. Annual report. 1st-12th, 1867-1878. Geology. BHUFELDT.] OSTEOLOGY OF THE CATHARTID^E. 763 of the shafts. We believe that this is the case in the vast majority of the Falconidw, including the Old World Vultures. These unciform offshoots are very wide-spreading and promineut, more so among the American Vultures than in any of the Hawks or Eagles, and as a rule overlap the rib immediately behind them, but never two consecutive ones, as in some birds. There are some very interesting and distinctive differences between the ribs of the Cathartidcc and these boues, as found among the Falcon- idee a
. Annual report. 1st-12th, 1867-1878. Geology. BHUFELDT.] OSTEOLOGY OF THE CATHARTID^E. 763 of the shafts. We believe that this is the case in the vast majority of the Falconidw, including the Old World Vultures. These unciform offshoots are very wide-spreading and promineut, more so among the American Vultures than in any of the Hawks or Eagles, and as a rule overlap the rib immediately behind them, but never two consecutive ones, as in some birds. There are some very interesting and distinctive differences between the ribs of the Cathartidcc and these boues, as found among the Falcon- idee and the vulturine Raptores of the Continent; these differences are largely due to the form assumed by these very epipleural appendages, taken in connection with the greater breadth of the pleurapophysial bodies as already referred to, and shown to be characteristic of the family we are describing. We present a few outline, but accurate, sketches of these bones, chosen from several species, given in life size, as the best way to demonstrate these very striking and really diagnostic features. The first, marked m, is the rib from the anterior dorsal vertebra, taken from the left side. of PseudogrypJius; n, o, and p are the ribs, from the same side, of the second dorsal vertebras of Catharista atrata, Neophron percnopterus, and Circus hudsonius, respectively. The feature which we desire to direct the reader's attention to particularly is the descending process of this pleurapophysial appendage, here best seen in 0. atrata (n), though it is no better marked in this Vulture than in others of the family to which it belongs. This peculiar form of the epipleurals of the ribs in the Cathartidcc is most decidedly marked among these bones chosen from the middle of the series, though it persists in a less degree in the first dorsal ribj as seen in m (PseudogrypJius), as well as in the appendage when it. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been d
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookpublishe, booksubjectgeology
