1890.] 



THE STRUCTURE OF PSOPHIA. 



337 



The following table shows the number of cervical and dorsal 

 vertebrae, of ribs, &c., in a series of birds more or less closely allied 

 to Psopliia. The letters ;•, r', R represent rudimentary ribs, often 

 spoken of as cervical, which precede the complete ribs ; the number 

 of complete ribs (?. e. those which reach the sternum) is indicated, and 

 also that of the incomplete ribs (never more than two) which lie 

 behind them and do not reach the sternum. 



The above table does not appear to me to bring out any vcr}' 

 valuable results. Indeed, the differences between Otis and Euj}odotis 

 are quite as great as those between genera usually referred to distinct 

 families. 



On the whole Psophia appears to come nearest to the Cranes. 



Mi/ologi/. 



I have nothing new to record under this head ; I have simply 

 been able to confirm the statements of Garrod and Fiirbringer. 

 In the leg the ambiens, semitendinosus, accesxonj semitemlinosus, 

 and accessori/ femorocaudal are ju'escnt, tlu\/(WO/ocr«/f/ri!/ itself being- 

 absent ; in these })articulars Psopliia agrees with Otis, Serpentai'ius, 

 Cariama, Aratnus, and Phoenicopterus, and differs from the Cranes 

 and Rails. 



In the fore limb there is, as Fiirbringer has recorded, a conspicuous 

 biceps slip to the patagium. 



Trachea. 



The structure of the syrinx (woodcut fig. 3, p. 338) is nearest to 

 that of Cariama among the possible allies of this bird, but no 

 trenchant characters distinguish it from many Rails and the Cranes. 



