Paper, 'Preliminary note on the development of the skeleton of the apteryx' by Thomas Jeffery Parker

Description

A note by William Kitchen Parker reads: 'This is not the first, but it is the most important, of the “Notes” sent to me by my son, on the development of this, the lowest and most Reptilian of all birds known. Seven stages before hatching have been obtained, and will yield, I am satisfied, most instructive results and, added to what has already been done in the other forms of the Ratitae, will give something like completeness to our knowledge of the morphology of these archaic types. It is not merely as low kinds of birds that the Struthious types are so important to the biologist; they are so intimately related to the more primitive forms, both of Reptiles and Mammals, that any new fact as to their structure is of great value. This short paper is accompanied by one of my own, purposely to throw light upon its meaning and bearing.' Thomas Jeffery Parker shares a description of the skull of Apteryx at the period of hatching.

Annotations in pencil and ink. Includes four anatomical diagrams in the text.

Subject: Ornithology

Received 9 February 1888. Read 23 February 1888. Communicated by William Kitchen Parker.

A version of this paper was published in volume 43 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'Preliminary note on the development of the skeleton of the apteryx'.

Reference number

PP/11/28

Earliest possible date

1888

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

5 pages

Format

Manuscript
Diagram