Report on the zoological collections made in the Indo-Pacific Ocean ...

—6 COLLECTIONS FR03I IIELANESIA.Subbrachycephalic, prognathous, just above leptorbine.Glabella prominent, about No. 3 of Broca's scale. Inion scarcelydeveloped.This skull is unusually broad for a Melanesian, and has a somewhatlow nasal index ; it agrees, however, very well with No. 1193of Prof. Plower's Catalogue * (" The cranium of a Papuan, from oneof the islands in Torres Strait, c? "), and its extreme prognathismshows that it undoubtedly belongs to the Melanesian race. It hasundergone considerable occipital flattening on the left side, eitherfrom sleeping on a hard wooden pillow or some similar cause ; andthis has no doubt caused the brain-case to be abnormally broad.The present specimen is said to be the skull of the last chief ofthe island of Nagheer, and is ornamented with two long strings ofglass beads and tassels of red calico hanging from the zj'gomata. Ithas its orbits filled with red clay, on which are fastened oblong bitsof mother-of-pearl for eyes ;there is an artificial nose carved inwood and painted red, and a red band of paint passes across theforehead. The right upper canine, lost after death but befoi'e thepreparation of the skull, has been replaced by a wooden tooth. Thefour posterior teeth in the right lower jaw have all been lost duringlife, and their alveoli have quite closed up.2. Skull of Torres-Straits Islander. (Plates I, & II. fig. B.)Male [?]. Adult." Native woman of Nagheer Island, Torres Straits."R. W. GLength 178 ;gl. occ. 181. Breadth 136. Height 137. Maximumfrontal breadth 112; minimum frontal breadth 95.Horizontal circumferences — pi'caurieidar 230, total 503.Transverse arcs—frontal 283, bregmatic 300, parietal 320,occipital 207. Longitudinal arcs—frontal 130, parietal 120,occipital 112. Foramen magnum—length 38, width 31. Basinasallength 103. Basialveolar length 105. Bizygomaticbreadth 129. Height of—face 86, malar 24, alveolus 16. Auriculo-orbitallength 68. Nasal height 49, width 26. Maxilla—length 61, breadth 63.Mandible—bicondylar width 117, bigoniac width 93, symphysialheight 31, molar height 24, coronoid height 52, gonio-symphysiallength 88. Hamus—height 64, antero-posteriorbreadth 31. Bigoniac arc 197.Indices—latitudinal 76-4, altitudinal 77*0, frontal 69*9, gnathic101-9, nasal 53-1.Subdolichocephalic, hypsicephalic, mesognathous, and platyrhine.Glabella low, about No. 1. No inion. Median line of nose veryprominent.Similarly prepared to the last, the only differences being thatthe strings of beads from the zygomata are shorter and withoutOp. cit. p. 222.