458 OCEANITIDJi; OCEANITES 



Genus I. OCEANITES. 



Tyfe. 



Oceanites, Keys. <& Blasius, Wirb. Eiir. ii, pp. xeiii, 



131, 238 (1840) 0. oceanious. 



Bill slender, compressed and slightly hooked; nostrils opening 

 externally by a single rounded aperture on the culmen about half 

 way down the bill; wings very long and pointed, the second 

 primary the longest; only ten- secondaries; tail of twelve feathers 

 nearly square, the outer ones only slightly surpassing the middle 

 ones; tarsus very long about one-and-a-half times the length of 

 the middle toe, covered in front by a single long smooth shield ; 



Fig. 142. — Left foot of Oceanites oceanicus. . x i 



middle and outer toes nearly equal in length ; the basal phalanx of 

 the middle toe normal and about equal to the others in length ; 

 hind toe rudimentary ; webs yellow ; claws rounded and pointed ; 

 size small and plumage sooty. 



The sternum is slightly excavated behind, there are no cseca to 

 the intestine and the ambiens muscle is present. 



Two species only of this genus are generally recognised, the 

 widely spread Wilson's Petrel here described, and a second rarer 

 species confined to the west coast of South America. 



