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Show 776 MR. C W. ANDREWS ON A N E W BIRD [June 20, is the largest Cassowary; but it is much exceeded in bulk and height by Casuarius casuarius sclateri and Casuarius uniappendiculatus when perfectly adult. This paper will be published in full in the Society's' Transactions.' The following papers were read :- 1. On the Remains of a new Bird from the London Clay of Sheppey. By CHAS. W . A N D R E W S , B.Sc, F.Z.S. [Eeceived June 2, 1899.] (Plate LI.) The fossil birds hitherto recorded from the London Clay are few in number, and present such remarkable characters, that the discovery of a new member of the Class from that horizon is of the greatest interest. The National Collection has recently been enriched by the addition of a clay nodule enclosing the skull, pelvis, and some broken limb-bones of a new type of bird, which forms the subject of the present paper. This specimen was obtained by that indefatigable collector W . H. Shrubsole, Esq., F.G.S., from the London Clay of the Isle of Sheppey, a locality with which he has long been associated. When found, one side of the skull and some fragments of limb-bones were all that was exposed; but the skilful removal of the matrix by Mr. J. Hall, assistant formatore in the Museum, has revealed most of the skull, the upper surface of the pelvis, and the femur; there are also remnants of the vertebral column and ribs. The bird is lying with the head turned round over the back, so that the lower surface of the beak rests on the iliac crest of the pelvis ; behind the head several of the anterior cervical vertebrae are visible, and iu front of the pelvis there are some thoracic vertebrae, but the posterior cervical and the anterior thoracic vertebrae, together with the sternum and coracoid, have been lost by the abrasion of the nodule. The upper portion of the scapula and the left femur still occupy nearly their natural position. It may be stated at once that this specimen indicates the existence of a new species of a type differing generically from any previously known bird, but allied to the Tropic-birds (Phaethon), of which it may be an ancestral form ; for it I propose the name Prophaethon shrubsolei, referring to its suggested affinities and in honour of the discoverer of the specimen. Tlie Skull and Mandible. The skull and mandible are, on the whole, in a remarkably good state of preservation. The tip of the beak and a portion of its upper surface have been broken away; the lachrymals are missing • |
