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Show 1875.] MR. CALDWELL ON THE ZOOLOGY OF RODRIGUEZ. 645 tailed information from the Naturalist who accompanied the Transit-of- Verms Expedition. Geologically, the island is very similar to Mauritius, of basaltic origin ; but a large portion of the south-western part is composed of very ancient upheaved coral, abounding in fissures and caverns large and small, a number of which were minutely explored and dug over by Mr. H . Slater in the latter end of last year. So effectually had Mr. Slater done his work that though I several times visited the large caverns and some smaller fissures, I only succeeded in getting two Solitaire-bones, and at last I spent a couple of days consecutively in the search and got nothing. The next morning, after another ineffectual search, we were returning home to camp to breakfast, when Sergeant Morris of the Police Force went into a small hole to procure me a few sernifossil shells of Helix bewsheriana (Morelet, Journal de Conch. 1875, p. 23), and found a magnificent tibia. Of course we all entered, and found the hole to be the entrance of a small but very well formed cavern of three stories formed like steps, none of the chambers being more than 10 feet square, and close alongside one of the large caverns in which a mass of bones had already been found. How it had been overlooked I am at a loss to conjecture. W e remained till half-past four, digging with hands, nails, and pointed sticks in the loose and nearly dry earth; and 1 obtained the remains of at least 37 birds, besides bones of Tortoises, Gulls (of several kinds) Bats, &c. & c , and many shells of Gasteropoda. It was this same Sergeant Morris who, under the direction of Mr. George Jenner, had already procured for Mr. Edward Newton the handsome collection of Solitaire-bones on which he and his brother prepared the memoir published in the Phil. Trans, for 1869, vol. clix. Morris is an enthusiastic naturalist in his way ; and had he, at the time when he collected these bones, had the slightest training, I have no doubt many perfect specimens would have been obtained, by keeping separate the bones which apparently belonged to any one bird. Out of the number of birds I have mentioned, I got that day a skeleton all but complete. I suppose it to be a female, as the fighting bones are not largely developed, although the bird is evidently mature. On one side there are seven ribs complete ; but I find no trace of the articulation of the eighth dorsal rib (see Messrs. Newton's paper, Phil. Trans, vol. clix. 1869, p. 334), though in another specimen there is about | of an inch of this rib existing on each side. The two pubic bones are in very good preservation ; and though, unfortunately, one was broken off in taking the bones from the earth, I have been able to reunite it perfectly to the pelvis. The posterior extremities of these bones in different specimens present most singular variations. The pelvis is quite complete on the right side; but the posterior end is missing on the left; I am not sure, however, that I did not put it away at the time and that it will not be found : the caudal extremity is incomplete ; but I found several detached bones, which I have not attempted to put in place. |