OF THE PALATE OF THE NEOGNATH A. 351 
to make up the blanks, which are many, in the collections. 
When this has been done, one or two very interesting points can 
be definitely settled. 
The Cuculi and Psittaci may be dismissed in a few words. 
The former have the typical Neognathine palate; the pterygoid 
being segmented, and the bhemipterygoid fusing with the pala- 
tines, and forming a joint with the main body of the pterygoid. 
The pterygoid in the Psittaci also forms a joint at its distal end, 
but nothing is yet known concerning the presence or absence of 
the hemipterygoid—we do not know whether it is present and 
fuses with the palatine, or has been lost by atrophy as in the 
Galli or Anseres. Certain of the Coraciiformes and Passeriformes 
afford us some interesting modifications of the type. 
Briefly, these modifications seem to show that the forms in 
question differ from all the remaining Neognathe in that the 
pterygoid does not segment, but is continued forward directly on 
to the vomer when present, as in Paleognathz. That is to say, 
the hemipterygoid element has not been lost by atrophy, but 
remains permanently in connection with the main pterygoid 
body. Between this and the normal Neognathine type are many 
gradations. The most extreme forms of this modification are 
perhaps to be found in the Capitonidz and Bucconide. 
In Megalema marshallorum, one of the Capitonide (Pl. 32. 
fig. 7) the pterygoid is continued directly forward on to the vomer, 
terminating in a sharp point running obliquely over the dorsal 
border of its right and left limbs. This connection between the 
vomer and an unsegmented pterygoid is of course a Paleognathine 
character. Moreover, the palatine, as will be seen in the figure 
(pa.), is confined to the ventral border of the pterygoid, and in no 
way comes into relation with the vomer. It is significant, how- 
ever, that in this skull the region of the pterygoid shaft that 
corresponds to the hemipterygoid is not a direct continuation of 
the shaft, but a curved plate rising somewhat suddenly from the 
distal end of the pterygoid shaft iramediately above the free end 
of the palatine. This latter fits into the curved hemipterygoid 
border and abuts against the antero-ventral extremity of the 
pterygoid (fig. 7). On this account, from the ventral aspect of 
the skull, the pterygo-palatine connection appears to be by 
means of a joint, as in all the other Neognathe. This joint is 
