ANNALS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM, No. 6 5 
the probrachial area superficial and partially ribbed. Nearly 
on the same grounds, with the addition of an ectepicondyle without 
a process, the bones in the Crane and in the Jabiru are incomparable 
with the fossil. In birds of the remaining family, the Falconidce, 
the bone has so much in common with the fossil humerus that 
no doubt as to the affinity of the latter can exist. Compared 
with Haliaetus leucocephalus, it agrees in the relative shortness 
of its joint, proportions of its condyles, depth of its olecranal fossa, 
and development of its epicondylar process. But its differences 
from Haliaetus are strikingly great ; from Uroaetus still greater. 
These have the probrachial area sup acial, the popliteal fossa 
shallow, the extensor sulci faint. Everything in the structure 
of the fossil conspires with the boldness of its sculpture to lead 
to the conclusion that it was part of an eagle not much larger 
than H. leucogaster, but of enormously greater power of flight, 
and when one recollects that the sea eagle can as it flies gorge on 
a full-grown black duck, the weight of the prey which this extinct 
•eagle could devour on the wing may be imagined. Locality, 
Kalamurina. 
Quadrate. — Plate I., fig. 2. — Except for the loss of the 
orbital process (a), this is an entire and well-preserved bone from 
the right side. The presence of a deep circular pit (b) in the fore 
end of the base of the bone, for the reception of the quadratojugal, 
taken in conjunction with a large pneumatic foramen (c) on its 
posterior side below its distal articulating surface for the squamosal, 
and the breaking up of the posterior part of its mandibular articu- 
lating surface into two distinct facets, determines its relationship 
to the eagles. H. leucogaster has the quadratojugal pit and the 
foramen, and its ventral surface does not, as in many birds, afford 
to the mandible a continuous surface of articulation. Since, 
in this eagle, the length of the bone measured from the outer 
end of its squamosal articulation (d), to the point of junction 
with the pterygoid (e) is 20 mm., and in the fossil 22 mm., the 
latter represents a bird about as much larger than H. leucogaster, 
as the humerus gave us reason to expect. There does not, indeed, 
seem to be any reason why the fossil should not be attributed to 
Taphaetus, provisionally at least ; and if this be admitted, the 
quadrate, one of the most characteristic of bones, amply affirms 
the justness of proposing for it generic distinction from other 
Australian birds of prey. Its squamosal surface, apart from 
minor points of difference, is on the whole similar to that of H. 
leucogaster. The foramen (c) distad of this is not, as in Haliaetus, 
divided by a deep septum, but is one large opening nearly one-third 
of the length of the bone, the quadratojugal pit is very wide and 
deep, more than 3.5 mm. in diameter, the mandibular surface 
is divided by a broad and deep sulcus (/) into anterior and posterior 
regions, the anterior bearing on its lower faco a quadrangular 
facet (g), which extends to the quadratojugal pit ; the posterior is sub- 
