Benham. — On the Leaser Sperm Whale. 167 



The humerus is provided with a small deltoid crest 15 mm. 

 long and 5 mm. in height. The head and tubercle are 

 firmly united to the end of the shaft, as is also the distal 

 epiphysis ; but the epiphyses of the radius and ulna are 

 not as yet united to these bones. Each of these epiphyses 

 is still imbedded in a great mass of cartilage and is in- 

 visible in the preserved specimen ; the bone can, how- 

 ever, be felt by probing the cartilage with a needle. The 

 proximal epiphysial cartilage of the ulna is prolonged 

 downwards to form a spur on the post-axial side of the 

 limb, which in Physeter is represented by a bony olecranon. 

 Possibly this becomes ossified in a fully matured animal, 

 though it is not shown in Von Haast's drawings ; but the 

 photograph accompanying the second edition of Wall's paper 

 and the woodcut in Krefft's just indicate a small process here. 



The carpal bones are five in number, three in the proximal 

 row and two in the distal. Each is an irregular circular 

 disc of bone imbedded in cartilage, with vertical sides. The 

 pisiform is cartilaginous. There is, too, a curious prolonga- 

 tion of the distal epiphysial cartilage of the radius, which 

 extends outside the pre-axial carpal and touches the 1st meta- 

 carpal. 



In the fingers each phalanx is provided with its own 

 epiphysial cartilage, but with no bony epiphysis, and the 

 neighbouring cartilages are distinct, not fused as in Mys- 

 tacocetes. The metacarpals are short, not much longer than 

 the phalanges. 



The 1st digit consists of a rounded metacarpal resembling a 

 carpal. This is followed by a long phalanx and a shorter one. 

 In the 2nd the metacarpal is broader than that of the other 

 digits, but not so long as in the 3rd. This is followed by ten 

 phalanges, of which the terminal is very small, and the three 

 sub-terminals are circular. The 3rd has seven phalanges, the 

 4th six phalanges, and the 5th three phalanges, which are all 

 nearly circular, as are the terminals of the other digits. On 

 the left hand the 1st has two phalanges, rather larger than in 

 the right ; the 2nd has nine, the 3rd seven, the 4th six, and 

 the 5th two only. 



The lengths of the digits in ascending order are — I. shortest, 

 V., IV., III., II. The following are the lengths of the digits : 

 Right hand — The 1st measures 55 mm. along pre-axial border, 

 and including cartilage; 2nd, 183mm.; 3rd, 148mm.; 4th, 

 102 mm. ; 5th, 68 mm. The terminal cartilages are missing in 

 the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th digits. Left hand — The 1st mea- 

 sures 52 mm.; 2nd, 185 mm.; 3rd, 158 mm.; 4th, 114 mm.; 

 5th, 52 mm. 



The total length of limb from head of humerus to tip of 

 2nd digit is 372 mm. 



