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Show 236 DR. ST. GEORGE MIYART, ON THE [Feb. 4, back like those of a Seal, I found great difficulty, from of the skeleton, in comprehending bow this could be effected. Mr. Snow writes me that "the hind flippers, when the Otter is travelling on shore, are brought under the body, but doubled up backwards, somewhat after the manner of the rough sketch enclosed, which, I may mention, has been drawn by a friend -who never has seen a Sea-Otter-from my description. This sketch [which forms the basis of the figure, p. 235] fairly represents the animal, but the hind quarters are not quite correct. " The human hand will serve as a good illustration of the hind flippers of the Otter, the under part of the flipper corresponding to the palm of the hand. Imagine a hand, the fingers united by a thin web, the whole surface on both sides, with the exception of five small, black, naked spots on the balls of the finger, covered with hair. The Otter apparently has little or no muscular power in the finger part of its flippers, and when attempting to w-alk, or rather jump, along on shore, this part is doubled under the portion corresponding to the knuckles of the hand." 7. On the Hyoid Bones of Nestor meridionalis and Nanodes discolor. By ST. G E O R G E M I V A R T , M.D., F.R.S. [Received January 15, 1896.] In a paper read x before the Zoological Society on March 5th last, I described the structure of the hyoids of certain Lories, and compared them with that of Psittacus erilhacus and that of Stringops habroptilus. Therein I called attention to the processes which I named parahyal processes, and which, so far as I have been able to ascertain, seem peculiar to the PSITTACI. I pointed out that the three genera of Lories described and figured, namely, Eos, Lorius, and Trichoglossus, differed from other Parrots in having these parahyal processes much prolonged and distally united, each pair forming a singularly delicate osseous structure which 1 termed the parahyal arch. Subsequently, when considering the form of the tongue, I thought it would be very interesting to ascertain whether the two genera, the prolonged lingual papillae of which have a certain resemblance to those of the LORIID^E, did, or did not, also possess a parahyal arch. This question, through the kindness of Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.Pv.S., I have lately been able to determine by examining the hyoid structure of Nestor meridionalis and Nanodes discolor. In the hyoid of Nestor, the basihyal (b, fig. 1, p. 237) is long and narrow, much as in the genera of LORIID.E before described. The upper end of its anterior articular surface does not project so much preaxiad as does its ventral lip. The latter is narrow and pointed, 1 See P. Z. S. 1895, pp. 162-174, figs. 1 to 6. |