FOUND LINKS. 139 



breastbone. Again, there is another bone, called the 

 epicomcoid, which is found in reptiles, and which 

 exists likewise in the Ornithorhynchus and Echidna. 

 In the bird, again, as everybody knows, the two col- 

 lar-bones unite to form the "merry -thought," or 

 furculum (Fig. 8, c). In these lowest quadrupeds the 

 collar-bones (Fig. 9, cc) are joined by a T-shaped 



P 



Fig. 9. Shoulder-bones of Ornithorhynclms : 



c, c, clavicles ; i, interclavicle ; 6, breast-bone ; sr, sternal or 



breast-bone ribs, as in birds. 



bone, called the interclavicle (Fig. 9, i], unknown in 

 any other mammals ; and here, again, we find a cha- 

 racter which is decidedly reptile-like and bird-like, 

 and which is not seen in other mammals. Professor 

 Flower tells us that the shoulder-girdle of these 

 quadrupeds " differs widely in many points from that 

 of any other mammal, and far more resembles that of 

 the Lizards." 



