6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 45. 



Although the general appearance of the molarifoim teeth of the 

 Macroscelididse is quite different from the typical W-patterned 

 teeth of the Tupaiidse, yet it is easy to see how the teeth of the former 

 may have been derived from those of the latter. The teeth of the 

 Macroscelididse show a greater departure from the more typical 

 tritubercular teeth of the Tupaiidse, just as the limb bones have 

 shown a greater departure from the normal. 



OSTEOLOGY. 



The skeleton of the Tupaiidas, as represented by the genera Tupaia 

 and Tana, has been rather carefully studied by Blainville/ Mivart,^ 

 Anderson,^ and Gregory.^ In the British Museum is most of the 

 skeleton of the type of Urogale everetti, and in the Leyden Museum is 

 a skeleton of Ptilocercus. I have not seen the latter, but Jentink^ 

 has published a few notes on it. It is the only skeleton of that genus 

 that I know of existmg m museums. I have not seen skeletons of the 

 genera Anaihana or Deridrogale, and know of none in collections. 

 Skeletons of Tupaia are found in most of the larger museums, and in 

 the United States National Museum are the following: 



Cat. No. 124317, Tupaia glis ferruginea, Singapore. 



Cat. No. 174609, Tupaia demissa, Sumatra. 



Cat. No. 49468, Tupaia lacernata wilhinsoni, middle of Malay Peninsula. 



Cat. No. 111782, Tupaia nicoharica nicobarica, Great Nicobar Island. 



Cat. No. 154593, Tupaia javanica, western Java. 



Cat. No. 174611, Tana tana tana, Sumatra. 



The observations on the skeleton which follow are based upon an 

 examination of these skeletons of the genera Tupaia and Tana and 

 skulls of the other genera. I have also made free use of the observa- 

 tions of Mivart, Anderson, and Gregory. 



Slcull. — The skull of the genus Tupaia is characterized by its rather 

 generalized structure; it is widest just posterior to the middle, and 

 tapers toward either extremity both laterally and supero-inferiorly, 

 the tapering being much more pronounced anteriorly, especially so in 

 the genera Tana and Urogale; posteriorly the skull is gently rounded 

 off. The brain case is relatively large and inflated and widest at the 

 zygomatic roots. The orbit is completely surrounded by bone, is 

 large, directed mainly laterally but at the same time slightly inclined 

 upward and forward. Posterior to the orbit is a temporal fossa of 

 moderate size. The temporal ridges are rather prominent and dis- 

 tinct except for a short distance in front of the lambdoid crest, where 

 they unite to form a short sagittal crest. In Ptilocercus the temporal 



1 Ost&g. Mamm. Insect., 1840, pp. 31-35. 



2 Journ. Anat. Physiol., vol. 1, 18G7, pp. 292-295, and vol. 2, 1868, pp. 145-146. 



3 Zool. Res. West. Yunnan, 1879, pp. 108-123. 



* Orders of Mammals, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 27, 1910, pp. 269-280. 

 » Notes Leyden Museum, vol. 7, 1885, p. 7. 



