376 



ZOOLOGY 



SECT. 



(q.v.). The vertebrie are proca?lous, except the caudals, wliich are amphi- 

 coslous. The cervical vertebrfe are elongated and stout, the neck being of 

 considerable length ; there are three to six ankylosed sacrals. The anterior 



Fig. lOlS— Pterodactylus spectabilis. Three-fourths of the natural size. (From Zittcl, 



after H. v. Mayer.) 



thoracic ribs are bifid at their vertebral ends. The sternum is broad, with a 

 longitudinal keel. The skull (Fig. 1019), set on the neck at right-angles as 

 in a Bird, is of large size and superficially resembles that of a Bird in general 

 shape, and particularly in the presence of an elongated, pointed rostrum ; the 



Flu. 1019.— Skull of Scaphognathns. S. pre-orWtal aperture ; Jr. frontixl ; /it. jugal ; Mo.-, 

 maxilla ; N. nasal opening ; 2'nu: premaxilla ; Qu. quadrate. (After Zittel.) 



orbits are large, and contain a ring of sclerotic ossifications. The sutures are 

 obliterated, as in the skull of a Bird. The quadrate is immovably fixed to the 

 skull. In the pectoral arch the scapula and coracoid are long and slender, like 

 those of Birds : procoracoids and clavicles are absent. The pelvis and hiud-limbs 



