.CAENIVORA THE SKULL. 3 09 



minating bluntly, does not articulate with the metacarpus, the pollex or thumb 

 Ijeing absent. 



The metacarpal hones are 4 in number. The middle pair are large, the ?ide 

 ■pair small ; the large ones articulate with each other, and with their relative 

 ■small ones superiorly. Each terminates distally, as the single one of the 

 horse, but the middle pair are the sole weight-carriers, for the lateral ones do 

 •not rest upon the ground. In each of tlie four digits <;h.ere are three phalanges, 

 Tvith their accessory sesamoid and navicular bones. 



PELVIS AND PELVIC LIMB- 



The OS innominatum presents the same general characters as that of the 

 Tuminant ; it is, however, distinguished by the form of the ilium, which is very 

 -conve.x on its anterior border and crest, and by the absence of the protuberance 

 on the inferior symphysis. The femur differs tittle from that of the ox, except 

 in its more contracted neck, which is about on a. level with the trochanter 

 major ; the trochanter minor is wanting. The tibia resembles that of the 

 ruminant ; its anterior tuberosity is notched, and the external malleolus is 

 supplied by the distal end of the fibula. The fihala extends the whole len^tii 

 of the tibia, articulating with it at both extreraitie-s and distally with the 

 ■astragalus and calcaneum. The tarsus presents no important deviation from 

 the typical joint, except -that the cuneiforme medium is divided, hence there 

 ■are in the lower row the ecto, meso, and endo-cuneiform bones ; the distal 

 articular surface of the astragalus articulates partly with the cuboid bone. 

 The metatarsus and phalanges closely resemble those of the anterior limb. 

 There is a very rudimentary fifth metatarsal bone on the inside, a rsstige 

 probably of the hallux or great toe. 



CAENIVORA. 



In this order our descriptions allude mostly to the Dog, Uiat animal being 

 an excellent type of the order, and one easily obtained. 



Axial Skeleton, 

 the skull. 

 The occipital hone of the Dog is very strong, and triangular behind, termiim^ 

 ting in a sharp pointed crest. The tuberosity is not well marked ; the styloid 

 processes are short, and the condyles large. The foramen lacerum basis crani? 

 is divided into two portions by the auditory bulla, which is large aud rounded ; 

 the basilar process is long and' thick. The Wormian bone is united to the 

 occipital ; the ossifie tentorium is large. The parietal bones are very convex, 

 in S'-me breeds meeting in a sharp ridge, continuous with the occipital crest. 

 The frontal tjones are triangular, and present along their middle a hollow, 

 moi-e or less r.'ai'ked The orbital process is simply a peak, the arch being 

 •complet'-.d l.;p a ligament ; there is no supraorbital foramen ; the frontal bone 

 articulates sFich the cjperior maxilla. The temporals are not divisible into 

 distinct pieces, as in tJie horse ; the zygomatic processes are large, and -project 

 very much, forming Capacious temporal fossse, and having glenoid ravities, 

 which are elongated transversely, for the condyles of the inferior maxilla! 



