1H79.] ANATOMY OF HYENA CROCUTA. Hi 



The animal from which the following observations have been com- 

 piled was a well-developed male. It eanie into our possesisiou 

 sliortlv after death, in excellent condition for dissectiug-purposes. 



Viscera. 

 Digestive Organs. 



Tongue. — The tongue coaforn^s to the Carnivorous tvpeoftheorgan, 

 being elongated, flattened, and chin. The filiform papillae covering 

 the whole of the dorsal surface and margins are of large size, and 

 present the appearence of small recurved spines. One inch behind 

 the tip these papillae are somewhat modified in form, and are 

 arranged in a clearly defined oval patch. In this region each 

 papilla is situated on a broad conical base, and terminates in a blunt 

 truncated extremity, which contrasts strongly with the sharp recurved 

 appearance of these papillae upon other parts of the organ. This 

 patch is referred to by Owen', in his description of the tongue in 

 the genus Hyana, but without particularizing the species. Inter- 

 spersed among the filiform papilla, over the entire surface of the 

 tongue, and almost concealed by them, are numerous mi.iute 

 fungiform papillae of a white colour and devoid of spines. The 

 circumvallate papillae are two in number, of small size. They are 

 situated close to the root of the tongue, one on either side of the 

 middle line. With regard to the number of these structures, our 

 observations agree with those of MeckeP and Rudolphi^ and differ 

 from those of Daubenton*, according to whom they are four in 

 number. As, however, the specimen examined by the latter author 

 belonged to the species H. striata, this may account for the difference 

 of statement. Meckel does not particularize the species which he 

 examined, though probably it was H. striata. Behind the circum- 

 vallate papillae, those of the filiform variety are of larger size than 

 elsewhere, and differ in being soft and devoid of the spiny character 

 which distinguishes those placed more anteriorly. The tongue of the 

 Spotted Hyseua, both as regards its form and the arrangement of its 

 papillae, agrees closely with that of H. striata and of Proteles\ In all 

 of these we recognize the patch of truncated filiform papillae near 

 the tip ; at the same time it is to be observed that this is not a 

 distinctive feature in the anatomy of these animals, a somewhat 

 similar appearance being recognizable in the tongues of certain of 

 the true Felidae. This patch in P/-o/e/es corresponds to the anterior 

 third of the tongue ; but in both H. crocuta and H. striata it is 

 confined to the central region of the tip, and does not extend to the 

 margins of the organ. In the Civet, the tongue of which in other 

 respects closely resembles that of Hyccna, this patch is absent. 



The tonsil is of considerable size, oval in form, and consists of a 

 number of obliquely placed glandular ridges. It closely resembles the 



* Anatomy of Vertebrates, vol. iii. p. 198, 



* Anatomie Comparee, vol. viii. p. 685. 



' Reimann, De Hyaena, Berol. 1811, p. 15. 



* Buffon. Histoire Xalurelle, vol. ix. p. 129. 



« Prof. Flower, Proc. Zool. Soc. 18fiy, p. 474. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1879, No. VI. 6 



