21 



The malė GirafFe, in both the Cape and Nubian varieties, has the 

 horns nearly tvv'ice as large as those of the female ; the expanded 

 hases of the horns also in the former, meet in the middle line of the 

 skuU, but in the female the bases of the homs are at least two inches 

 apart. 



The nasal bone Avas bifurcate at its anterior extremity as in the 

 Deer, not simply pointed as in most of the Antelopes. 



With respect to the cer\'ical vertebrce of the GirafFe, Mr. Owen 

 obsen'es, that they are not only remarkable for their great length, 

 but also, as has been recently shown by Dr. Blainville, for the ball and 

 socket form of the articulations of their bodies ; the convexity being 

 on the anterior extremity, and the concavity posteriorly, agreeing 

 in this particular u'ith the vertebrce of the Camel. 



The axis was joined to the atlas by the anterior extremity of its 

 body and the processits dentaius, which were blended in one common 

 articulation, and inclosed in one capsular ligament, The spinous 

 process of the axis \vas developed from the \vhole longitudinal ex- 

 tent of the superior arch, but had a very slight elevation. In the 

 ręst of the cervical vertebrce, the spinous processes \vere thin trian- 

 gular lamina, their apices rising about an inch and a half from a 

 broad base resting upon the middle of the superior arch. Processes, 

 analogous to the inferior transverse processes in the Crocodile, ex- 

 tended downwards and outwards from the lower part of the anterior 

 extremity of each of the cervical vertebrce (except the atlas and den- 

 tata), but of much smaller size than the corresponding processes in 

 the Camel. 



The perforations for the vertebral Eirteries were large, and present 

 in the seventh as -svell as in the ręst of the cer\'ical vertebrce ; they were 

 situated above the transverse processes in the side of the bodies of 

 the vertebrce at the base of the superior lamince. Mr. Owen observes, 

 that although this position of the arterial _/orc»i«Ma is somewhat pe- 

 culiar, yet, in this respect, the Giraffe comes nearer the horned 

 Ruminants than the long-necked Camelidce. 



In viewing the vertebral column of the GirafFe from above, the 

 cers'ical vertebrce are seen to present the broadest bodies ; of these 

 the third and fourth are the narrowest and longest, the ręst graducJly 

 increasing in breadth and diminishing in length to the seventh : the 

 dorsal vertebrce thence grow narrower to the ninth, after -vvhich the 

 vertebrce increase in breadth chiefly by the progressive development 

 of the transverse processes. 



The sacrum consisted of four vertebrce anchylosed together, but of 

 these only the first articulated Avith the ilium. 



Mr. Owen gives the following as the vertebral formula of the 

 Giraffe. 



Cervical 7 



Dorsal 14 



Lumbar 5 



Sacral 4 



Caudal 20 



