Page 6 - whistler1967

anteroposteriorly. From the orbits, the lacrimals
project forward to occupy a rather extensive area on
the face; ••• The short nasals are widest at their
anterior ends. These elements appear to be slightly
constricted at the middle, and are rounded posteri-
orly. The frontals, flat to gently convex, rise to
a low ridge at the orbital rim.

There is a shallow, elongate antorbital fossa. The
antorbital fossae in~- (~.) calaminthus are not preserved,
but a sharp infolding of the lacrimal anterior to the orbit
suggests that the fossae were much deeper than in M. (M.)
jahnsi, The malar is of somewhat lighter build in-~.(~.)
jahnsi than in~- (~.) calaminthus.
Schultz and Falkenbach (1947, p. 188) describe the
basicranial region, an important area in their distinction
of species, as follows:
••• supraoccipital wings widely spread, possibly less
fan-shaped occipital region than in average Merychyus
examples,,,
Jahns (1940, p. 188) describes the remainder of the skull as
follows:
In spite of local crushing, several foramina are
clearly visible in the basicranial region, A large
foramen ovale is situated internally with respect to
the glenoid fossa, and a small, round foramen lacerum
anterius is completely concealed in ventral view by a
marked overhang of the pterygoid, There is no trace
of the foramen rotundum, and an alisphenoid canal is
not present; instead, the carotid artery appears to
have been carried in a short, moderately narrow, but
very deep groove. This groove is bounded exteriorly
by a stubby pyramidal process situated on the
posterior outer edge of the alisphenoid, and interiorly
by one of the ventrally diverging pterygoids,
A portion of the rim of the foramen lacerum
medium is preserved posterointernally to the foramen
lacerum posterius in back of the space occupied by
the tympanic bulla.
The infraorbital foramina lie above the middle
part of p3, and the [anterior] palatine foramina
occupy positions opposite p4 •••

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