294 



SIE E. NEWTON AND DE. GADOW ON THE DODO 



out and deeply grooved, as in Erythromachus. There is no trace of a spina interna ; 

 the feet of the coracoids, as indicated by their facets, were separated from each other 

 by a smooth groove of 9 mm. in length. The spina externa is represented by two 

 projections from the ventral lips of the median corner of the coracoid articulation. In 

 this respect A^hanafteryx agrees with Erythromachus, and also with Fulica netvtoni. 



The humerus is very short and slender for so large a bird ; its typically Ealline 

 characters are, however, obvious enough to recognize it as belonging to Aphanapteryx, 

 while it differs by its far greater length and strength from the humerus of Gallinula, 

 and by its much smaller dimensions from that of Fulica. A very interesting feature is 

 the absence of the usually wide and deep pneumatic foramen, which is indicated only 

 by a shallow depression which is smaller than even in Gallinula chloropus. 



The third cervical vertebra could easily be recognized as such by its numerous 

 EaUine characters, which in these birds are strongly jpronounced ; its dimensions remove 

 it from either Fulica or Gallinula, i. e. from the only other Ealline birds hitherto 

 known to have occurred in Mauritius. 



The premaxilla fits well upon the several fragments of underjaws, and still better 

 upon the underjaw figured by M. Milne-Edwards. The great length and the shape of 

 these bones closely resemble those of Frythromachit.s (Phil. Trans, vol. 168, pi. xliii. 

 fig. A). The Mauritian bird is, in fact, nothing but a larger species of the same genus. 



A number of measurements are given in the subjoined Table in order to aid the 

 comparison of the Mauritian Ralline birds with each other and with some of their 

 allies. 





Fulica newioni. 



Aplianapteryx 

 iroecki. 



Porphyrio 



melanonotus. 



Ocydromus 

 ausirclis. 



Length of pelvis 



Distance between pectineal processes . 

 Distance across lat. dorsal Uiac pro- 

 cess 



mm. 

 80 

 23-0 



28 

 32 

 76, 78, 81, 90 

 r 120, 127, 

 \ 130, 133 



82-84 



85, 88. 90, 92 



74 



70 



29-5-30 



5 



17-21 

 15 

 16 



mm. 

 60 



28-5 



44 



38 



69, 70, 71 



98, 102, 108, 1 



112, 115 J 



79 



60-66 



incomplete 

 25 



9 



9-5 

 12-5 



mm. 



83 

 140 



98 



88 



68 

 22 



2-5 



mm. 



82 



111 



62 

 57 



55 



20 



Distance across antitrochanters 



Length of femur 



Length of tibia 



Length of tarso-metatarsus 



Length of humerus 



Length of nlna 



Total length of sternum 



Width of sternum from a to a 



Distance between coracoids at sternal 

 articulation 



Great est length of 9th cervical vertebra 

 Greatest width of 3rd cervical vertebra 

 Greatest length of 3rd cervical vertebra 



