754 PROF. W. H. FLOWER ON ZLURUS FULGENS. [Noy. 15, 
On its arrival it was in an extremely feeble and emaciated condi- 
tion, though, under the careful treatment of the Superintendent of 
the Gardens, it gradually recovered health and strength ; but, while 
apparently in excellent condition, it died suddenly in the night of 
December 12, and was sent to the Royal College of Surgeons on the 
following morning. 
Unfortunately my other engagements were then so numerous that 
I was not able to undertake as complete an examination of the ana- 
tomy of this interesting animal as I could have wished, and I have 
not since had time or opportunity to make such a detailed comparison 
of its structure with that of allied forms as may be desirable. As, 
however, the opportunity of dissecting an 4lurus may not occur 
again for some time, I think it right not to withhold any longer 
from the Society such notes as I have made, especially as they relate 
to most of the essential points required to determine the affinities and 
position of the genus. 
The animal was a male, and of full size, though incomplete union 
of the epiphyses of some of the larger limb-bones, and the unworn 
condition of the teeth (of which the permanent set were all in place), 
showed that it had but just attained to adult age. 
It was in exceedingly good condition—the subcutaneous tissue and 
the mesentery and subperitoneal tissue being loaded with fat. The 
only morbid appearances observed throughout the dissection were 
certain hemorrhagic spots, presently to be described, in the intestinal 
canal ; but after the preparation of the skeleton it became evident 
that the bones generally were soft and spongy in texture, a condition 
not unusual in animals which die under the abnormal or unhealthy 
circumstances to which they are subjected in captivity. 
The weight of the animal was 93 lbs. It measured from the end 
of the nose to the root of the tail 24"; the tail was 17" long with- 
out the hair, or, to the end of the hairy tip, 193!. These dimensions, 
as well as the weight, slightly exceed those given by Hodgson for a 
mature male animal. 
The external characters of lurus are too well known to need 
further description ; but some details regarding the structure of the 
limbs may be noted. Amid the dense woolly covering of the under 
surface of the feet, the merest rudiments of naked pads can be de- 
tected by separating the hairs under the prominences formed by the 
articulation between the second and third phalanges of each digit ; 
and there is a larger, transversely oval, bare space °4"' across, covered 
by piuk, soft skin, and scarcely forming any prominence, in the place 
of the usual palmar or plantar pad. 
The claws are of nearly equal size, and semiretractile on both fore 
and hind feet. When allowed to take their natural position, the 
middle phalanx is bent down nearly at a right angle with the proximal 
phalanx, but the terminal phalanx projects forwards, so that the end 
of the claw is always exposed, extending distinctly beyond the dense 
hairy clothing of the foot. There is a strong elastic ligament to 
maintain this position. The claws are very sharp, moderately curved 
and much compressed, *75" long, measured in a straight line from 
base to tip, and 35" deep at the base. 
