SKELETON 



phalanges (joints) ; tlie second the Index, representing man's first 

 finger, with two or three joints ; the third a weak digit with only 

 one phalanx, except in Arcliaeopteryx, where there are four. The 

 Casuarii and Apteryges possess an index only, which in the Splienisci 

 fuses with the pollex. The basal joint of this is the normal 

 place of attachment of the " bastard wing " {alula spuria). 

 Archaeo'pteryx had claws on all its fingers, but in recent Birds 

 they occur on the first two only, being functionless in the adult. 

 Wing-spurs arise from the carpal and metacarpal bones. 



6. The Pelvic Arch consists of the Ilium, Ischium, and Os 

 pubis, these three paired bones meeting from each side at the cup 

 {acetahiduvi) that receives the head of the femur, and coalescing 

 early in life ; while the incisura ischiadica or notch between the 



Fig. 4. Pelvis of Apteryx australis. Lateral view. , Acetabulum ; il, ilium ; is, iscliium : 

 p, pectineal process of pubis ; p^, pubis. (From Wiederslieim, after Marsh.) 



ischium and the ilium becomes an inclosed space {Joramen) in 

 all Birds except the Matitae and Crypturi. 



7. The Posterior Limbs, or Legs, are composed of the Femur 

 or thigh, the Tibia and Fibida, making the shank or " drum- 

 stick," and the bones of the Foot. The thigh, however, being 

 hidden by the plumage, the shank of a Bird might easily be 

 taken for the thigh, and the, metatarsus (the cannou-l)one of some) 

 for the shank. The tibia and fibula commonly unite to some 

 extent, and the former, as it now exists in adult Birds, is strictly 

 a " tibio-tarsus," since with it is fused the proximal portion of the 

 originally existing tarsal elements. Similarly the distal tarsal 



