514 W. J. SOLLAS ON SOME THREE-TOED FOOTPRINTS 
possesses three phalanges in all, and the outer toe as many as five, 
yet the imprints left by these digits on the ground show only two 
depressions in each case—one a mere pit indicating the nail, the 
other a long groove representing all the rest of the phalanges. 
Moreover the number of phalanges indicated varies with the way 
the foot is set on the ground; thus in one instance the Emu in our 
Zoological Gardens so stepped as to run the second and third pha- 
langeal imprints of its middle toe into one. 
The casts taken from the Rhea and Cassowary in our Museum 
are, I fear, not trustworthy, as the feet seem to have lost a good deal 
of their original form in the setting-up. Still they are available for 
measurements of length, which are given in the following table :— 
Linear and Angular Measurements of Fossil Foot-prints, and 
oot-prints of Ratitous Birds. 
Leneth | Distance from se 
ae point cf toe | Angle between 28 
‘ to commence- the toes. ous . 
toes a) 
Footprint. 8. | ment of heel. 3/55 Stride. 
A, |2S 
lp Elie) WEN OL OIG ENE O.we| 2 ie 
No. 1, Left ...| 53 | 62 | 73 | 10 | 74 | 52°) 30°} 22° | 63 | 33 
Ad Veaifedeten || 54 ll won ||P eeo |\heaser \\i coon) odes It coon || coo, 8" | 6c 3! Q" 
3, Left...) 43 | 62 | 7 4] 62 | 44°] 24°] 20° | 62 | 33 
AD Right, oe | Os Nee Os | Oto) een 24a eae acermleeee 
5d, Left...) 42 | 7 | 74 | 102) 7d | 51°) 27°) 24° | 6S | 32 
Average ....... 5 | 63 | 74 [10 | 7 | 49°) 27°) 22° | 62 | 33 | -o peop 
Da cote coo 43|5 | 54 | 7%} 53 | 66°} 22°) 44° | 63 | 33 { 3/ I! eases 
Cassowary ...| 3% | ... | 53 | 8 | 7% | 47°) 29°| 18° | 53 | 2 | + o 
WRihecajeeeseece SPs ae ay ae | Soaps BOF Im |) 2s 
The linear measurements of this table are given in inches. 
J=inner, M=middle, O=outer. Spread=length of a straight line 
joining the extremities of the inner and outer tocs. Projection of 
the middle toe=distance it extends beyond the line of spread. 
It will be noticed that the projection of the middle toe and the 
“spread” are the same in the Emu as in the fossil tracks, notwith- 
standing the difference in their other dimensions. In size and an- 
gular measurements the nearest approach to our footprints is made 
by the Cassowary. It may be added here that the height of the 
Emu we examined was 5’ 9", of the Cassowary 4',"measured from 
the ground to the top of the crest. Reasoning on the ratio of the 
height to the length of the foot, this would give the animal of the 
ichnites a height of from 5’ to 7’ 8” thus :— 
5’ OF at oul 4! 5) 
Bar = ay «(OF STt = Fr: 
1Z 10 8 10 
Eniu. Fossil. Cassowary. Fossil. 
So complete is the agreement in all essential points between the 
footprints in the Triassic conglomerate and those of the living 
