200 STUART-SUTHERLAXD, Types of Penguin sV^^lf^"^ 



or less in both these forms, and so, were it not for the flatness 

 of the top of the skull and the presence of twenty feathers in 

 the tail, connects them. It may be said that the occasional grey 

 feathers which occur in the white breast of Megadyptcs are a 

 primitive characteristic, but this would connect this form with 

 two of the four species of Spheniscus, whereas it has been shown 

 that Spheniscus is hardly divisible from Budyptula, save in that 

 the bill of the former is grooved longitudinally at the base of 

 the mandibles. In the last-mentioned genera, however, due al- 

 lowance must be made for the dififerences in colour and marking 

 of the i)lumage. 



The classification at present in vogue places the largest variety 

 at the head of the family and the smallest at the foot (I am 

 allowing that Spheniscus comes after Megadyptes), a convenient 

 but hardly scientific method. Mr. W. P. Pycraft says in his 

 o])inion Budyptula is the nearest approach to the ancestral stock; 

 but, even on a superficial measurement and comparison of wing 

 to body length of some fossil forms, Megadyptes lies nearest the 

 ancestral form. Further, I should add that Megadyptes is a 

 peculiar genus of one species only, and that this species shows 

 traces of characters common to all the other five genera. 



A reasonable geneological tree, then, would show that Pygos- 

 celis connects Megadyptes with Aptenodytes, and that Endyptes 

 connects Megadyptes with Spheniscus and Budyptula. Thus we 

 have — 



Megadyptes 



Pygoscelis Endyptes 



Aptenodytes 



Spheniscus Budyptula 



However, for the sake of convenience, as being in confomiity 

 with the illustration, I will deal with the types under the old 

 order. The sketches are drawn to careful measurement, and are 

 reduced to one-half natural size. The following dimensions 

 are in millimetres: — (1) Head of the Emperor I'enguin (.Ip- 

 tcnodytes forsteri) ; drawn from a skin with the following 

 measurements: Length, 1294 mm..; wing, 343 mm.; tail, 73 

 mm. ; bill, 68 mm. 



The head and throat are black, whilst on each side of the neck 

 is a patch of bright orange yellow ; the rest of the upper surface 

 of the body is dark bluish-grey and the lower surface is creamy 

 white; the'bill is bluisli-black and the feet black. 



