Aim and Method of Comparative Anatomy 



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Fig. 300. Some modifications of the basic pattern of the vertebrate skeleton, 

 with special reference to the paired appendages. In some tailed amphibians (A) the 

 small, weak legs, incapable of lifting the body, merely drag it along the substratum. 

 The alligator (B) has more efficient legs. The armadillo (C) is a short-legged mam- 

 mal with some superficial resemblances to a reptile. The long legs of a giraffe (D), 

 together with the long neck, enable the animal to feed on foliage of trees. The long 

 legs of the flamingo (E, in posture of feeding), a wading bird, keep the body out 

 of the water and necessitate a long neck in order that the bird may obtain food from 

 the bottom of the water. (Courtesy, Owen: "Comparative Anatomy and Physiol- 

 ogy of Vertebrates," London, Longmans, Green & Co., Ltd.) 



