712 Mr. P. it. Lowe on the 



Avitli most of the maxillary and the maxillary process of the 

 preraaxilia, are involved or enwrapped in an elongate bony 

 mass which forms a kind of pneumatic casing to these 

 structures (cf. text-iig. 13, A). This peculiar pneumatic 

 casing has the form of a very attenuated cone with its apex 

 directed forwards. Distad it gradually merges with and 

 is lost on the maxillary process of the premaxilla of either 

 side (cf. text-fig. 13, A), proximad its base gradually merges 

 Avith the pterygoid process of the palatal plate. It is to be 

 noted that the outer nasal processes are not visible in this 

 ventral view of the palatal region of Lymnocryples, since they 

 are hidden in the actual skeleton by a forwardly projecting 

 plate of bone given off from the mesethmoid. 



As regards other characters of the ventral aspect of the 

 skull, it may be shortly stated that the form, structure, 

 and disposition of the occipitals, basioccipital, precondylar 

 fossa, foramen magnum, foramina for cranial nerves, basi- 

 sphenoid, basitcrnporal, and ptervgoids in C. pusi/Ia are all 

 Kusticoline, rather than Gallinagine. The lanibdoidal ridge 

 is not so well marked as in Scolopax. 



A feature possessed by Coenocorypha, and which is very 

 characteristic of the Scolopacinse, is the manner in which 

 the basisphenoidal rostrum together with the basisphenoids 

 and basitemporal are bent sharply upwards so as to make 

 an obvious angle with the basiocci])ital. This Scolopacine 

 character is rendered very obvious if the base of the skull 

 of an Eroliine or a Tringine Wader is compared with that of 

 a true Snipe. In the Jack-Snipe, however, the condition is 

 not so marked. In Rhynchcca the condition is Tringine. 



Other skeletal characters of Ccenocorypha. 



As regards the rest of the skeletal structures of C pusilla, 

 I shall simply refer to a few points which seem worthy of 

 notice : — 



Sternum. — Although the arrangement of the notching at the 

 hinder end of the sternal plate seems — at any rate, in regard 

 to the Waders — to help us very little from a taxonomic 

 standpoint, and. indeed, to be at times more misleading 



