CHARACTERS OF VERTEBRATES. 167 



the tail. This row, or column of bones, is called the vertebral 

 column, and the bones composing it are called the vertebrce. 

 The bones of the head combined form the skull or cranium. 

 The ribs, which in the salamander are rudimentary, are at- 

 tached to the sides of the body vertebrae. The bones of the 

 fore and hind legs are similar, though they are called by 

 different names. 



A series of bones just back of the head, the longest of 

 which is the shoulder-blade, forms the pelvic girdle to this 

 girdle the first bone of the fore-leg is joined. Other bones at 

 the hinder part of the body form the pelvic arch, and to this 

 the first bone of the hind-leg is joined. 



150. It will be a difficult task for the pupils to remove 

 the flesh from a salamander so as to show the bones united, 

 and it will also be difficult to prepare the skeleton of a cat ; 

 but the pupils may learn something about the bones and their 

 attachments by gently handling the creature. Strauss-Durk- 

 heim, a celebrated naturalist, when he was writing his famous 

 work on the cat, used to hold one of these animals for hours 

 in his lap, while he felt of the muscles and other portions of 

 the body. 



The following figure of a cat shows the position of the 

 bones in outline. 



Along the back is a series of prominences which indicates 

 the vertebral column, or, as it is usually called, the backbone 

 or spine. On the sides of the body the ribs may be felt like 

 bars or ridges. The shoulder-blades, or scapulce, are promi- 

 nent bones, forming the shoulders, and from these the bones 

 of the fore-legs start. 



