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Show 30 MR. W. P. PYCRAFT ON THE [May 2, 3. Contributions to the Osteology of Birds.- Part V I I .* E u r y l c m m i d c e ; with Remarks on the Systematic Position of the Group. By W . P. P y c r a f t , F .Z .S ., M .B .O .U . [Received March 30, 1905.] (Plate II. t and Text-figures 13-15.) C o n t e n t s . i. Introductory Remarks, p. 30. ii. The Skull of the Adult, p. 30. iii. The Skull of the Nestling, p. 40. iv. The Vertebral Column, p. 43. v. The Ribs, p. 45. vi. The Sternum and Shoulder-girdle, p. 45. vii. The Pelvic Girdle, p. 48. viii. The Pectoral Limb, p. 48. ix. The Pelvic Limb, p. 49. x. Summary, p. 50. xi. List of Literature referred to, p. 56. xii. Explanation of Plate II., p. 56. i. I ntroductory R emarks. The present paper is intended to form the first of a series on the osteology of the Passeres, and, in order to increase its value to the systematist, characters other than osteological will be discussed where necessary. By this means it is hoped that that most difficult of ornithological problems-the classification of the Passeres-will be materially aided. The labours of Garrod, Forbes, and Furbringer have resulted in the accumulation of a considerable pile of facts concerning the soft parts of the Euryhemidse, but comparatively little has been done in the way of osteology. My work, it may be as well to state here, has been hampered by paucity of material, since several genera are entirely unrepresented in the Collection of the British Museum (Natural History). Doubtless these gaps will be filled in course of time, and the lacunae, unavoidable in this contribution, can then be filled up. Skeletons of nestlings are especially wanted. ii. T he S kull of the A dult. The skull of the Eurylfeinidai is remarkable for the extreme specialisation which it displays, though these birds are of an undoubtedly primitive type. That changes so considerable as are here to be noticed should have taken place in the skull is unfortunate, since thereby valuable evidence on questions of ancestry has been lost. It is not an easy matter to express exactly what are the characteristic features of the Eurylsemid skull, or, rather, it is not easy to set down diagnostic characters, since it presents considerable and often wide differences in different genera. Superficially it * For Part V I . see P. Z. S. 1903, vol. i. p. 258. f For explanation of the Plate, see p. 56. |
