492 ANATOMY OF VERTEBRATES. 



Mustelidm : it is the chief organ in regulating the course of the 

 Otter through the water. 



In the Civet ( Viverra civettci) the transverse processes of the 

 atlas have a more extensive origin than in the Otter, and are per- 

 forated both horizontally and vertically by the vertebral artery 

 before it pierces the neural arch. In the axis the median inferior 

 ridge, and the two lateral ones continued upon the transverse 

 processes, are longer, deeper, and sharper than in the Otter. 

 Certain Yiverrines, e.g. the Palm-cats {ParadoxuriLs) have the 

 tail organised for prehension, including upwards of 30 joints, with 

 h^mal arches beneath the interspaces of the first eight or ten. 

 The prozygapophysis of one lumbar vertebra is received into the 

 interspace between the postzygapophysis and the anapophysis of 

 the antecedent vertebra : this interlocking which commenced in 

 the plantigrade and musteline Carnivora, is continued in the pre- 

 sent (viverrine) and subsequent families. 



Among the CajiidcE the Wolf {Ccmis lupus), has 13 dorsal, 

 7 lumbar, 3 sacral, and 15 caudal. Eight pairs of ribs articulate 

 directly with the sternum, which consists of eight bones. The 

 eleventh dorsal vertebra is that towards which the spines of the 

 other trunk-vertebrae converge. Metapophyses begin to be de- 

 veloped on the eighth dorsal, and are continued to the fourth 

 lumbar vertebra. 



The Dog agrees with the Wolf in vertebral characters. 



In a Fox (^Canis rufus) the vertebral formula is the same, 

 save that the tail-joints are more slender and numerous, being 22. 

 A few of the anterior caudal vertebrae have hsemapophyses : the 

 supporting processes or ' hypapophyses ' are developed from a 

 greater number. The sacrum is remarkable for its sudden dimi- 

 nution of size, as compared with the lumbar vertebras, and only 

 the first sacral vertebra articulates directly with the iliac bones. 



The Hyenas have 15 dorsal and 5 lumbar vertebrae : the striped 

 kind {H. vulgaris) has 3 sacral and 23 caudal : the spotted kind 

 (^H. cTocutci) has 4 sacral and but 16 or 18 caudal. Eight pairs 

 of ribs articulate directly mth the sternum, which consists of 

 eight bones. The transverse processes of the atlas are perforated 

 longitudinally and vertically by the vertebral artery before this 

 perforates the neural arch. The strong spine of the axis is bifid 

 posteriorly. The convergence of the dorso-lumbar spines towards 

 that of the thirteenth dorsal is feeble compared with other Car- 

 nivora. Anapophyses begin to be developed on the thirteenth 

 dorsal and subside on the penultimate lumbar vertebrae. 



The Lion (Fells leo, fig. 337) has 13 dorsal, 7 lumbar, 3 sacral. 



