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Show 446 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON A N E W HORNBILL. [May 5, with the corresponding bones of other Eocene birds, and referred to the genus Gastornis, but they are named specifically after their discoverer, Gastornis klaasseni. The lower ends of these tibio-tarsi being more perfect than in any of the examples of the genus which have'been discovered on the continent, a more detailed comparison with other forms of birds is now possible, and confirms to a great extent the opinions which have been expressed by previous writers as to the affinities of these ancient birds. The tib.io-tarsus of G. klaasseni is unlike that of any known bird ; that of Dinornis and the living Ratitte, although approaching it in size, are quite unlike it in form. It is among the Anserine birds that one finds tibio-tarsi with the greatest number of characters in common with these fossils; and if the form of the tibio-tarsus is any indication of the affinities of birds, then Gastornis would seem to find its nearest living allies among the old group of the Palmipedes, and more especially in the Anserine division of that group. Notwithstanding this there is evidence which seems to point to Gastornis being one of the Ratitse. The paper concludes with a list of all the known British Eocene Birds, and a short description of the geological strata at Croydon from which these fossils were obtained. 4. Description of a new Species of Hornbill from the Island of Palawan. By R. B O W D L E R SHARPE, E.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. [Eeceived April 14, 1885.] (Plate XXVI.) Three specimens of a Hornbill obtained in Palawan by my friend Mr. Everard P. Lempriere appear to belong to an undescribed species of Anthracoceros. In Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay's list of Philippine birds, no species of Hornbill has been recorded from Palawan ; so that it is interesting to find the family represented in the island, and still more so as the species turns out to belong to the Indo- Malayan genus Anthracoceros, thus affording another instance of the Malayan affinities of Palawan. The present species is easily diagnosed for its completely black wings and entirely white tail, so that the following brief description of it will suffice. ANTHRACOCEROS LEMPRIERI, sp. n. (Plate XXVI.) cS ad. omnino niger, vix viridescens ; alls nigris; cauda omnino alba. Long. tot. 26, ala 12, cauda 10*0, tarsi 2 25. Llab. in insula Philippinensi "Palawan" dicta. The bill is yellowish white with the base of the lower mandible black ; a bird with a smaller casque I take to be the adult female. The young has an admixture of brown in the plumage and lacks the pointed apical ridge to the casque. |