324 Mr. P. R. Lowe on the Crab-Plover. 



suborder Cursorii. In his Address to the luternational 

 Onnthological Congress ("The Classification of Birds'') 

 Dromas is included in a distinct suborder, Dromades, of 

 the order Charadriiformes. 



The following notes may possibly be the means of throwing 

 additional light on the interesting problem of the affinities 

 of this unique Wader. They are offered more because of 

 the somewhat general nature of Van der Hoeveii's remarks 

 than from any belief that the actual secret of the evolution 

 of this form will be more than touched. 



The Skull of the Adult. 



Occipital Region. — The occipital condyle forms less than a 

 hemisphere and is sessile. The foramen magnum is longer 

 in the antero-posterior diameter than from side to side. In 

 Haniatopus the foramen magnum is rounder, the lateral 

 diameter in some skulls even exceeding the antero-posterior. 

 In the CEdicnemidifi this foramen is likewise rounder, but 

 the genera vary somewhat in regard to its shape. In Chionis, 

 Larus, and Stercorarius the foramen is not so elongated as 

 in Dromas. 



Text-fio-ure 9. 



~-{f 



Skull of Dramas viewed from beliiud. tf., temporal fossa. 



The plane of the foramen magnum in Dromas is nearly 

 parallel with the long axis of the skull. Thus the foramen 

 looks nearly directly downwards. In Hcematopiis it also 

 looks directly downwards. In the Gulls, Skuas, Sheath-bills, 

 and Stone-Curlews the plane of the foramen is inclined at 



