1 866.] DR. E. CRISP ON THE ANATOMY OF THE GIRAFFE. 563 



5. Further Observations relating to the Anatomy of the 

 Giraffe. By Edwards Crisp, M.D., F.Z.S., &c. 



It will be remembered that at two meetings of this Society I 

 have described some points connected with the anatomy of the 

 Giraffe (P. Z. S. 1864, p. 63 and p. 269). In my first paper I gave 

 the length of the intestinal canal of three Giraffes, in which I had 

 measured it, and also the length of the alimentary tube of many 

 other ruminants that I had examined, by way of contrast. In the 

 old female Giraffe (eighteen years of age) this canal measured 

 254 feet, in the young male 209 feet, and in a young male aged two 

 months 107 feet 11 inches. I mentioned in that paper that in the 

 length of the alimentary tube the animals examined by me differed 

 materially from those inspected by Professor Owen, the length of 

 the tube in the three adult animals dissected by him being only 1 24, 

 133, and 136 feet ('Transactions,' ii. p. 227). I also in that paper 

 alluded to the account of an examination of a young Giraffe by 

 MM. Joly and Lavocat, as described in the ' Memoires du Museum 

 d'Histoire Naturelle de Strasbourg.' These gentlemen were asto- 

 nished at the great length of the intestinal tube, which they describe 

 as really extraordinary : it measured 65 metres 25 millimetres, or 

 about 211 feet ; but it must be remembered that this was a young 

 animal. MM. Joly and Lavocat express their belief that the Gi- 

 raffe, with the exception of the Sheep, has relatively a longer in- 

 testinal tube than any other mammal : but this is a mistake ; many 

 mammals, including several ruminants, have, taking the length of the 

 body into account, a longer intestinal canal than the Giraffe : the Pig, 

 Seal, and Porpoise need only be mentioned as examples ; I could 

 adduce many others. 



In my second paper I described other points relating to the ana- 

 tomy of the Giraffe, especially that in connexion with the intestinal 

 glands (so called), and also a peculiar ridged appearance of the 

 rectum, of which I showed wax casts, and which I thought at that 

 time was a natural appearance. These descriptions were taken from 

 a fourth specimen I examined, that died in the Society's Collection, 

 prob:ibly from spasm of the glottis. In this animal, a young male 

 aged seven months, the alimentary canal measured 123 feet 6 inches. 



The Society will pardon me for this repetition ; but it is necessary 

 for the proper understanding of the subject. 



The recent death of a female Giraffe (the daughter of the one first 

 inspected), aged twelve years, at the Zoological Gardens from fire 

 has enabled me to obtain further information upon two points which 

 I was anxious to investigate, — 1st, the length of the alimentary tube; 

 2ndly, the appearance and size of the so-called csecal gland in an 

 adult animal. I first ascertained by examination of the rectum that 

 there were no such ridges or elevations as I saw and described in the 

 young Giraffes ; so I infer that these ridges are peculiar to the young 

 animal, or that their presence was accidental. I have since seen in 

 several oxen that I have examined that were killed for cattle-plague 



