338 steller's sea-cow 



complete skeleton. Tlie skull is like that of other Sirenia, with 

 the down-turned premaxillary region. But the nasal bones, lost, 

 or at least rudimentary, in recent forms, are well developed ; the 

 likeness of ancient to living forms in this respect being exactly 

 paralleled by the Zeuglodonts, when compared with recent Whales. 

 The vertebral centra exhiliit distinct epiphyses, which have dis- 

 appeared in living Sirenians. The cervical vertebrae are seven, of 

 which the second and third are occasionally fused. There are 

 nineteen pairs of ribs, and there are three lumbar vertebrae. 

 The sternum consists of three separate pieces. There is a 

 rudimentary femur. 



The recently-extinct Steller's Sea-cow, belonging to the genus 

 Rliytiiia, was a huge beast, seen in the flesh up to nearly the end 

 of the last century. It frequented the shores of Bering's Straits. 

 Its remains occur in the peat on the shores of those seas. It reaches 

 a length of some 20 to 30 feet. The external characters were 

 much like those of other recent Sirenians. The nostrils were above 

 the fore part of the snout, the latter being truncated and obtuse. 

 The tail was of the Cetacean pattern, and thus like that of Halicore. 

 The head of this Sirenian was small, and the teeth had entirely 

 vanished save for the apparent existence as transitory structures 

 of two small incisors in the upper jaw. The absence of teeth 

 was compensated by the presence of a horny palate for the 

 trituration of the sea-weeds which constituted the food of Steller's 

 Sea-cow. The fore-limbs seem to have possessed no nails, but 

 were covered at the extremity with short, bristly hairs, no doubt 

 serving the purpose of keeping the animal moored in safety to 

 the slippery beds of Fucus upon which it browsed. 



There are nineteen pairs of ribs. The vertebrae of the 

 cervical region are the customary seven, and the centra are thin 

 and plate-like as in the Cetacea, the animal being thus short- 

 necked like those marine creatures. 



