(326 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON A [May 29, 



4. Description of the Bxtevnal Characters of an unborn Foetus 

 of a Giraffe {Giraffa camelojjardalis xoardi). By Fkank 

 E. Beddard, M.A., F.R.S., Prosector to the Society. 



[Received May 29, 1906.] 



(Text-fig-ures 107-109.) 



On May 5th (Saturday) of the present year the female Transvaal 

 Giraffe purchased by the Society in 1895* died, and was examined 

 on the Monday foUowing at the Prosectorium. The animal was 

 found to be pregnant, and the foetus was female. 



Inasmuch as the foetus was not of fuh-time, it became a matter 

 of importance to determine its age and to compare its appearance 

 with that of the newly born Giraffe. The newly born Giraffe has 

 been described by the late Sir Richard Owen t, and the time of 

 gestation varies from 431 to 444 days, according to his state- 

 ments. 



The age of the foetus upon which I report here is a matter of 

 inference. Mr. Pocock has been so good as to fvumish me with 

 the following facts bearing upon this question. It appears that 

 the mother was " on heat " from May 1905 to the end of August 

 or beginning of September. This condition then ceased. The 

 reason for this cessation must have been either conception or the 

 end of the period of heat. The latter view was the one taken 

 until the death of the animal revealed the foetus. Thus the foetus 

 was about 8 calendar months old. A nearer estimate than this 

 cannot be fonned. The foetus may be said therefore to have passed 

 about two-thirds of the normal pei-iod of gestation. 



The most striking feature exhibited by the foetus is undoubtedly 

 the total absence of the least trace of the characteristic markings 

 of the Giraffe. The colour was nearly uniform, and I give later 

 a fuller description of the hues of the coat in various regions of 

 the body. The bonis are very prominent with long hairs, and a 

 cartilaginous (?) horn-core could be felt within each. The early 

 development of these as compared with some ruminants is note- 

 worthy. 



The proportions of the body are shown in the accompanying 

 figure (text-fig. 107) and the lengths of different regions of the 

 body and limbs are indicated by the table of measurements which 

 follows. The most striking difference from the adult Giraffe is, as 

 it appears to me, the comparative shoi-tness of the neck, which is 

 quite visible in the figure (text-fig. 107). The general appear- 

 ance of the head and neck is, apart, of course, from the horns, not 

 unlike that of a. Lama ; there is no particular suggestion of the 



* See P. Z. S. 1895, p. 161. 



t Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. iii. p. 21, and Comp. Anat. & Phj'S. Vertebrates, London, 

 1868, vol. iii. p. 739. 



