THE HANDED MYRMECOBIUS. 
401 
maxillaries presents two longitudinal ridges, and on the fore 
part are some oblique ridges, near which some minute per¬ 
forations for small vessels are observable, as in the Armadillos; 
and, besides these, there are four very minute openings near 
the palatine bone. The incisive openings are small, being 
scarcely one line in length. The auditory bullae are of mode¬ 
rate size, very convex (almost spherical), and formed by an 
expansion of the sphenoid alee. The occipital opening is 
large, and notched above. Ail the sutures of the cranium 
are distinct. 
The horizontal rami of the lower jaw are long, and rather slender; 
the coronoid process is moderately elevated; the condyloid 
is much elevated; its articular surface is nearly flat, trans¬ 
verse, and approaches to a semicircular form: the angle is 
slender, by no means long, and is less suddenly bent inwards 
than is usual in the Marsupialia. The two rami are but loosely 
joined at the symphysis menti 
Of Vertebra ?, there are—cervical, 7; dorsal, 13; lumbar, 6; 
sacral, 4 ; and caudal, 23, or perhaps 24. The ring of the 
atlas is complete beneath—that is to say, the body is anchy- 
losed to the neural arch, and not separate, as in many Mar¬ 
supialia. The remaining cervical vertebrae present no 
characters that need arrest our attention: they all have small 
spinous processes; that of the vertebra dentata is of great 
antero-posterior extent, though but little elevated. The 
dorsal vertebrae have moderately elevated spinous processes : 
the ribs are slender; the clavicle tolerably strong. The 
sternum is composed of six bones, of which the foremost, or 
manubrium sterni, is suddenly dilated rather in front of the 
middle. The lumbar, as well as the four or five first caudal 
vertebrae, have a small perforation traversing the body from 
beneath, which has tw ? o outlets on the upper surface : the 
lumbar vertebrae have the transverse processes greatly de¬ 
veloped ; the corresponding processes of the four or five first 
caudal vertebrae are also large, being much expanded from 
before backwards. The scapula has the spine much elevated; 
in front it is suddenly bent over the infra-spinal fossa, and 
this reflected portion of the spine is much dilated in the 
VOL. I. 
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