PROBOSCIS. VERTEBRAL COLUMN. 



105 



animals nearly allied to the Hog, have their nose much prolonged 

 in front of the mouth, constituting a little trunk, capable of 

 lengthening and shortening itself. The Desmans, small insecti- 

 vorous animals, nearly allied to the Shrews, but formed to swim 



FIG. 58. DESMAN. 



FIG. 57. HEAD OF TAPIR. 



with ease, and to live at the bottom of burrows hollowed in the 

 banks of rivers, also exhibit a similar conformation. 



86. The vertebral column in this class presents only slight 

 modifications ; and everywhere shows the same characteristics as 

 in Man. We shall only remark, that its length varies much, and 

 that the number of vertebrae of which it is composed is far from 

 being uniform. These numerical differences principally depend 

 on the unequal development of the caudal portion (or tail-end) 

 of the column. Thus, the coccygeal vertebras sometimes do not 

 exist at all, (as amongst certain Bats, for example) ; in other in- 

 stances, we reckon forty, fifty, and even more than sixty of them. 

 It is also observed, that these coccygeal vertebras are of two kinds; 

 in the one kind a passage is retained for the spinal marrow, whilst 



FIG. 59. SKKLRTOM OF DUGONG. 



the others have none. Their processes are much larger when the 

 tail is very strong and movable ; but among the greater part of 



