264 Marsh’s Monograph on the Odontornithes 
ous cotemporaries would. doubtless have been easy victims. 
This would be precisely analogous to what we have among the 
corresponding groups in the Dinosaurs. 
“There is to-day no evidence that any of the Struthious 
birds, or their ancestors, ever possessed the power of flight, 
although this is generally assumed. The case is even stronger 
with Hesperornis, as this genus stands much nearer the ances- 
tral type, both in structure and in time. The absence from 
the sternum of any trace of a keel is alone strong proof against 
flight ; the peculiar Dinosauroid union of the scapula and cora- 
coid, unlike that of any volant bird or reptile, confirms this; 
and other testimeny bearing in the same direction is not 
wantin 
Onemiornis and Notornis are well known examples; but these 
and this alone seems to furnish a crucial test. When such 
“In this great swimming bird, as thus nodined, we have 
presreus to us an interesting problem in animal mechanics. 
‘he wings may be regarded as wanting, since the remnant 0} 
