hrduCka] skeletal, REMAINS OF EAELY MAN . 353 



this position of the minor trochanter and of the lateral depression 

 that accompanies the same, the Tetraprothomo constitutes a perfect 

 transition between the Homunculus and Homo. ... A conformation 

 in some cases absolutely equal and in others very similar is met with 

 m many other mammals, particularly in carnivores and rodents. As 

 these are animals which have no parental relation with man and apes, 

 and which besides are perfect quadrupeds, it is clear that the above- 

 mentioned characteristic has no relation with the erect position and 

 that man, as well as the anthropoid and catarhine apes and the other 

 mammals in which it IS present, have acquired it independently. . . ." 



The posterior inter-trochanteric crest shows also an intermediary 

 form between man and the Homunculus} 



The lower portion of the bone is intact. "The condyles are dis- 

 posed very similarly to those in the human femur." The internal 

 condyle shows the same characteristics as that of man, "from which 

 it is deduced that in the Tetraprothomo both femurs were converged 

 upward and inward, as in man, and that consequently the being had 

 an entirel}^ erect position." 



The ligamentary depressions and roughnesses again are more or less 

 intermetliary between those of man on one hand and the Homunculus 

 on the other. The internal muscles and ligaments of the joint were 

 very strongly developed. 



The external condyle is intermediary in form between that of man 

 and that of the apes. "Wliat is notable is an absolutely identical 

 disposition of the ligament and tendon impressions on the dorsal sur- 

 face of the external condyle in the Tetraprothomo, Homunculus, and 

 Homo. . . . 



" One of the greatest peculiarities of this region of the femur of the 

 Tetraprothomo is the great semilunar depression, which is deep and 

 excessively rough, located forward of the superior part of the external 

 condyle, in the angle wliich the latter forms with the posterior border 

 of the external surface of the bone. This ligamentary cavity is not 

 encountered as a constant feature in any of the primates known to 

 me, but I have observed it in different mammals of other orders, par- 

 ticularly in rodents and carnivora, and it is a constant feature of all 

 the representatives of the family Felidse, in wliich it generally acquires 

 considerable size. This cavity is produced by the formation of the 

 large sesamoid bone (the lateral sesamoid of the knee) , which develops 

 m the tendon of the popliteal muscle, serving on its postero-external 

 surface for the insertion of fleshy fibers of the popliteal muscle, while 

 on the other side it gives attachment to the strong sesamo-femoral 

 hgament, which is inserted into the rough base of the cavity in 

 question. 



' This relates to the curved and totally unhuman rough line shown on pi. 65.— A. H. 

 21535°— Bull. 52—12 23 



