NIMEAVLDiEJ. 999 



rior edges. The nareal border of the palatines consists of two pronounced 

 concavities separated by a prominent point. The border of each concavity 

 supports two contiguous obtuse tubercles well separated from each other. 

 The external one of these is separated from the acute deflected posterior 

 border of the maxillary bone by a concavity of the horizontal surface. The 

 posterior front of the palate is slightly concave on each side of the median 

 line, and presents a deep excavation on the inner side of the sectorial, to 

 receive the crown of a large inferior sectorial. This fossa has a straight 

 inner border. The palate is concave between the canines; behind them on 

 each side, a shallow groove enters the palatine foramen. 



The characters of the palate described are quite peculiar among cats. 



Sutures. — The premaxillomaxillary suture joins the nasal suture well 

 above the nareal border of the nasal bones, but does not probably meet the 

 frontomaxillary. The latter is arched upwards to a point above the anterior 

 third of the orbit. Its nasal terminus is lost from both sides. The fronto- 

 parietal suture crosses the sagittal crest well behind the junction of the 

 temporal ridges. The parietosphenoid suture is quite long. The squamo- 

 sal bone is not much longer than it is deep to the meatus auditorius. The 

 maxillo-palatine suture extends along the inner border of the fossa for the 

 inferior sectorial. 



Foramina. — The external nares are rather small, partly curving to the 

 prolongation of the nasal bones. The infraorbital foramen is round and 

 small for a cat; owing to the lack of prominence of the malar bone it has 

 a partially external opening. The lachrymal is normal and well inside the 

 orbit. The optic is close to the sphenoorbital and is of usual size. The 

 sphenoorbital and round foramina are united into a single large anteriorly 

 directed opening; whether the internal perforations are united or not, the 

 state of the specimen does not allow me to see. There is an alisphenoid 

 canal, which connects the external opening with a common foramen with 

 the / ovale. Its diameter is small. The / ovale is large, and is not widely 

 separated from the meatus auditorius internus. The / postglenoideum is mod- 

 erate, and terminates in a groove in the anterior wall of the meatus audito- 

 rius. The basioccipital bone being absent, the relations of various foramina 

 cannot be ascertained. There are two postparietals, both penetrating the 



