A LIVING DOUBLE-HEADED CALF 



William M. Goldsmith, Ph.D., 

 Sotithwestern College, Winfield, Kansas 



ON MARCH 12, 1921 a grade cow 

 belonging to Edd Ellis, Arkansas 

 City. Kansas, gave birth to a 

 living female double-headed calf. The 

 calf was sold to H J. Dewitt, 824 

 North C. St., Arkansas City, Kansas, 

 and put on exhibition in the various 

 towns of southern Kansas and northern 

 Oklahoma. Although an admission of 

 twenty-five cents was charged to see 

 it, hundreds of people were attracted 

 dailv. In \-iew of the fact that this 

 calf" is still living (July 10, 1921) and 

 feeding through both mouths, it seems 

 of sufficient interest to warrant a 

 brief description. 



The calf is normally active and 

 playful but since the only two eyes 

 which are functional are located far 

 to the outer sides of the double head, 

 it presents an awkward appearance 

 when mo\ing about. It cannot see 

 directly forward and therefore turns 

 the head in such a way as to use one 

 eye at a time. When food is offered the 

 calf, it comes forward in an awkward 

 and hesitating manner and nibbles 

 away with both mouths, finally taking 

 in the food through either opening. 

 Figure 22 shows the calf eating hay 

 with the right mouth, the left mouth 

 holding a few straws picked up in an 

 accidental way. The calf is here 

 standing slightly to the left of the hay 

 making it more convenient to use 

 the right mouth. 



The most abnormal behavior of 

 this calf is a staggering movement 

 of the posterior part of the body. 

 This is more noticeable when it moves 

 about slowly after being disturbed 

 from a rest. The neck, limbs, and body 

 are well built with no abnormal 

 features. The posterior part of the 

 head articulates with the cervical 

 vertebrae in the usual manner. Since 

 the head is almost flat on top and 

 broadens out to its maximum size near 

 the e\es, the top of the skull presents 



the appearance of a half-hexagon. 

 The forehead is very full above 

 the division line of the two faces. 

 The nose, upper lips, and nostrils are 

 normal in both heads. 



THE median double EYE 



The bivalent nature of the head first 

 expresses itself in the large median 

 double eye socket (Fig. 22). On either 

 side and below the double eye, there 

 are two complete faces connected by a 

 bony bridge to within three inches of 

 the nostrils. The connecting bridge 

 is slightly convex, leaving a depression 

 between the median line and either 

 head (Fig. 22). The two superciliary 

 ridges are normal except directly 

 above the median double-eye socket 

 where they fuse in an abnormal way. 

 The ossification below the double-eye 

 continued until a triangular bony 

 socket was formed. The growth of 

 the skin above the double-eye corre- 

 sponded with that of the bones. The 

 two upper eye-lids are quite complete, 

 fusing at the top in such a way that 

 the normal lashes from either side cross 

 each other in the upper angle of the 

 double-eye. These upper eye-lids 

 appear quite normal but exhibit no 

 movement. The growth of the skin 

 below the double-eye was so abnormal 

 that no lower eye-lids were formed. 

 Under the eye, the skin has grown up 

 higher in the center than at the lower 

 angles, thus giving the median eye 

 the form of an inverted V. The 

 V-shaped median-eye-socket contains 

 two eyeballs, the inner surfaces of 

 which are in contact. These eyeballs 

 seem to be in a state of atrophy. 

 During the first two weeks of the 

 calf's life they seemed fairly normal. 

 Late they began to turn white 

 until now they are covered with a 

 scaly layer. Each of these eye-balls has 

 an independent movement, indicating 

 that there are two sets of functional 

 muscles. 



237 



