FISCHER ON THE PELVIS OF THE MAMMALIA. 25 



pelvis of a form greatly resembling that of the ox. I shall copy merely some 

 examples from Daubenton, who thus speaks of the buffalo : " Of the three 

 tuberosities formed by the posterior part of each os ischium, the inferior is 

 much longer from above downwards than the two superior, the more anterior 

 of which (upper tuberosities) is placed higher than the corresponding one in 

 the ox, and which has been called a spine." Again, Daubenton speaking of 

 the dromedary, says " The upper part of the haunch bone is very large, and 

 forms an acute angle by its anterior extremity ; the foramina ovalia are nearly 

 round." The pelvis of the goat presents some peculiarities worthy of notice : 

 the symphysis of the pubis, elongated, is somewhat bent in the middle into a 

 distinct angle superiorly, so that the exit of the true pelvis in this animal is 

 directly the opposite to what it is in man, in whom it bends forward, towards 

 the abdomen. The os sacrum of the fallow deer greatly resembles the narrow 

 sacral bone of the hare, in which there also exists a similar though less con- 

 spicuous flexion of the pelvic semi-canal, towards the coccygeal bones. In 

 this flexion may, perhaps^ be found the reason why amongst the glires (ro- 

 dents) animals are generally provided with lengthened tails ; the hare, and 

 amongst cattle, the deer, have the tail short ; both animals are remarkable 

 for their extraordinary leaps, in performing which the middle of the back is 

 bent downwards. The portion of the os ilium, which in the goat overtops 

 the plane of the os sacrum, is bent outwards, or externally is short, somewhat 

 broad, and with a sub-acute apex. 



Section 28. 9. Belluce. The os sacrum of the elephant is composed of three 

 vertebrae, separated by large intermediate cartilages, which late in life evi- 

 dently become ossified. The os sacrum of the pig is composed of four ver- 

 tebras, having very small spinous processes, and separated from each other by 

 large intervals. The os sacrum of the BUS tajarsu has five vertebrae. 



Section 29. The coccyx of the sus tajarsu has seven vertebra? ; that of 

 the common pig, sus scrofu, and of the elephant, thirty-one.* 



Section 30. The ossa ilia of the common pig greatly resemble those of the ox ; 

 the bones of the pubis and of the ischium are broader, hence the foramina 

 ovalia, and indeed the whole pelvis is wider than that of the ox, comparatively, 

 that is, regard being had to the difference in bulk of the animals. The ossa 

 inominata of the elephant greatly resemble the corresponding human bones, 

 especially the ossa ilia, which in the elephant are very broad, and not elonga- 

 ted, as in other mammals ; they reach merely the last lumbar vertebra. Their 

 inner surface is concave, their outer convex, as in man ; but the inferior spine 

 of the crest of the os ilium is terminated by a very large tuberosity ; the 

 diameter from one to the other, according to Perrault,f in an elephant seven- 

 teen years of age, was nearly 2' ; according to Blair,J in an elephant twenty- 

 six years old, 3' 6" English feet; and in the pelvis of an elephant eleven years 

 old, preserved in the Museum of Hesse-Cassel, I found the measurement to be 

 two feet four inches. 



The annexed table of measurements has been compiled from the obser- 

 vations of Daubenton, Pallas, Merrem, Allemand, Blair, and my own : 



* Perrault. Mem. Paris. 1671-1676, fol. T 2. 



t Mem., p. 5. Hist. Nat. : P. Blair on the Anat. of the Elephant. Philos. 



Tr., vol. 5, Lond. 1732, p 82. 



