468 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



m 



of Reims and Meudon more closely by the discovery of the remains of 

 gastornis in Champagne, from which he has constituted a new species 

 that he calls Gastornis Eduardsii. The bird was not less than three 



metres (about ten feet) high when 

 standing, and is shown in that po- 

 sition in Fig. 1. The author pos- 

 sesses the femur, the tibia, the 

 tarso-metatarsian, and several pha- 

 langeal bones of this bird. The 

 pelvis is represented in his collec- 

 tion by an ischion and the upper 

 extremity of the pubis. A cervical 

 vertebra, a caudal vertebra, a frag- 

 ment of the sternum, and ends of' 

 the ribs, have furnished him sub- 

 jects for interesting observations. 

 Dr. Lemoine has collected pieces 

 of bone, which he considers half of 

 a breast-bone and a coracoid bone. 

 He also describes the lower end of 

 the humerus, a radius, a metacar- 

 pian, and the terminal phalangeal 

 of the wing. A large proportion 

 of the bones of the head have also 

 been found by the author during 

 his paleontological probings, and 

 with their aid he is able to com- 

 plete the description of this re- 

 markable ornithological type. 



All the parts of the skeleton 

 so far discovered are represented 

 in Fig. 1, where they have been 

 so placed as to show the skeleton 

 restored, in its normal position. 



This richness of his material 

 has enabled Dr. Lemoine to form 

 very precise notions concerning 

 the giant bird of the environs of 

 Reims. In his opinion, the cra- 

 nium must have been relatively 

 voluminous and less disproportion- 

 ate than the cranium of the ostrich. 



B, Tibia of the Common Swan (reduced to This is indicated bv the quadrate 

 one third of the natural size). . 



bone, a part of the orbitary cavity, 

 and almost the whole of the base of the cranium, in which the oc- 

 cipital condyle, the sub-condylian furrow, the basilar tuberosities, the 



' 



^ 





v-^ 



SK 



Fig. 2. A, Tieia of the Gastoknis of Mett- 

 don (reduced to one third of the natural size). 



