118 OSTEOLOGY. [Parr II. 
The metatarsus of the Solitaire differs from that of the Dodo, not only in the greater elongation and 
antero-posterior expansion of the central portion of the shaft, but also in the greater breadth and transverse 
flatness of the external border, or surface uncovered by muscle, which does not curve round the wpper part 
of the tumid external metatarsal pillar, as in the Dodo, but encroaches on and flattens that element, so that 
this margin is concave vertically in the Solitaire; while in the Dodo, it is slightly convex in its 
upper moiety ; its anterior and posterior edges are acute, but the anterior in the Dodo is rounded off. 
Theconcavity beneath the proximal extremity is deeper, and its floor angular ; the outer wall formed by the 
central and external elements is only slightly concave; but the inner pillar is more convex and tumid than 
in the Dodo. The rounded surface for the attachment of the 7idialis anticus is in contact with the internal 
inter-osseous foramen, and extends on both walls of the concavity, a deep groove bisecting it; the outer 
segment is slightly raised, the inner impressed. The groove for the tendon of the M. adductor 
annularis is shorter and less distinct; and the tendon is transmitted through a canal, formed posteriorly 
by an osseous band, connecting the adjacent posterior edges of the peduncles of the two external trochlew, 
a small oval foramen remaining above it for the transmission of vessels, and in front, as in all birds, by the 
bridge connecting them anteriorly. The line of demarcation between the surfaces for the I. M. extensor 
pollicis and adductor indicis, is imperceptible, and the inner limit of that for the J. eatensor medii meets 
the outer at the lower extremity of the median concavity. 
The inner border instead of being thin and ridge-like im its upper third, as in the Dodo, is replaced by 
a flat plane with a sharp posterior edge, the anterior is rounded off in young individuals; this plane 
slopes very slightly outwards, and terminates below at a rough projection situated at the junction of the 
upper and middle thirds of the bone, corresponding to a minute one in the Dodo; beneath which, the 
tumid inner part of the anterior aspect is broadly rounded off towards the internal surface. These surfaces 
are separated by a prolongation of the posterior margin of the replacing plane, which descends to the meta- 
tarsal facet, describing a curve convex posteriorly ; the anterior margin of the plane is prolonged down on 
the convexity of the anterior surface, at first parallel to, and afterwards converging to the posterior, mecting 
it a little above the articular facet. The inner edge beneath this facet is less concave, being thinner than 
in the Dodo, and more extended inwards. The medullary foramina have the same relative position with 
regard to the shaft as in the Dodo. The fossa for the 7. flexor brevis pollicis is narrower, from the replacement 
of the inner edge, and more elongated, extending to within an inch of the metatarsal articular facet. The 
edge of the calcaneal buttress is probably more convex. From the flattening of the outer border and the 
less projection of the calcaneal buttress, the surface for the Abductor indicis is much narrower than in the 
Dodo, and passes more directly into the groove lodging the tendon, which, however, is deeper and more 
distinctly defined than in the Dodo. The faint ridge which bounds this impression internally, and gives 
attachment to the inter-muscular ligament from which the Mewor brevis pollicis arises, subsides before 
reaching the articular facet. 
The greater elongation and antero-posterior expansion of the central part of the shaft, and the breadth 
of the outer and inner borders are the most characteristic and essential differences between the metatarsus of 
the Solitaire and that of the Dodo. In all other respects they agree very closely ; the dimensions, even, of 
the trochleze and of the upper extremity, and the absolute height of the posterior metatarsal articular facet are 
alike in both. Those points in which the metatarsus of the Solitaire differs from that in the Dodo, are, in 
some measure, repeated in Phaps, which has nearly the same relation to Geophaps that the Solitaire has to the 
Dodo, in the proportionate lengths of the metatarsi. The metatarsus examined exhibits marks of disease 
similar to those found in the bones of birds dyimg in menageries, the compact osseous tissue is opened out 
along the lower moiety of the outer border, and in a circular space one inch beneath the proximal extremity, 
