The Kansas University Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 1 (1892) — John Shaqi
The Kansas University Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 1 (1892)Various
History
The Kansas University Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 1 (1892)
Various
Natural history -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
Seen from above, the skull is narrow, as stated by Marsh; but, contrary
to his statement, there is not a sharp ridge extending along the
upper border. This border is obtuse and rounded, and in the frontal
region, flattened. The sagittal crest is large, but not nearly so
large as it is figured by Marsh, the restored outline of whose figure
is undoubtedly wrong. The texture of the bone forming the crest is
materially different from that of the remaining bones of the skull.
The bone is more roughened, and less firm. There is a well-developed
ring of sclerotic ossifications. In the specimen figured, the separate
plates measure from six to eight millimeters in diameter. They were
not imbricated, as in the Pythonomorpha, but have a similar dense
texture. There is a superior temporal arch, bridging over a small
opening leading downward to the inferior temporal fossa. The following
measurements will give the principal dimensions of this specimen.
Length from tip of premaxillary to occipital condyle 680 millim.
Extreme length of skull 780
Extent of crest beyond orbit 145
Greatest diameter of orbit 65
Antero-posterior diameter of nasal opening 135
Length of quadrate 120
Width of lower jaw at articulation 22
=Pubis.=
In a previous paper on the anatomy of _Pteranodon_,[2] I stated that
I had never seen the so-called “prepubic bones.” Since that time,
however, an excellent specimen of them has been discovered among
our material. The specimen of which they are a part consists of the
larger portion of the skeleton, and is perhaps conspecific with the
one to which the described pelvis belongs. The figure given herewith
will convey a good idea of their shape. The bones of the two sides
are firmly co-ossified, and have been pressed nearly flat; the figure
represents them as they are spread out in one plane. The bone is
very thin throughout, with a slight thickening at the ischial (_a_)
attachment only. Lying contiguous with the anterior projection, is a
slender ventral rib (_b_). It is possible that the curvature of this
bone may be inward, rather than outward.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[2] Amer. Naturalist, Dec. 1891, p. 1124. In this article the
description of the foot-phalanges should read: “All are slender, except
the second one in the third toe, and the second and third in the fourth
toe, where they are scarcely longer than wide.”
This peculiar structure of the pubis (I believe it represents the
pubis, and not the prepubis), seems to be quite similar to that
which obtains in the genus _Rhamphorhynchus_, and, perhaps also, in
_Pterodactylus suevicus_ (_Cycnorhamphus_ Seeley), and very different
from that found in other species of _Pterodactylus_.
The principal measurements of the above described specimen are as
follows:
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