FOUND LINKS. 



-distinctive nature of the quadrupeds, in fact, has been 

 tacitly acknowledged in zoology in the systems of 

 classification, which themselves are mere expressions of 

 the various relationships of the classified beings. For, 

 whilst the fishes and frogs have been united to form a 

 province of Vertebrate animals, and whilst reptiles 



may, perhaps, have heard the remark that a good deal in this 

 world depends upon one's point of view ; and his point of view 

 happens in this case not to be mine. I carefully explained that I 

 used the terms " Quadruped " and " Mammal," as convertible 

 names, and this for the reason that in zoology as, indeed, in 

 every-day life the names are so employed. Has Dr. Fisher ever 

 heard of a frog (one of his examples) being called a " Quadruped," 

 in the same breath with an ox ? And does he not know that a 

 whale possesses all the essential characters of quadruped-life which 

 he himself rejoices in the possession of? As to a whale not pos- 

 sessing four limbs, perhaps Dr. Fisher, not being a zoologist, is not 

 aware that in some whales (e.g. the whalebone genus, or Balccna^) 

 there are actual representatives, not merely of the haunch-bones, 

 but of the thighs as well. Hence, a whale may claim to be a 

 quadruped, even although its hind-limbs are rudimentary. Dr. 

 Fisher's somewhat querulous objections are overruled by the fact, 

 -that, as I started by denning " Quadrupeds " and " Mammals " as 

 being one and the same, the scientific meaning (and, as I main- 

 tain, the popular meaning also) of these terms is not likely to be 

 mistaken by any reader of ordinary intelligence. It is true, as 

 Dr. Fisher remarks, that in many mammals the clavicles, or collar- 

 bones, are wanting, just as these bones are absent in some mem- 

 bers of an order (e.g. rodents) and present in others ; or, as is the 

 case with the guinea-pigs and rabbits, the clavicles may be want- 

 ing at birth, and become developed later. What I indicated in 

 my paper was the typical condition of the quadruped shoulder. 

 If Dr. Fisher maintains that it is more typical for a quadruped to 

 want collar-bones than to possess them, that is his affair. He 

 'is not likely to find any comparative anatomist to agree with 

 him. 



