DR. w. w. Ely's notes on chapter ii. 291 



with these processes, as in the European variety. In the older 

 and larger American skulls, both processes are strongly developed, 

 particularly the anterior. In many skulls the posterior processes 

 are as strongly marked as in the European skull. In the young 

 New York skull they are even stronger than in the young and 

 larger European skull. 



"3. The snout, measured from the inferior orbital opening to 

 the inferior corner of the nostril in two European skulls of equal 

 size (Nos. 56 and 186 of the Kiew Col.), is broader and somewhat 

 longer than in an American skull of equal size in the Academic 

 Museum. 



" 4. The nasal bones show the greatest variations. Their length 

 in all the European is much above one-third the length of the 

 skull, measured from the incisor teeth to the crista occipitalis ; 

 while, on the contrary, in the three larger of the American skulls 

 the length of the nasal bones is only a little if any over one-third, 

 and the smallest not even one-third the length of the skull. The 

 nasal bones of the six older skulls lying before me of the European 

 beaver are therefore longer, and extend more or less far poste- 

 riorly, i.e. more or less beyond the anterior prominence of the 

 arch of the eyebrows, so that they (the nasal bones) lie with their 

 posterior borders nearly or quite opposite the middle of the mar- 

 gins of the orbits. In a young Polish beaver (No. 57 of the Kiew 

 Col.) they i*each, however, only to the anterior third of the orbital 

 ring (note — our Caucasian skull can serve as an example of 

 strong lengthening of the nasal bones) — and in our young Lap- 

 land beaver they lie nearly as in our California beaver skull, op- 

 posite only the circumference of the anterior border of the orbital 

 ring. In none of the five American skulls, lying before me, on 

 the contrary, do the nasal bones extend beyond the anterior 

 prominence of the eyebrows In nearly all the skulls of the 

 European beaver, compared with the five American ones lying 

 before me, the nasal bones are in form longer in the middle and 

 posterior, however, in general narrower, so that their breadth in 

 their middle varies between one-fourth and one-fifth of their 

 length, while in our five American skulls the breadth of their 

 middle portion attains to between one-third and one-fourth of 

 their length. Although the nasal bones of the American beaver 

 are thus on the whole broader, still they vary less in this respect 

 than in their lesser length. The external border of the nasal 



