298 



CRYSTALLOGRAPHY OF HEMOGLOBINS. 



VIVERRID/E. 



BINTURONG, Arctictis binturong. 



The specimen was received from the New York Zoological Park during 

 the summer, and the blood kept frozen in the refrigerating plant until the 

 preparations were made. The blood was diluted with a little water before 

 centrifugalizing, and the clear liquid obtained was rather dilute. The slide 

 preparations were made in the usual manner. Crystals formed readily, 

 but, probably owing to the diluted solution, were not very perfect. They 

 were oxyhemoglobin. They kept fairly well and did not appear to be very 

 soluble, but no photographic records were obtained. 



Oxyhemoglobin of Arctictis binturong. 



Orthorhombic : No axial ratio was obtained. 



Forms observed: Macropinacoid (100), brachypinacoid (010); the terminations 

 were simply tapering to a point or irregular, apparently corrosion forms only. They 

 represented very acute pyramidal planes. 



Angles: The two pinacoids were at 90, as nearly as they could be measured. 



Habit acicular, elongated on the vertical axis, often hair-like, but some rather lath- 

 shaped. As the crystals increased in thickness they grew together in bundles and parallel 

 growths along the vertical axis, often with brush-like tufted ends. Some bundles aggregated 

 into rough prismatic-looking crystals, but no measurable terminal planes were developed. 



The color was oxyhemoglobin red; pleochroism was rather marked. Evidently 

 a and b were the two directions normal to the vertical axis; their colors were both pale 

 yellowish-red; c was parallel to the vertical axis and its color was deep red. Extinction 

 was parallel to the prismatic direction, or straight in all aspects normal to the vertical 

 axis; no end views were obtained as the prisms were too thin. No interference figures 

 were obtained for the same reasons, but from the fact that a and b are near together, 

 it follows that the axis of least elasticity, c, must probably be the acute bisectrix, which 

 would make the optical character positive. 



There is a possibility that these prisms are tetragonal; but it is very unlikely, as 

 the flattened crystals are usually orthorhombic. There appeared to be a difference also 

 between b and a, but in absence of cross-sections this is uncertain. The optical character 

 would be positive in any case, whether the crystals were orthorhombic or tetragonal. 

 The characters observed agree best with orthorhombic crystallization. 



TABLE 46. Crystallographic characters of the hemoglobins of the Felidce and Viverridce. 



