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Show 1897.] MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON INTERCENTRA IN BIRDS. 469 the last which is embraced by the ilia and the pygostyle. There are good-sized intercentra, increasing in size between the last sacral and the first three of these. The last two free caudals have fused hypocentra. Mchmophorus major has six such vertebras. There is a minute intercentrum between 1 and 2, and three larger intercentra between the following ones. HERODIONES. Among the Herodiones free intercentra are not at all general. In Dissura maguari I only found one lying between the 3rd and 4th free caudals. The skeleton, however, was incomplete, though I feel sure that there were no intercentra in front of this point. In Platalea leucorodla there are large intercentra between the 4th and the 5th, and between the 5th and the last free caudals. In Pl. ajaja the last of these was alone present and partly fused with the 6th vertebra. But one in front may have been lost, as they are easily detachable. Ardea cinerea has no free intercentra, but three progressively increasing hypocentra on the last three free vertebrae. Butorides cyanurus has the same and, in addition, a minute free intercentrum. Cancroma has three intercentra, increasing in size from a very minute nodule, and a single hypocentrum. In Xenorhynchus senegalensis I found no intercentra at all; in X. australis there was a large flattened (compressed) intercentrum between the last two free caudals; this is in contact, but not fused, with the hypocentra of the pygostyle. There are five free caudals in Tantalus leucocephalus; between the 2nd and 3rd and the 3rd and 4th are free intercentra; the 5th has a hypocentrum. Scopus umbretta has no free intercentra; the last two vertebras have hypocentra K G R U E S. Neither in the Cranes proper nor in Psophla, Rhlnochetus, and Eurypyga are there any free intercentra. But in Chung a hur-melsterl there are two pairs of small nodules of bone underlying the small pygostyle, which are possibly the equivalents of those structures. LlMICOLcE. Contrary to what we find among the Grues, the Limicolae have constantly free intercentra. In Numenius femoralis there are 8 caudal vertebras; a minute nodule of bone lies between the centra of the first two of these vertebras, a slightly larger one between the third and fourth, and a larger one still between the two following. The remaining vertebras have hypocentra. In Hcematopus there are also three free intercentra. CEdlcnemus grallarius has 1 In Balaniceps (Parker, "On the Osteology of Balamiceps," Tr. Zool. Soc. iv. p- 335) there is " a small distinct ' sesamoid' bone lying between the second and third centrum." |