186 Miscellaneous. 



that the fibula is completely united with the tibia, and only dis- 

 tinguished by the presence of a not very strongly marked longi- 

 tudinal furrow. 



On the other hand the anterior limb furnishes new and very in- 

 teresting information. 



The structure of the thoracic girdle is very difficult to understand. 



M. Vogt thinks that two scapulae are recognizable, and that 



there is no bone representing the furcula. According to him the 



two coracoids are in contact in the median line, and the sternum is 



reduced to zero. 



The humerus, the ulna, and the radius, already well described by 

 Owen, present no features peculiar to reptiles or to birds. Tho 

 manus, which was very imperfect in the specimen described by 

 Owen, is, on the contrary, very remarkably preserved in the new 

 slab. The carpus shows only a single small globular bone. The 

 digits, which are very well preserved in both limbs, enable us to 

 rectify certain errors of Owen's, which, however, are very excusable, 

 as the learned English palaeontologist only knew a few scattered 

 bones from this region. 



Tho manus of Archceopteryx can be compared neither to that of a 

 bird, nor to that of a Ptcrosaurian, but only to that of a tridactyle 

 Lizard. 



In each manus there are three long slender digits, armed with 

 curved and sharp-edged claws. The thumb is the shortest ; it is 

 composed of a short metacarpal, a rather long phalange, and the 

 ungual phalange. The other two digits have, besides the meta- 

 carpal, three normal phalanges. 



The remiges were attached to the cubital margin of the forearm 

 and manus, although no special adaptation of the skeleton to this 

 end can be observed. The thumb was free like the other two digits, 

 and did not bear a winglct. If the feathers had not been preserved, 

 no one could ever have suspected, from the examination of tho 

 skeleton alone of Archceopteri/x, that this animal was furnished with 

 wings when alive ; for its manus, unlike that of birds, presents no 

 trace of adaptation to the support of the remiges. 



The following is a summary of what we know of the organization 

 of Arc/iiroj>lrr;/.r : — 



Tho head, the neck, the thorax with the ribs, the tail, the thoracic 

 girdle and the whole anterior member are clearly constructed as in 

 reptiles ; the pelvis has probably more relation to that of reptiles 

 than to that of birds ; the posterior limb, on the contrary, is that of 

 a bird. In all respects the reptilian homologies predominate in the 

 skeleton. 



There remain the feathers. Here there is no doubt ; they are 

 bird's feathers with a central rhachis and with perfectly formed 

 barbules. The horny substance of the feathers has disappeared ; but 

 the model in the fine paste of the lithographic stone is so complete 

 that we may study the smallest details with the lens. The new 

 slab shows all the feathers in their place. 



The remiges are attached to the cubital margin of the arm and 



