168 ON THE EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF 



blance with those of the Virginia Deer than with those of the Musks. They are 

 flask-like, with the auditory bulla compressed spheroidal, and with the meatus audi- 

 torius directed obliquely outward, backward and upward. The orifice of the meatus 

 is directed much more posteriorly than in either the Musks or Deer. 



The styloid process and stylo-mastoid foramen occupy the same relative position as 

 in the latter. The inner part of the auditory l^ulla is likewise separated, as in the 

 Deer, from the basi-occipital by a lai'ge reniform foramen, within which a portion of 

 the petrosal is visible. 



The condyloid foramen is large, and occupies the same relative position as in the 

 Deer. 



The oval and rotund foramina are distinct from each other, and nearly equal in 

 size. The large spheno-orbital foramen occupies the same relative position as in the 

 Deer and Musks. 



The glenoid articulation resembles more those of the former than of the latter, but 

 varies from both. Its fore part is nearly straight transversely, and inclines slightly 

 outward from its inner extremity, and slopes convexly backward and outward into a 

 comparatively deep concavity, bounded behind by a post-glenoid tubercle proportion- 

 ately stronger than that in the Deer. A comparatively small foramen occupies the 

 interval of the tubercle just mentioned and the tympanic. 



The region of the posterior nares is destroyed in the specimens under examination, 

 and the contiguous portion of the hard palate is too much broken to judge accurately 

 of its character. The palatines appear not to have been prolonged into a canal as in 

 the Deer, but to have been separated by a deeper notch, more as in the Musks. The 

 lateral palatine notch advanced as far as the position of the middle of the last molar 

 tooth. 



The portion of the hard palate between the molars has nearly the same form as in 

 the Deer. The posterior palatine foramina are on a liue with the fore part of the 

 second true molars. 



Form, relations and connections of the hones of the slcuU. — The supra-occipital 

 advances on the top of the cranium as in the Deer, but laterally to a greater extent 

 proportionately. The lateral occipitals, paroccipitals, mastoids and squamosals hold 

 about the same relationship with one another as iu the animal just mentioned, and 

 such is likewise the case with the bones forming the axis of the base of the cranium. 



The squamosal contributes rather more than one-third to the extent of the tempo- 

 ral surface. It is pierced just above the zygomatic root with a venous foramen as in 

 the Deer. 



The co-ossified parietals are large, and the sutures of conjunction with the squamo- 

 sals pursue the same course as in the Deer. Their anterior portion is too much 

 broken in the specimens under examination to judge accurately of their connection 



