144 MR. W. p. PYCRAFT ON THE OSTEOLOGY [Feb. 20, 



a manner, the quadi'ate develoj)S a columnar buttress of bone 

 laterad of the outer condyle, for the articulation of the qimdrato- 

 jugal bar ; and this column, in the Conopophagidse, rises ujDwards 

 parallel with the shaft of the quadrate and for half its height. 

 The outside of this column is gently hollowed to form an articular 

 surface for the quadrato-jugal bar, the extreme proximal end of 

 which rises gently upwards to slide along the glenoid surface 

 prepared for it. When the quadrate is seen from in front, the 

 outer condyle, for the articulation of the mandible, has the 

 appearance of being borne on a separate pedicle standing out 

 obliquely and at some distance from the inner condyle, and this 

 is especially marked in the Synallaxine forms. Seen from its 

 articular sui'face, the inner condyle will be found to be subcircular 

 in shape and separated by a deej^ gorge from the outer condyle,, 

 'which is oblong, sigmoidally curved, and has its long axis almost at 

 right angles to the long axis of the skull. These features, it may 

 be remembered, obtain also in the Eurylfemidse and Cotingidfe. 



The Mandible. 



The mandible does not present any very stiiking characters, or 

 points of value for systematic purposes. 



It is truncated posteriorly and has only a very shor-t internal 

 angular process, except in the Conopophagidee, where it is of 

 moderate length. The latei-al vacuity is always very small, and 

 may be altogether wanting, as in the Pittidfe, Pipridee, Philepittidse,. 

 and some Dendrocolaptinfe. The symphysis is nowhere extensive 

 except in the case of long-billed forms, such as Xiphorhpnchtcs for 

 example, whereiir the rami rapidly approach one another to form 

 a long, slender, curved rod flattened along its superior surface. 



iii. The Vertebral Column. 



The presynsacral vertebrte are all heterocoelous and free. 



In their general charactei's the cervical vertebrte agree A^ery 

 closely with those of the Euryltemidee, which I have already 

 described. 



The odontoid ligament of the atlas is ossified in all the groups 

 here dealt with. Hypapophyses are well developed only in some 

 FormicariinfB (e. g. Batara), the Dendrocolaptinse, and tSynallaxinse. 

 As in the Eurylremidte, the typical number of cervicals is twelve ; 

 following these are three cervico-thoracic vertebrae, i. e. those 

 bearing free ribs which do not articulate with the sternum. The 

 hindmost pair bear uncinate processes but have no sternal 

 segment. In some, e. g. Synallaxis, there are only two pairs of 

 cervico-thoracic vertebi"*, the hindmost pair just referred to in 

 stich cases articulate with the sternum. But this point is of no 

 systematic value, though of interest morphologically. 



The thoracic vertebra? are six in ninnber and have well 

 developed quadrangular neural spines, which may, as in Pipridp& 



