OBSERVATIONS ON THE EARLY STAGES IN THE 

 DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMU {DROM^US NOYJE- 

 UOLLANDI.E) 



By William A. Haswell, M.A., D.Sc, F.L.S., Lecturer on 

 Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, University of Sydney. 



(Plates viii.-xv.) 



The number of works and papers on the development of birds 

 is so great that an apology would almost seem to be required for 

 adding one more to the list. But while the common fowl, pigeon, 

 sparrow, thrush, nightingale, red-breast, canary, tit, lapwing, 

 thick-knee, plover, duck, goose, tern, sea-gull, and some others 

 have been dealt with as regards their embryology in whole or in 

 part, there are no recorded observations on the development of any 

 member of the great Ratite or Struthioid sub-class ; and I have 

 therefore thought it worth while to place on record the results of 

 a study of the early development of the Emu, on which I have 

 been engaged during the last few months. 



In what follows there may seem to be a little which may be 

 regarded as a threshing-out anew of a well-threshed subject ; but 

 when it is considered how wide is the diversity of opinion even at 

 the present time among embryologists as to the significance of 

 certain of the facts of avian embryology, it may be acknowledged 

 that the reconsideration of certain of these in the case of a type 

 so widely removed from those ordinarily studied may be of some 

 value. 



I have to acknowledge here my great indebtedness to my friends 

 Dr. R. L. Faithfull, of Lyons Terrace, Sydney, and Dr. Eric 

 S. Sinclair of Gladesville Asylum, to whose kindness I owe my 

 supply of material for this research. 



