| OCR Text |
Show 422 PROF. HUXLEY ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. [Apr. 11, 8. The pubes are free ; but the ischia unite beneath the urosacral * vertebrae. 9. The hallux is absent; but the second, third, and fourth digits are complete. 10. There are only thirty-two precaudal vertebrae. 11. The feathers are devoid of an aftershaft. The Malayo-Australian genera "Casuarius and Dromceus are members of a third group, which may be defined as follows :- 1. The maxillary processes of the palatines are short, as in Rhea. Fig. 3. Under view of the skull of Dromceus novce-hollandics. From a specimen in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. The letters have the same signification as in the preceding figures. * I term " urosacral" those caudal vertebras which unite with one another and with antecedent vertebras to form the " sacrum " of a bird. |
