92 



PEOF. W. B. BENHAM ON THE 



Feb. 7, 



blunt spines, of irregular size, small and large, more or less 

 alternately arranged. 



At each end of this transverse row of preglottidean spines the 

 ridge bends sharply downwards vertically, and then curves inwards 

 towards the middle line ; it here carries a series of seven similar, 

 but larger, conical papilla?, arranged one above the other, decreasing 

 in size veutrally and ultimately dying out. 



The glottis (gl.) appears to be provided with a rudimentary 

 " epiglottis " (a) in the form of a small rounded nodule of cartilage. 

 Behind the glottis there is on each side a very obliquely placed 

 ridge, carrying a row of about a dozen small postglottidean papillae 

 (b), of which the mediad is the largest. Behind this large papilla is 

 a longitudinal series of postglottidean spines or papilliB of the same 

 character but longer and softer (see fig. 2, B), which are directed 

 backwards, each spine lying above the succeeding one. These are 

 in three rows, a median and two lateral rows. The median row 

 consists of five papillae ; the lateral rows are unsymmetrical, there 

 beiug on the right two couples and two single papillae, on the left 

 five couples. 



(c) The Larynx (fig. 3) is imperfectly ossified and suggests, 



Ym. 3. 



The skeleton of the larynx of Nofornis (enlarged). 



A, ventral view ; B, side view ; 0, dorsal view : a, the so-called " thyroid "; b, its 

 posterior incurved portion ; c, arytenoid; c', its mediad limb supporting 

 the margin of the glottis ; d, " cricoid." In C the details of the right side 

 are put in for tlie sake of symmetry ; as a matter of fact, I dissected only 

 the left side : the right arytenoid is represented as being cut short so as to 

 show more of the cricoid. The tracheal rings are only diagrammatically 

 indicated, their overlap being omitted. Cartilage is dotted. 



