lower mandibles of bill, cervical and dorsal vertebrae, 

 ribs, coraeoid bones, scapula? and clavicle, sternum, 

 humerus, ulna, pelvis, femur, tibia, and tarsometa- 

 tarsus, so that an experienced person can well build 

 a Dodo from these remains, the toes being the only 

 part wanting. The skull of this bird is of amazing 

 thickness, and the cerebral cavity very small; the 

 beak of great strength and solidity, as are the con- 

 dyles of the lower mandible. Some of the cervical 

 vertebrae are more than two inches in diameter, and 

 of very elaborate structure. The sternum, of which 

 the form shows a strong resemblance to that of the 

 pigeon tribe, in some specimens is more than five 

 inches wide and seven long. The keel is a quarter 

 of an inch tliick, and about an inch deep in the 

 deepest part, which is at the centre ; and the ster- 

 num is there three quarters of an inch in thickness. 

 Some femurs are nearly seven inches long, and more 

 than an inch in diameter, the tibiae nine inches long, 

 and the upper condyles two inches in diameter. 

 The tarsometatarsi are of very solid bone, and have 

 been found in greater numbers than any others. 

 They are about the length of those of a good-sized 

 turkey, but more than twice the thickness. Only 

 two or three craniums have been found, with a few 

 fragments. The paucity of these remains, as com- 

 pared with other parts of the frame, may very 

 possibly arise from the numerous apertures in the 

 head, into which roots insinuate themselves, thus 

 disintegrating the structure. The upper inaudible 

 of the bill has suffered from the same cause, and 



only two tolerably perfect specimens of that organ 

 have been obtained, while the under mandibles are 

 numerous ; but only three or four have been found 

 in which both rami remained attached. The tip of 

 one upper mandible is two inches in depth, and an 

 inch in thickness. The vertebra? are very strong, 

 and show that the spinal cord was fully double the 

 size of that of the turkey. These bones present a 

 great diversity of colours. Those which were found 

 near the springs in the marsh are nearly of their 

 original hue. Some found alongside of a large bois- 

 de-natte tree were nearly of the colour of that wood, 

 and many others are nearly as black as ebony. Mr. 

 Clark deposited the first specimens of Dodoes' bones 

 he obtained in the museum at the Royal College, 

 as well as those of the Flamingo, the existence of 

 which in Mauritius was remembered by the 

 parents of persons now living. He has also sent a 

 complete set of Dodo's bones to Professor Owen for 

 the British Museum.— Commercial Gazette. 



NewLabyiunthodont-Reptiles in Ireland. — 

 Robert Etheridge, Esq., announces the discovery of 

 no less than four, if not five, new genera of amphi- 

 bian labyrinthodont-reptiles from the true coal-beds 

 of Jarrow colliery, Kilkenny, Ireland. Three, out 

 of the five forms, of these amphibians are un- 

 doubtedly new to science, and, in all probability, the 

 remaining two also. The first, and most remarkable 

 genus, Professor Huxley has named "Opliiderpeton^ 

 having reference to its elongated, snake-like form, 

 rudimentary limbs, peculiar head, and compressed 

 tail. In outward form Opliiderpeton somewhat re- 

 sembles Siren lacertina and Ampliiuma,\m.i the ventral 

 surface appears covered with an armature of minute 

 spindle-shaped plates, obliquely adjusted together, 

 as in Arclia>gosaurus and Pholidogaster. The second 

 new form, which he names Lepterpeton, possesses an 

 eel-like body, with slender and pointed head, and 

 singularly-constructed hour-glass-shaped centra, as 

 in Thecodontosaurvs. The third genus, which 

 Professor Huxley names Icthyerpeton, has also 

 ventral armour, composed of delicate rod-like ossi- 

 cles ; the hind limbs have three short toes, and the 

 tail was covered with small quadrate scales, or 

 apparently horny scales. The fourth new amphibian 

 labyrinthodont he appropriately names Keraterpeton, 

 a singular salamandroid-looking form, but minute, 

 as compared with the other associated genera. Its 

 highly ossified veretebral column, prolonged epiotic 

 bones, and armour of overlapping scales, deter- 

 mines its character in a remarkable manner. These 

 remains were collected by Mr. Galton, of the Geo- 

 logical Survey of Ireland. The remaining genus is 

 represented by portions of the posterior half of an 

 animal nearly seven feet in length, which Mr. Huxley 

 is inclined to believe may belong to the genus An- 

 tliracosaurns, or one closely allied to it. — Geological 

 Magazine. 



