pc nri p MM 
Hector.—On Cnemiornis. 77 
remainder of the bones of this skeleton, and, after tracing it through several 
hands, Captain Fraser at last succeeded in obtaining possession of the box 
containing the bones in the same state in which they had been found, and 
at once handed them over to me for description. 
The skeleton is still far from complete, but the following bones are in a 
very admirable state of preservation :—Skull ; vertebrae, 12 cervical, 4 dorsal ; 
sternum ; fureulum ; humerus, right; metacarpal, right; sacrum; femur; 
tibie, both ; tarso-metatarsal ; ribs, six. 
They agree perfectly in appearance, colour, peculiar stains, texture, and 
other external characters, so that there is no reason to doubt that they all 
belong to one individual, which is further confirmed by the study of their 
anatomical characters. 
The structure and form of the skull and sternum shew that this bird 
belongs to the Lamellirostrate family of the order Natatores, but that the 
power of flight had become obsolete, and that it differs from most others of 
the duck kind in its short, lofty head, very solid palate, and in the peculiar 
character of the tympanic cavity, which is bridged across by a bony process 
between the mastoid process and the basi-occipital. The great solidity of the 
skull, and the absence of occipital fontanelles and of all sutures ер 
the naso-frontal and the lachrymal, is also remarkable. 
Every bone of the skeleton, excepting the upper part of the sternum, has 
the close-grained, reticulated surface which is so characteristic of the bones of 
Cnemiornis, giving the impression of a very solid, powerful framework, that in 
the fresh state would contain much oily matter. The absence of the power 
of flight is evidenced by the rudimentary tubercular ridge that represents the 
keel, and the small area of attachment for the pectoral muscle on the surface 
of the sternum. 
Вкои, РІ. XL 
What remains of the skull is well preserved, every process being sharp 
and distinct, as in a freshly-macerated specimen, but unfortunately the 
following appendages have been lost:—the quadrate, jugal, pterygoid, and 
lachrymal bones. The shape of the head, including the lower jaw, and 
‘allowing the usual proportion for the quadrate, would have been :—Height, 
two-thirds the length ; transverse diameter, one-half the length. 
The brain-case is short, high, and compressed laterally, its posterior- 
inferior diameter being greatest. The nasal portion of the skull, which is 
distinctly shorter than the cranial, is detached ; and the mobility of the upper 
mandible, which in such birds is usually effected by the flexibility of the thin 
nasal bones, must, if it existed, have been effected by a straight joint with 
thick, irregular margins, somewhat as in the parrot. 
In the occipital region the muscular ridges are moderately developed. The 
