424 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



unique. But Dr. Woodward's examination did not end here. 

 He also dug out the shoulder-girdle, which presents features of 

 exceptional interest, more especially in regard to the coracoid, 

 which is again unlike that of any other known bird, and 

 recalls that of the reptile. The new facts gleaned from this 

 exploration will doubtless form the starting-point for further 

 investigations in regard to the course of evolution of the 

 typical avian shoulder-girdle. Dr. Smith Woodward's investi- 

 gations were carried out in conjunction with Dr. Branislav 

 Petronievics, who is preparing an extensive Memoir on the 

 subject. 



The Bighorn basin of Wyoming (Lower Eocene) has at last 

 revealed to us what manner of bird was the Diatryma. Since 

 1874 palaeontologists have known of the existence of a giant 

 bird rivalling all but the largest Moas in size, but no more 

 than fragments, obtained at various places, and at rare inter- 

 vals, were known till last year, when this tantalising state 

 of affairs was ended by the discovery of a nearly complete 

 skeleton, including the most desired element of all, the skull. 

 An able account of these remains has now been published by 

 Dr. W. D. Matthew and Mr. W. Granger (7). As was to be 

 expected, Diatryma was flightless, and the wing-bones prove 

 to be as degenerate as in the modern Cassowary, or Emu. But 

 no one would have anticipated a skull so remarkable as this 

 bird possessed. It was of enormous size, and bears a most 

 striking resemblance to that of the singular South American 

 Phororhacos, with which, however, it seems to have no very 

 close affinity. The authors have shown that it is in no way 

 related to the Struthious birds, though its precise position 

 among the Neognathae is still indeterminable. While the 

 authors admit at least remote relationship with the Cariama, 

 they refuse to regard it as a member of the Gruiformes, a 

 conclusion which is somewhat contradictory. They hold that 

 it must be assigned an Order to itself, a proposition which is 

 reasonable enough, but its adoption does not rule out the 

 possibility of Gruiform affinities. 



The importance of the kitchen-middens of ancient man 

 cannot be overrated. Mr. Gerrit Miller, of the Smithsonian 

 Museum, Washington, has shown, for example (8), that the 

 bones they picked and threw aside not only furnish us with 

 valuable information in regard to animals now extinct, but may 



