FAUNA OF THE KARNUL CAVES. 
51 
therium giganteum , but in the deep concavity of the proximal articular facettes and 
the more perfect rounding of the distal trochlese it resembles Mam's ; in size it is 
intermediate between Macrotherium giganteum and Mauds gigantea. On the whole the 
characters of this specimen appear -nearer to Macrotherium than to Manis, and it 
therefore appears advisable to refer it to the former genus, but the above-mentioned 
resemblance to Manis , coupled with the size of the specimen, and the occurrence of 
Manis gigantea in the pleistocene of India, renders it highly probable that the species 
to which it belonged was a form connecting the generalized Macrotherium giganteum 
of the middle miocene of Europe with the more specialized genus Manis. 
III. AVES. 
General. — The remains of birds are of far less common occurrence in the Karnul 
caves than those of mammals, and this paucity of specimens, together with the 
intrinsic difficulty of the determination of imperfect bones of birds, 1 renders the 
number of determined forms but small. In addition, however, to the forms men- 
tioned below an imperfect humerus (No. F. 319) from bed Ca in the Cathedral, 
agreeing in general characters with the corresponding bone of Corvus cor one, probably 
indicates the occurrence of a member of the Corvidae ; while three smaller specimens 
of the homologous bone may perhaps belong to other members of the Passeres. Other 
humeri (No. F. 316) from the same cave not improbably indicate the occurrence 
of Columbidce ; while a right humerus (No. F. 317) from bed Ca indicates a genus of 
Anatidce in which this bone is relatively longer and more slender than in Anas boscas. 
All the determined fofms belong to existing Indian species, but there is apparently 
evidence of a variety of Francolinus pondicerianus. The following list indicates the 
systematic position of the forms described. 
Accipitres. Neophron percnopterus {Linn). 
? Milvus or Circus, sp. 
Ketupa ceylonensis {Gmelin). 
Bubo coromandus {Lath.) 
Galling. Francolinus pictus {Jard. and Selby). 
pondicerianus 2 {Gmelin). 
Alectorides. Grus {cf. communis, Bechst.) 
Herodiones. Ibis melanocephala 2 {Lath.) 
Neophron percnopterus 3 (Linn.) 
Humerus. — The distal extremity of a left humerus (No. F. 309) from bed Ca in 
the Cathedral agrees exactly in contour with the corresponding bone of the skeleton 
of this species in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, although belonging 
to a somewhat larger individual. The characteristic deep fossa on the dorsal aspect 
is well exhibited. 
(?) Milvus, or Circus, sp. 
Tarso-metatarsus. — The distal half of the left tarso-metatarsus of a small raptorial 
1 This difficulty is intensified by the want of a really good collection of bird-skeletons in England. 
2 The writer follows Sclater (“ List of Animals in Gardens of Zool. Soc.” 8th ed. pp. 411, 468 [1883]) in referring these 
two species respectively to Francolinus and Ibis, rather than making them the types of the genera Ortygornis and Threskiomis. 
3 The so-called N. ginginianus is included under this name as being at least paleontologically inseparable. 
M 
