1901.] ANATOMY or COGIA BREVIOEPS. 115 



" maxillary " aud " premaxillary,'' that Murie uses in describing 

 the analogous chambers in that family. 



III. The Buccal Cavity. 



The lower jaw having been removed, the skull disarticulated, 

 and the larynx severed from its position, I am unable to make 

 any remarks upon the tongue or pharynx. 



The tough gum on each side was provided with 13 shallow pits 

 for the reception of the 13 teeth borne by the corresponding 

 ramus of the lower jaw. Further, each premaxilla bears a tooth : 

 that on the right side was sufficiently long to project for ^ inch 

 beyond the gum ; but the left tooth could only be felt ; it had 

 not been " cut." This premaxillary tooth was about 1| inches 

 from the anterior end of the snout ; it is conical and slightly 

 curved, with the point directed backwards. 



In the loiver jaw there are thirteen teeth on each side, of the 

 shape usual in the genus ; that is, each is a rather slender cone, 

 curved, and sharply pointed. They are all so arranged that the 

 points ai'e directed inwards, and, with the exception of the first, 

 slope slightly outwards ; those in the middle of the series having 

 a greater slope than those at the ends. 



The front tooth projects | inch, and the last | inch above the 

 (dried) gum, (The lower jaw had been removed and was 

 partially cleaned when I obtained it.) The series of teeth, or 

 " dental area," measures b\ inches, and the individual teeth are 

 separated by a space of | inch, though the two hindmost are 

 nearer together. 



The dental formula, then, for the Parakanui specimen is 



r|^ = 28, which is the same as that of von Haast's specimen. 



In another skull in the Otago University Museum, obtained 

 from Napier, on the East coast of the North Island, in 1892, the 



formula is j^Eis- ^^' is true that the premaxillary teeth are 



absent in the specimen, and that there are only 14 teeth 

 remaining on each side of the lower jaw, the tip of which has 

 been broken across at the level of the sockets of the front teeth ; 

 the sockets are, however, quite visible at the fracture. 



This skull is rather larger than that of the Parakanui specimen 

 (which I hope to describe in the future), and the teeth are longer 

 and stouter ; the anterior teeth measuring | inch, the hinder ones 

 § inch above the dried gam. The dental area measures 6| inches, 

 allowing for the front teeth ; and the dental interval is | inch, 

 except for the hinder 3 teeth, which are separated by a space of 

 only -^ inch ; these last teeth have their points turned backwards, 

 though whether this is dae to the shrinkage and distortion of 

 the gum in drying I am unable to say. 



I have referred to this skull, since in Plower and Lydekker's 

 ' Mammals' it is stated that Cogia has 9 to 12 teeth in the lower 

 jaw. Owen gives 9 for the Indian specimen. I have not access 



