. XV 



I9I5 



1 SiHTKKi.nT, Osieolo£;y of Oy/horhamphiis ma^nironlrif 



Anteriorly, the very spacious auricular cavity is better i)r<)- 

 tected by a thin, osseous wall in our subject than in Rissa ov in 

 Lams ; while posteriorly in Orl/inr/iiiniphus there is thrown out, 

 laterally, a delicate, transverse, osseous brace, which, when the 

 quadrates are duly articulated, meets, on either side, the wall 

 of the ear cavity, opposite their middle portions. For the left 

 side, this brace shows fairly well in fig. 5 of Plate II. 



All this part of the cranium in the skull of (Edicnemus at hand 

 has been cut out and thrown away by the taxidermist who made 

 up the skin of the specimen ; so, unfortunately, I am unable at 

 present to make the necessary comparisons with the skull of that 

 species. 



Anteriorly, the mesial, apical i)ortion of the basitemporal area 

 underlaps the entrances to the Eustachian tubes, the latter 

 standing pretty well apart. This is likewise a Gull character ; 

 while in the Plovers those openings to the middle ear, on either 

 side, are not so protected, and in them they may be seen upon 

 a direct basal view of the skull. 



Ort/iorJuvuphiis. Hamatopns, Larus, and others have a large 

 formnoi niiii^ninii. which is nearly circular in outline ; in the typical 

 Charadriidcc its longitudinal axis is generally longer than the 

 transverse one. 



This Long-billed Stone-Curlew of Australia possesses pterygoids 

 at the base of its skull, which differ entirely from those found in 

 the typical Limicolcp. Either bone is fiat ventrally, sharp and 

 thin dorsally, slightly twisted upon itself, does not meet the 

 fellow of the opposite side in articulation, and lacks entirely any 

 basi-})terygoid processes. In Larus and other Longipennes the 

 pterygoid is more slender, markedly straighter, and does articulate 

 anteriorly with the fellow of the opposite side in life. 



There are no basi-pterygoid processes among the Gulls, Terns, 

 and their near allies. Plovers have their pterygoids very short ; 

 they usually do not meet each other anteriorly in articulation, 

 and basi-pterygoid processes are strongly developed throughout 

 the typical Limicolce. I find them present in Hcvniaiopus, 

 CharadriidcB, Numenius, and in many allied species. 



This being the case, the pterygoids of Ortharhamphits and 

 CEdicnemus are much more like those bones in Gulls, in Chiornis, 

 and others than they are in birds belonging to the typical 

 Charadriince ; while, on the other hand, a quadrate bone varies 

 but little throughout the typical Limicolce and Longipennes, in- 

 cluding these big Stone-Plovers. As an element of the skull, the 

 bone is found to be large and bulky in all of them, with a very 

 broad, flattened, quadriform orbital process. The major anterior 

 portion of the facet for the mandible is placed transversely, and 

 presents the usual facets for articulation with the mandible as 

 cited above. 



An orbital cavity in Ortliorluiiiiphiis is notably capacious with 

 respect to its size, and in this particular agrees better with 

 pluviahne birds than with the Laridcp. This, however, does not 

 apply to the inter-orbital septum separating these two cavities, 



