98 A Skeleton of Dodo 
themselves, which is now in the Mauritius Museum. They pointed 
out that it contained the following bones which were previously 
unknown, viz., atlas and prepelvic (18th) vertebra, complete pubic 
bones, and metacarpals ; and they referred to it as doubtless the most 
complete skeleton in the world. 
In the skeleton which forms the subject of the present paper, not 
only are the bones which were described by Sir Edward Newton and 
Dr. Gadow for the first time present, but, as mentioned above, several 
additional bones are represented. These are referred to below. 
The atlas vertebra in the Durban Museum skeleton agrees very well 
with the figure given by Sir Edward Newton and Dr. Gadow. 
In the 13th vertebra the spinous process is more strongly developed 
than is indicated in their figure, and in this respect it agrees more 
with that in the British Museum skeleton. 
The 18th vertebra, which was described by Sir Edward Newton and > 
Dr. Gadow for the first time, is more complete than that figured by 
them. There are considerable portions of spinous and transverse 
processes, indicating that in the complete vertebra these processes are 
strongly developed. 
The tail vertebre, which are apparently lacking in both the British 
Museum skeleton and in that described by Sir Edward Newton and 
Dr. Gadow, are present in the Durban Museum skeleton. They consist 
of six free caudal vertebra, with an elongated and rather pointed 
pygostyle, as shewn in text-fig. 1. 
The arrangement of the ribs in the Durban Museum skeleton differs 
from the conclusions arrived at by Sir Edward Newton and Dr. Gadow, 
which, being based upon the examination of various normal (not 
domesticated) pigeons, are, with one exception, no doubt correct. In 
their opinion, the Dodo possessed short ribs to the 14th and 15th 
vertebra, sternal ribs to the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th vertebre and 
no rib to the 20th vertebra. The Durban Museum skeleton bears a 
short rib on the 14th vertebra, sternal ribs on the 15th, 16th, 17th 
and 18th vertebre, an almost sternal rib on the 19th vertebra and a 
rib on the 20th, the second pelvic vertebra. This rib on the 20th 
vertebra is lacking on the left-hand side, but the articulating facet is 
clearly visible, and, moreover, in an odd pelvis which the Durban 
Museum has possessed for some years these facets, for the articulation 
of a pair of ribs to the second pelvic vertebra, are also present. In 
this respect, the Dodo agrees still more closely with Pezophaps, the 
Solitaire, with which Sir Edward Newton and Dr. Gadow specially 
compared it. 
