THE MUSCLES OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY. 205 



to be a somewhat flattened, small muscle, pointed 

 below, but arising by carneous fibres from quite a 

 broad base at the back of the head of the tibia. The 

 broad, thin tendon of insertion of the semimembran- 

 osus overlaps its belly from the inner side. From its 

 apex below it sends down a long, slender tendon, 

 which is inserted into the proximal end of the 

 " tibial cartilage," towards its inner angle. In the 

 Apteryx, Owen found that the tendon of this muscle 



namlich von der Hinterfliiche des Gondylus interims femoris, doch 

 kann dies durchaus nicht so hiiufig sein als Meckel angiebt, denn 

 ich fond Ein femoralen Ursprung nur sehi' selten, z. B. bei 

 Corythaix, bestiitigt. . . . 



" Entspringt der M. 2^lot'ntar{s vora Femur, obgleicli vom inneren 

 Condylus, so ist er beinahe vollstandig dem gleichnamigen Muskel 

 des Menschen homolog. Bei den Reptilien ist ein solcher Muskel 

 in dem noch ungetheilten Flex. long. dig. enthalten." 



I by no means consider this argument as being especially cogent 

 in support of the muscle being considered the jilantaris. Far more 

 extended observations upon the myology of the Vertebrata generally 

 ax^e required to decide such a point as this. Gadow gives further 

 the following synonymy {loc. cit., pp. 185, 186) : — 



" 50. M. PLANTARIS. 



La grele plantaire. Vicqd'Azyr, 283, No. 2. 



Plantaire. Cuvier, 539. 



Flantaris, vielleicht hinterer Schienbeinmuskel. Meckel, System, 



375, No. 4. 

 Ohne Namen. Reid, pp. 144, 145. 

 Soleus. Owen, 295. 

 Jamhier 2>osterieur. Gervais et Alix, 35. 



Alix, 452. 

 Flantaris. De Man, 130, No. 18. 



,, Gadow, No. 40. 



„ Watson, 119." 



JVote. — I observe that Selenka, in his drawing of the muscles of 

 the lower extremity of a Gull (Larus/uscus), marks this muscle as 

 the soleus (see Bronn's Klassen des Thier-Reichs, vi. Band, Taf. 

 xxiii).— R. W. S. 



