864 



PACHYDERMATA. 



toes are moreover moulded to the shape of the 

 horny roof which covers them, a circumstance 

 in which they differ remarkably from the larger 

 genera. 



Pelvis. The pelves of the larger genera are 

 of enormous size, accommodating themselves 

 in this respect partly to the prodigious masses 

 of muscle to which they give origin, and partly 

 to the monstrous capacity of the abdominal 

 cavity. In the Elephant and Rhinoceros the 

 ossa ilii are very broad, rounded anteriorly and 

 concave towards the abdomen. In the Tapir, 

 the ilium has somewhat the form of the letter 

 T, one branch being articulated with the ster- 

 num, while the neck of the bone forms the 

 handle. The pelvis of the Hog very nearly 

 approximates in shape that of carnivorous 

 quadrupeds. 



Femur. The femur ofl\\eElephant (Jig. 464) 

 is remarkable for the simplicity of its shape, 

 which has some resemblance to that of the human 

 skeleton, owing to its general smoothness and 

 the absence of those strong crests and ridges 

 which characterise it in most other gigantic 

 quadrupeds. In all other tribes of the Pachy- 

 derms these bones are short, straight, and flat- 

 tened in the middle, presenting upon the outer 

 border a wide and prominent ridge terminating 

 inferiorly in a hook-like process, which, as 

 well as the trochanier major, is in the case of 

 the Rhinoceros excessively prolonged. 



Tarsus. The bones of the tarsus are simi- 

 lar both in number and arrangement to those of 

 the human skeleton. The astragalus is of 

 great size, and all its articulating surfaces very 

 extensive so as to afford a wide basis of sup- 

 port. The calcaneum is likewise remarkably 

 prominent and massive. 



Metatarsus. The metatarsus is in the Ele- 

 phant made up of five distinct bones, of which, 

 however, the external one is but imperfectly 

 developed. In all the other Pachydermatous 

 genera there are only four metatarsal bones 

 corresponding with the number of the toes. 

 Of these the two central ones are far the largest, 



and sustain alone the entire weight of the hin- 

 der part of the body, seeing that the most ex- 

 ternal and most internal toe of each foot scarcely 

 reaches the ground ; and at length in the Suidtc 

 the metatarsal bones of these toes become re- 

 duced to mere rudiments appended to the sides 

 of the foot, and serve less as organs of support 

 than as appendages given to prevent the crea- 

 tures so organized from sinking into the marshy 

 soils or soft mud, which they mostly frequent 

 as though to testify the intermediate position 

 which they occupy between the aquatic and 

 terrestrial Mammalia. 



Phalanges. The number of toes upon the 

 hind foot of the Elephant is five, each of them, 

 with the exception of the outer one, consisting of 

 three short and massive phalanges ; but the ex- 

 ternal toe is represented by a single massive 

 and irregular-shaped piece. In the living ani- 

 mal all these bones are so encased in the thick 

 skin covering the sole, that the division of the 

 foot is only indicated by the prominent extre- 

 mities of the toes. 



The skeleton of the Elephant is, indeed,, 

 quite peculiar in form, so that there is not a 

 single bone or extremity of a bone which may 

 not easily be distinguished from that of any 

 other animal ; and it may likewise be remarked 

 that many of the bones of the Elephant more 

 nearly resemble those of the human species 

 than the analogous ones of any other quadru- 

 ped, especially of the larger inhabitants of this 

 part of the world, such as oxen or horses. As 

 examples of this, may be pointed out the atlas, 

 all the cervical vertebra, and the bodies of the 

 dorsal vertebrae ; the scapula and pelvis on ac- 

 count of their great breadth, the femur from its 

 length and the simplicity of its shape, the 

 astragalus, the os calcis, and all the bones of 

 the metacarpus and metatarsus. It is, there- 

 fore, scarcely to be wondered at that even pro- 

 fessed anatomists, who had never examined the 

 skeleton of the Elephant, have sometimes mista- 

 ken the bones of this animal for the fossil remains, 

 of human beings, and consequently of giants. 



Fig. 476. 



Skeleton of Rhinoceros. 



