554 DE. J. MURIE ON THE ANATOMY OF THE SEA-LION. 



the tip, fully an inch broad, has a central incision 02 inch deep ; and this divides the 

 extremity into two rounded halves, which are roughened by a multitude of strong, 

 erect, warty papilla?. A median longitudinal shallow furrow, the raphe, runs back- 

 wards from the cleft for 1^ inch, behind which the dorsum becomes very convex (as 

 noted above). 



The whole of the upper surface of the tongue has a very roughened rasp-like aspect, 

 but not the retroverted acicular spines which obtain in some Felines, c . g. the Lion and 

 the Cat. The papilla? differ considerably at the tip, the middle, and the root of the 

 tongue. The margins and upper surface of the bifid tip are covered with short, semierect, 

 conical, and triangularly flattened soft papilla?. They are longest and most numerous at 

 the free edge, where they form a kind of brush. On the dorsum and raphe they are 

 shorter and overlap each other less. These representatives of the human filiform papillae, 

 at the sides and summit of the dorsum, insensibly alter into uniform, flat, and broadish 

 fungiform papilla?. Laterally they are closely set together in a tessellated manner, 

 but are rather more open towards the middle line. The summits of nearly all of them 

 appear rounded, but they nevertheless contain a small central depression. The wide 

 horseshoe-shaped root is overlaid with larger circum vallate papilla? ; these are irregular 

 in contour, many elongate, others roundish ; but all are granular and deeply pitted 

 superficially. Behind the tongue there is a long deep cleft, the soft wrinkled faucial 

 tract presently to be described. 



c. Faucial folds, Tonsils, and Oral Glands. — When the mouth and fauces are ex- 

 amined in the live animal, the anterior pillars of the fauces, uvular curtain, and 

 retracted root of tongue so close the faucial aperture as to hide the textures between 

 the proper base of the tongue and the epiglottis. Even in the dead animal with 

 opened mouth, when the parts remain in situ, there is a difficulty in making an 

 accurate examination of these posterior structures, because of the peculiarly long and 

 narrow postpalatine formation. 



When, however, the parts have been carefully removed en masse from the skull, their 

 configuration and relation are more easily made out. Figure 52 (in Plate LXXX.) re- 

 presents the tongue and anterior two thirds of the isthmus faucium thus exposed. The 

 raised floor of the postfaucial tract already spoken of is deeply divided medianly, the 

 cleft or sulcus reaching from the root of the tongue to the velum palati, viz. a distance 

 of 2^ inches. On each side of the groove there is a long transversely arched ridge, the 

 apparent continuation of the forks of the tongue's root. These are covered by loose 

 rugose mucous folds, which at intervals are studded with elongated soft filiform papilla?. 

 Anteriorly the papilla? are short and small, but posteriorly, near the velum palati, of 

 considerable size and length. In fact, the latter are so distributed as to give the sub- 

 uvular parts quite a rough shaggy aspect. The intervening longitudinal cleft is 

 smoother than the side ridges ; but, nevertheless, filiform papilla? are not wholly absent. 

 The lining membrane of the postbuccal envelope, as it speads upwards or overarches 



