390 MR. G. E. DOBSON ON THE [Mar. 1, 



The following points in the osteology of this very remarkable 

 form are especially worthy of notice' : — 



The vertebral colnmn is made up of 7 cervical, 15 dorsal, 6 

 lumbar, 7 sacro-coccygeal, and 23 caudal vertebrae. AH the spinous 

 processes, from the axis backwards to the last sacro-coccygeal 

 vertebra, are well developed ; that of the axis is enormous, flattened 

 laterally, and antero-posteriorly expanded ; the second dorsal spine 

 is greatly elongated ; the ten anterior dorsal spines are narrowed 

 towards their extremities ; the succeeding spines have their extre- 

 mities progressively antero-posteriorly expanded and laterally 

 flattened, merging into the shape of the lumbar spines, which are 

 nearly as broad at their apices as at their bases. The four anterior 

 cervical vertebrae develop spines (hypapophyses) from the centre of 

 the ventral surface of the body of each, that of the axis being most 

 prominent ; the inferior lamellae of the transverse processes of the 

 sixth cervical vertebra are enormously expanded antero-posteriorly, 

 like the spine of the axis ; inferior lamellas are also developed in 

 the fifth, fourth, and third cervical vertebrae, but they are very 

 much smaller. The first lumbar vertebra develops a small postero- 

 externally directed transverse process ; the remaining five vertebrae 

 have long antero-externally directed falciform transverse processes 

 many times larger and quite differently shaped ; these are succeeded 

 by seven sacro-coccygeal vertebrae, whereof the first two are arti- 

 culated with the iliac bones. The first caudal vertebra is distin- 

 guished, not only by the absence of spinous and articular processes, 

 but also by the want of the chevron bones, which are attached to all 

 the succeeding vertebrae except the terminal two or three : these 

 bones are bifid, and consist of a pair of cylindrical splint-like bones 

 attached by the middle, one on each side, to the infero-lateral 

 surface of the body of each vertebra at its posterior margin, so that 

 half of each bone projects horizontally backwards over the succeed- 

 ing vertebra ; the metapophyses and transverse processes of most 

 of the caudal vertebrae are well developed, and diminish in length 

 progressively backwards. 



There are fifteen pairs of ribs ; and the thorax is very capacious. 

 Sternum narrow, not keeled ; the mesosternum consists of five 

 segments ; the xiphisternum is remarkably long and spatulate, 

 terminating in an expanded cartilage, and very like that in Sori- 

 cidae. 



The pelvic opening is remarkably long and narrow, its width 

 between the acetabula being but one ninth its long diameter ; the 

 symphysis pubis extremely weak, the conjoined rami of the pubis 

 and ischium forming an angular projection, which merely touches 

 the corresponding projection of the opposite side. 



Humerus well developed, with a supracondylar foramen and a 

 large supratrochlear perforation. Carpus of seven bones, no os 

 centrale ; the scaphoid and lunar bones are evidently separate in the 



^ In Mr. Mivart's paper " On the Osteology of the Insectivora " (Joiirn. Anat. 

 Phys. i. pp. 281-312), owing to want of material, the author has touched but 

 cursorily (with the exception of the skull) on the skeleton of this species. 



