308 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



The coossified vertebral piece of the dorsum, composed, as I have 

 said, of four vertebrae, presents some few additional characters worthy 

 of our notice. Ragged metapophyses are developed in the usual way 

 at the extremities of the transverse processes, but they do not reach 

 either far enough forwards or backwards to bring the several verte- 

 brae in contact at these points. Vacuities exist at either side of the 

 low neural crest, where the fused articulations of the pre- and postzy- 

 gapoph)^ses are found. They are larger posteriorly than anteriorly, 

 and admit of a view of the neural canal through them. Viewing this 

 piece upon lateral aspect, the several facets for the ribs are seen to be 

 very distinct, especially those for the capitula, where the edges are 

 raised and prominent, thus forming a decided concavity for the head 

 of the rib. On the other side, and innnediately anterior to any one of 

 these facets on the centrum of the vertebra is seen a large subcircular 

 vacuity. It opens directly, in every instance, into the spinal canal, 

 and is directly opposite the corresponding opening of the other side of 

 the bone. A similar pair is formed when the last free dorsal vertebra 

 is articulated /// sifu, and it is seen to be formed by the meeting of the 

 zygapophysial processes laterally and above, and by the centra below. 

 These centra of this fused piece are deep, and markedly compressed in 

 the transverse direction, with an infero-median longitudinal sharpened 

 border, which terminates in front on the apex of the second or last 

 hyapophysis. 



As to the ri/>s of this Flamingo, there may be a thoroughly rudi- 

 mentary pair on the i8th vertebra, or the riblet may be free upon 

 only one side of tiie same. There are four pairs of well-developed 

 ribs, however, that come from the co5ssified dorsal vertebral piece; 

 a pair from the vertebra that follows it ; and finally there is a pelvic 

 pair. All of these are connected with the sternum by means of costal 

 ribs, and behind the pelvic pair, articulating neither above nor below, 

 is a very delicate pair of so-called " floating ribs." Both costal and 

 thoracic ribs are completely pneumatic, and exhibit some notable 

 peculiarities. If we take the anterior pair that come from the first 

 vertebra of the dorsal piece, we find that either one of them is greatly 

 compressed in the antero-posterior direction between the head and 

 the tubercle, while the "body" of the bone is similarly much flat- 

 tened in the reverse direction. The unciform processes are simply 

 elongated swellings on the side of the shaft, and the part of the bone 

 above them is much expanded, the expansion being directed entirely 



