| OCR Text |
Show 1885.] TROCHILID.E, CAPRIMULGID.E, AND CYPSELID.E. 893 too a strong, median, longitudinal groove traverses this part of skull. Whippoorwills have a far more compressed skull, in the vertical direction, than the Night-hawks ; and there is a great deal about this part of the skeleton in them that reminds one of the skull of some of the Owls. Turning to the under side of the skull of Chordediles (as shown in Plate LIX. fig. 4) we find the well-developed maxillo-palatines (Mxp) in contact with each other for their entire lengths in the median line. In very old Night-hawks this close union finally results in anchylosis, thus producing a perfect direct detimognathous condition of type of palatal structure in these birds. The broad Under view of the Skull of Caprimulgus europaus (x2) (after Huxley). Pmx, premaxillary ; Mxp, maxillo-palatine ; Vo, vomer ; PI, palatine ; Pt, pterygoid. and long vomer (Vo), with its median carination beneath, merges with the palatines posteriorly, while in front its free tip just rests in a notch found at the middle point of the apposed maxillo-palatines behind. Nuttall's Whippoorwill exhibits a very different condition of these parts from this ; in it we find the maxillo-palatines are well separated from each other in the median line, and fail to come in contact with the vomer above them. This latter bone is even PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1885, No. LVIII. 58 |
