126 
Reports and Proceedings — 
which, in addition to otker skeletal modifications, have teeth im- 
planted in sockets, is, as far as it goes, another point in favour, 
being a ckaracter which can no longer be used as an argument to 
prove that the Pterodactyles were non-avian. 
The skull, the microscopic structure of the teeth, and all the im- 
portant bones of the skeleton, notably those of the fore-limb. have 
been subjected to minute examination and comparison with the 
corresponding parts in various birds and reptiles ; and the poiuts in 
which they niost resemble either the one or the other are discussed 
and amply dilated upon ; but upon this portion of the subject we 
cannot enter further than to summarize a few of the conclusions 
derived from the study of these remains. With regard to the skull, 
it is observed, “Every point of the Ornithosaurian skull upon which 
I have not offered comment presents absolute identity with the cor- 
responding structures in birds ” ; and of the sacrum, that it is 
“ distinct from that of birds, and yet altogether unlike the sacrum of 
any reptile.” That “the pectoral and sternal bones are about as 
markedly avian as in the skull.” That “the pelvis and hind limb 
are the least reptilian portions of the Ornithosaurian skeleton,” that 
“ the femur is in no respect a reptilian hone,” and that the tibia and 
fibula are altogether avian, so much so that in many genera no 
anatomist could distinguish them from the same bones in birds.” 
These avian resemblances are not advanced by Mr. Seeley as 
original discoveries, for they have been noticed and commented upon 
by Herman vou Meyer and others, but who have, notwithstanding 
these resemblances, referred them to the dass reptilia. 
Witkout committing ourselves to any opinion on the subject, we 
can, without hesitation, recommend those students who desire full 
information upon the many points advanced, from original observa- 
tions and study, in Support of the ornithic affinities of these interesting 
extinct animals, to read Mr. Seeley’s paper. It is clearly written and 
argumentative, and is a valuable contribution to the literature of the 
Pterodactyles. W. D. 
EEPOBTS J^JSTID PEOCEEDI^GS. 
Gkological Society of London. — January 24th, 1877. — Prof. 
P. Martin Duncan, M.B., F.B.S., President, in the Chair. The 
following Communications were read : — 
1. “ Note on the Question of the Glacial or Volcanic Origin of the 
Talcliir Boulder-bed of India and the Karoo Boulder-bed of South 
Africa.” By H. F. Blanford, Esq., F.G.S. 
The autkor, referring to a doubt expressed by the President in a 
paper on Australian Tertiary Corals as to the glacial origin of the 
Talchir Boulder-bed. indicated the liypothesis of its formation by 
the action of local glaciers under present climatal conditions would 
require the elevation of the whole region to the extent of 14,000 or 
15,000 feet, and the assumption that the denudation of this great 
mountain mass was so moderate that large tracts of the ancient 
surface are still preserved at levels now only a few hundred feet 
