RUMINANTIA. 



51. 1 



apophyses are very short. In Moschus the 

 post-orbitarapophysis is of considerable size 

 that of the zygoma somewhat narrower (Jig. 

 330.). In Antelopidse and Cervidas generally, 

 the nialars are slender, and have short zygo- 

 inatic apophyses: this latter feature is espe- 

 cially noticeable in the Giraffe. They are 

 broad and of great thickness in (Egosceridas 

 (fig. 335.), in which family and in Bovidae they 

 are much prolonged upon the cheek, in the 

 latter being a little bifurcate anteriorly at the 

 maxillary line of suture (Jig. 327.). 



The palatines (6) are largely developed. 

 In Camelidre, where the roof of the mouth is 

 very long, the palatal laminae have a great 

 longitudinal diameter ; in the Llamas the 

 transverse suture extends to a level with 

 the anterior border of the first true molar ; 

 the central palatal cleft, which is angular, 

 reaches the front margin of the middle or 

 second true molar, while the lateral notches 

 proceed as far only as the anterior border 

 of the last molar. In Cervidae the palatals 

 occupy a large square space at the inner and 

 lower part of the orbit, but this is not the case 

 in the Giraffe, where this part of the bone is 

 rather smaller and lies partly concealed by 

 the shelf-like process of the lachrymal and the 

 molar prominence of the maxillary bone. 

 The lateral fissures at the guttural margin of 

 the palate are very wide in this family and 

 extend deeper into the roof of the mouth 

 than does the mesial cleft. These three 

 clefts are placed in the Giraffe nearly on the 

 same level, the central fissure having a semi- 

 circular outline. In the Muntjack deer the 

 two lateral notches are much in advance of 

 the mesial cleft. The guttural portion of the 

 combined palatines in QSgosceridse is of great 

 breadth, and the fissures, which are not very 

 deeply notched, are all very nearly on the 

 same level (, fig. 336.) : the orbitar or 



336. 



Base of the cranium of the Sheep. (From Lond. 

 Coll. Surg. Museum.) 



ascending plates are large and square, but 

 deficient at the upper part, \vhere there 

 intervenes a space or hole analogous to the 



spheno-palatine foramen. This opening is 

 particularly capacious in the Sheep. In Bo- 

 vida? the palatines occupy about a fourth part 

 of the oral roof: the ascending or suborbitar 

 portions, which are of enormous bulk, are 

 almost entirely hid by the lateral overlapping 

 of the posterior border and supra-molar 

 prominences of the upper jaw ; the palatal 

 notches are very deep, especially the two 

 lateral, which are remarkably broad and 

 somewhat in advance of the mesial. 



The vomer and ossa spongiosa sen turbinata, 

 in consonance with the general extension of 

 the facial bones in ruminants, are chiefly 

 particularised for their longitudinal develop- 

 ment. In the orbits the wings of the vomer 

 are represented by very small lamina?, which 

 appear at the upper border of the opening 

 corresponding to the spheno-palatine fora- 

 men. In certain of the Stags the azygos 

 portion descends between the pterygoid 

 apophyses of the sphenoid to a level with 

 the palate, dividing the mesial fissure in two 

 and contributing to form in this region a 

 backward expansion of the oral roof. The 

 spongy bones will be referred to when de- 

 scribing the organ of smell. 



The inferior maxilla or jaw-bone proper 

 is of great length; in which respect it follows 

 the course of the bones of the upper 

 jaw. Between the canine and first premolar 

 of either side there is in the typical ruminant, 

 an extended interval, at which part the body 

 is constricted ; and immediately in front of 

 the mental foramen (r, fig. 337.) it again ex- 



Fig. 337. 



Jatc-bone of the Sheep. (From Lond. Coll. Surg. 

 Museum.) 



pands toward the alveolar margin to give 

 support to the teeth. The angle of the jaw 

 is prominent and rounded posteriorly ; in this 

 situation also it is comparatively thin and 

 broad, as in Solipeda. The coronoid pro- 

 cesses of the rami (g, fig. 337.) are particu- 

 larly long curved backward, and a little 

 hooked at the summit. The glenoid apo- 

 physis is short, and the facet flat and slightly 

 concave, to admit of free lateral motion on 

 the wide convex articular surface of the 

 temporal zygoma. The sigmoid notch is 



LL 2 



