244 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON THE [Apr. 15, 



rudimentary septal flap of other birds. The traces of the septal 

 flap, other than this definite piece of that flap noted by myself in 

 the Condor's heart, consisted in "a series of tiny yellowish spots 

 and vesicles a little way fi'om the posterior margin of the atrio- 

 ventricular oiifice, which formed a line occupying a position 

 identical with that which would be occupied by a septal part of 

 the valve if it were present." These structures, possibly patho- 

 logical, seemed to me and still seem, to be possibly a I'eminiscence 

 of that half of the valve. Apart, however, from this pathological 

 and thus more questionable state of affairs, we have Gegenbaur's 

 positive assertions. In the heart which I have most recently 



Text-fig. 31. 



,,«i^' 



/ 



/ 



A-i- 



Heart of Sarcorhamplms gryplms opened so as to display the interior of the 

 right ventricle. 



A, cut end of papillary muscle tying valve to septal wall of heart ; 

 B, opposite end of the same ; C, rudiment of septal flap. 



examined there were no traces, that I could discover, of an exten- 

 sion of the top half of the septal flap ; but, on the other hand, as 

 is shown in the drawing submitted herewith (text-fig. 31), a con- 

 siderable piece of muscular tissue extended fi-om the lower end 

 of the invariably present portion of the valve in the direction of 

 the rudimentary slip at its other end. A line joining the letters 

 A and B in the drawing would make a complete septal half to 

 this valve. It cannot, I think, be doubted that this structure is 

 a rvidiment of the chiefly missing septal half of the valve ; and if 



