1896.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 511 



Unfortunately, among the bones of the smaller species of Piiffinns 

 before me there occurred no specimen of a tarso-metatarsus, so that 

 I am unable to say whether they belong to the species described 

 by Professor Milne-Edwards naPuffinus arvernensis, or not. Never- 

 theless, upon measuring across the condyles at their lower aspects^ 

 and taking a similar transverse diameter of the summit of the tarso- 

 metatarsus in Professor Milne-Edwards' drawing, it becomes evident 

 that Paffinns arvernensis must have had a tibio-tarsus quite like the 

 one shown in figure 9 of the plate. In other words, I believe the 

 fossil bones of the smaller species of Puffinus in Mr. Eyerman's col- 

 lection very probably belonged to one or two individuals of the 

 type referred to by Professor Milne-Edwards as P. arvernensis,. 

 which species is based upon the tarso-metatarsus shown in figures 1 

 and 2. In any event, there is so much likelihood of this being the 

 case, that I do not, at present, feel justified in describing these bones^ 

 as having belonged to a species unknown to science up to the pres- 

 ent writing. These bones have all the characters of the correspond- 

 ing ones as found in the skeleton of the Shearwater (P. horealis) be- 

 fore me, with the exception of some differences in the tibio-tarsi and 

 the humeri. In the former the cnemial crests are much produced 

 upward, as in Puffinus cinereus, and call to mind this bone in 

 the Grebes ; while in the latter, there is a very remarkable flatten- 

 ing of the bone in the same plane in which the radial crest lies. 

 This flattening is well-shown in figure 7 of the plate. 



As has already been said above, the tarso-metatarsus in lot No. 

 10 and the tibio-tarsus No. 11, undoubtedly belonged to a larger 

 species of Puffinus, and one probably smaller than the P. conradi of 

 Marsh : in fact, to a form having a size between P. arvernensis and 

 P. conradi and hitherto undescribed. Therefore, I propose the fol- 

 lowing for this species : — 

 Puffinus eyermani n. sp. 



Based on a tibio-tarsus and a tarso-metatarsus, both of the right 

 side. They belonged to adult individuals, or, what is more likely, 

 to the one and same individual, as the bones articulate together 

 perfectly. Disregarding the fractured remains of the cnemial crest 

 of the tibio-tarsus, and measuring between summit and lowest point 

 of condyle, this bone has a length of 7.4 cms, while the tarso-meta- 

 tarsus is 5.2 cms. long. They both present characters agreeing in 

 the main with the corresponding ones in Puffinus cinereus GmeL 



