156 ME. E. T. NEWTON ON THE REMAINS OF A 



in Gastornis. The Bustard, Turkey, and other land-birds have a deep intercondylar 

 fossa, and on this account have been thought to be related to Gastornis; but the 

 character of this depression, as already noticed, is unlike that in Gastornis, and cannot, 

 I think, be taken as an indication of relationship. It would seem probable, therefore, 

 that the nearest living ally of Gastornis, although differing widely from it, is that 

 aberrant form of Goose the Cereopsis. 



The researches of Dr. Lemoine have shown that Gastornis had small wings, although 

 they were proportionally somewhat larger than those of the Ostrich. The parts of 

 the skull which have been found indicate a very large head, as much as fifteen inches 

 in length, and consequently much larger proportionally than in either the Ostrich or 

 Dinornis, but more like that of Anserine birds. The large bony tooth-like prominences 

 on each side of the jaw are said to resemble in structure the bony teeth of the 

 Odontopteryx. The parts of the sternum which are known do not include the median 

 region, and consequently it is uncertain whether it was Ratite or Carinate. Dr. Lemoine's 

 study of these remains led him to conclude, as others had already done, that Gastornis 

 was a special type of bird unlike any living or fossil form, but showing certain points of 

 resemblance to several widely separated groups. 



The small size of the wings is sufficient evidence that Gastornis could not fly, and 

 such wings are not likely to have been accompanied by a keeled sternum ; hence it is 

 highly probable that the sternum of Gastornis will prove to be Ratite. 



One of the most interesting results of modern palseontological research has been the 

 bridging over of the gulfs which separated certain groups of living animals by the 

 discovery of intermediate types, and birds have been no exception. Of the three groups 

 into which birds are divided, namely, Saururse, Ratitae, and Carinatse, the Saururas 

 remain widely separated from all others, its sole representative, the Arclueopteri/x, still 

 standing alone in having unankylosed metacarpals and a long tail. The Ratitse and 

 Carinatae, on the other hand, do not seem so widely separated as was at one time 

 thought. Prof. W. K. Parker (Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. v. p. 149, 1866) has called atten- 

 tion to the struthious affinities of the Tinamou, which thus forms a link between the 

 Carinatae and the Ratitae. Dinornis shows us that the supratendinal bridge of the tibio- 

 tarsus may be fully ossified in Ratite birds. 



Prof. Marsh has pointed out that Hesperornis had a keelless sternum, as well as 

 other characters of the Ratitae. Hesperornis was a peculiarly aquatic bird, in many 

 points resembling Cohpnhiis ; it forms, therefore, a second link between the Ratitse and 

 Carinatae in the direction of the Colymbidae. 



It will be of the greatest interest to know whether or not Gastornis had a keeled 

 sternum ; for if it should prove to be Carinate, then this bird will be by far the largest 

 of the Carinatae yet known ; but if, as seems most probable, the sternum should be 

 found to be devoid of a keel, then we shall have an altogether new form of the Ratitae, 

 having affinities with another group of the Carinatae. 



