150 Mr. H. Seeley on the Literature of English Pterodactyles, 



vertebrae of Dimorphodon are not procoelian, but certainly cupped 

 behind, and probably biconcave. 



The vertebrae at K Dr. Buckland called the tgiL The centra 

 are traversed by two basal ridges and a ridge on each side below 

 the neural arch. They want the elevated neural spines which 

 might be expected in cervicals, nor have they the length or the 

 large size common in cervicals of PterodactyluSy though Rham- 

 phorhynchus Gernmingi has cervicals with similar depressed 

 neural arches, and P. brevirostris has cervical vertebrae with 

 centra relatively nearly as short. They are associated with the 

 proximal end of the femur and the os innominatum. The de- 

 pressed neural arches with elongated zygapophyses are like the 

 hinder caudal of Cyclodus, But these are unlike any caudal 

 vertebrae. Besides, the caudals have been described, as have the 

 dorsals. Therefore these bones are either cervical or sacral. 

 Long-necked animals like Chelonians and Birds have similar 

 cervical vertebrae. The ridges remind one of the ridges on the 

 neck- vertebrae of the Goosander and the Duck, and still more 

 of those in the cervicals of wading-birds like the Heron, which 

 also has four ridges, and nearly resembles Dimorphodon in the 

 form of the neural arches. Therefore, as the bones are unlike 

 any sacral vertebrae known to me, they are regarded as probably 

 cervical. Each of them is clearly seen to have cup-and-ball 

 articulations. The cup is behind, and the ball in front. 



The scapular arch has been well described by Professors 

 Huxley and Owen. 



The mass marked 18, and called the sternum, is very much 

 crushed, and I can give no account of it. The fore-arm is no- 

 ticed thus : — " 2. Fore-arm ; showing no trace of ulna." I find 

 ulna and radius both there : they are together, and united 

 throughout their length, but easily traced by a deep groove. 

 At the distal end there is a singular little splint bone attached ; 

 and, passing over the first carpal, there are similar bones in the 

 P. suevicus. The distal end of the humerus appears to have 

 three condyles. 



Prof. Buckland has " four carpals," marked /, g, h, i. The 

 first three are clearly carpals ; but i is merely the distal end of 

 the wing-metacarpal, which is overlaid by 3", a bone called the 

 "wing-finger metacarpal." This is another important error; 

 for it caused the Doctor to overlook an important generic cha- 

 racter. The bone in question is the proximal phalange. And 

 hence the plate shows that there were in the wing-finger at least 

 four phalanges, and not three as represented in the restoration. 

 In the second specimen in the British Museum, where the 

 bones are more in situ, Prof. Owen has recognized the wing- 

 metacarpal, which is no longer than the other metacarpals, but 



