Pelicans versus Fishes in Pyramid Lake

CHENDYTES, A DIVING GOOSE 147 assignment is hazarded.Its short, stocky proportions and concave anterior profile at once suggest the surf ducks and sepgrate it from the geese.Comparison was made withArctonetta fischeri,Somateria a-nigra,Oidemia deglandi, and Oidemia perspicillata.The closest resemblance is with Oidemia perspicillata.From this species it differs in the greater relative thickness of the shaft, the less elevated outer margin of the anterior face, and the greater concavity of this profile longitudinally.At the proximal end the bone shows a different ratio of transverse to sagittal diameter, the sagittal diameter being relatively less.In an uncorroded bone of the fossil species this disparity would be even greater.When viewed from the rear, the fossil shows a degree of flattening in marked contrast with the Recent bird, which has the inner margin much elevated and the plane of the posterior face much inclined toward-the outer side.This character of the fossil is due only in part to corrosion.The inner trochlea is raised and is slightly separated from the middle trochlea, as compared with the Recent bird.A single vertebra in the collection represents an anserine species about the size of Branta canadenuis.It may properly have come from an individual of the species under discussion.This species is named in honor of Mr. J. Eugene Law, whose continued efforts, both biological and administrative, have materially advanced the cause of ornithology in the western United States. Yhalacrocorax auritus (Lesson)There are two fragmentary tarsi in the collection that are not distinguishable, from the surviving Farallon Cormorant.The material represents both proximal and distal extremities of the bone and the greater portion of the shaft in each case, so that, despite much corrosion before entombment, the specimens are considered determinable.