42 
as it rises to the frontal roof, the breadth of that roof, taken across the postfrontals, 
being 2 inches 10 lines. 
The interorbital foramen for the exit of the ophthalmic branch of the 5th nerve and 
vessels is of equal vertical diameter with the optic foramen, but leads to a canal directed 
obliquely upward and forward, and so appears rather as a fissure. ; 
The temporal fossa seems to have two boundaries above—the border of the ridge 
continued from the postfrontal to the parietal,7, and the arched ridge upon the 
mastoid, 8, marking the extent of origin of the crotaphyte muscle; the latter may be 
regarded as the true boundary, The fossa is produced below into three processes: the 
middle and largest is the “tympanic process” of the mastoid; the hind and smallest 
process is the “‘ postmastoid’ one; the fore process may be a production of the parietal, 
or of this together with the postfrontal. The relative position of the three descending 
productions of the temporal fossa agrees with that in Goura and most Doves. 
Viewing the coalesced mass of nasals, premaxillaries, and frontals forming the upper 
part of the base of the beak (Pl. V. figs. 2 & 4), it is hard to suppose that the right 
and left nasals were not only separated by the interposed premaxillaries (ib. 15, 22), but 
that the outer and inner divisions of each nasal have not contracted a separate union with 
the frontals: but no doubt the common base of each nasal is represented by part of the 
arched transverse bar, x, and its mesial hind production, which is overlapped by the 
frontal fringes. 
The basi-presphenoid (Pl. V. fig. 5, 5,9) is 2 inches long in the male; it has no 
pterapophyses. 
There is, as is well known, no * maxillo-palatine” or “ prevomerine bone” in the bird’s 
skull distinct from the proper maxillary or proper palatine. The latter bone (ib. ib, 20) 
speedily coalesces with the premaxillary in front, and the maxillary (21’) above, as does 
this with the premaxillary in front and with the malar bone behind. ‘Their respective 
limits are definable by their unconfluent condition in the immature bird. 
In Pezophaps the persistent linear suture between the palatal part of the maxillary 
and the palatine commences i inch 10 lines from the tip of the beak ; it defines a linear 
tract of the maxillary of 1 inch 3 lines extent. External to this suture is the palatine 
tract, coalesced with the maxillary, in breadth 2 lines, in length 10 lines; when the 
palatine becomes free, it is twisted on itself, forms a vertical plate of 8 to 4 lines 
depth, and sends off from the mesial side of the hinder part the horizontal plate, which 
bends mesiad. Between these right and left mesial plates of the palatines is an 
interval of 2% lines. he interpalatine vacuity in advance of the horizontal plates is 44 
lines across. ‘The upper parts of the hinde 
the convex sides of the presphenoids. 
noid immediately behind the palatines, 
against the tympanic. 
r five lines of the palatines are applied to 
The pterygoids (24) abut against the basisphe- 
each pterygoid diverging and expanding to abut 
The maxillo-palatal cleft is long and of moderate and uniform 
width ; the interpalatal cleft is wider until the inner plates are developed. 
