SEP 18 '902 
WMq 
ZOOLOGY. 
277 
n. ZOOLOGY. 
1. Ox the Carpal axd Tarsal Boxes of Birds. By Bo- 
ay aed S. Morse, of Salem, Massachusetts. 
The author stated that he had followed with great interest the 
work of Huxley, Cope, and others, in tracing out the ornithic chai- 
acter in the Dinosauria. While following these relations, he had 
noticed a marked difference in the characters of the two classes. 
It seemed strange that a group of bones so persistent in the rep¬ 
tiles, as well as in the mammalia, should be so obscure, or wanting, 
in birds. 
Owen objects to the term tarso-metatarse , as he believes the ex¬ 
istence of a tarsus has not been demonstrated. W. fe. Baikei, in 
1861, on the osteology of the Balaeniceps Rex, queries if the lower 
articular portion of the tibia is not the liomologue of the mamma¬ 
lian astragalus, and not an epiphysis. 
Gegenbaur has now shown that, in an early stage of the chick, 
there is a proximal tarsal ossicle, and a distal tarsal ossicle, the 
proximal one anchylosing with the tibia, the distal one likewise 
anchylosing with the metatarsus. Thus, the term tarso-metatarsus 
is not only correct, but the nature of the segment in question is 
explained by it. 
While this was a great step toward a proper understanding of 
these parts, Mr. Morse believed that a nearer relation would be 
found in the discovery ot another proximal tarsal bone. In lep- 
tiles,_even in the low Batrachians,—however few in number the 
tarsal bones might be, there were always in the proximal series 
one corresponding to the tibia, and another corresponding to the 
fibula. 
He had found this feature in birds. The following embryos 
were studied: — 
Bank Swallow, Cotyle riparia. 
Cave Swallow, Hirundo lunifrovs. 
King Bird, Tyrannus Caroliensis. 
Crow Blackbird, Quiscalus versicolor. 
Cow Blackbird, Molothrus pecoris. 
