II. On tlie soft anatomy of ConnocIiaBtes gnu (Zimmermann). 



The Zoological museum of the R. University Upsala haviiig aquired a young cow 

 of Connochcetes gnu in flesh; I have, with the kind permission of the Director, Professor 

 Tycho Tullberg, had the opportunity of making a comparison of the soft anatomy 

 of this animal with Ihat of other rurainants. This was the more interesting to me 

 because it could then be stated whether the parallelism between the gnu and the muskox, 

 based by some authors on some superficial and exteriör likeness ^) between the horns 

 of these animals, should find any support in their soft anatomy. As will be seen låter, 

 and as could be expected, the result in this rcspect was quite negative, but, on the other 

 hand, there are several points of interest so that I think the following account may not 

 seem uncalled for, the less so as the details of the anatomj^ of the antelopes is compara- 

 tively little known. 



The specimen investigated may not have been quite full-grown. Its length from 

 muzzle to root of tail was about 160 cm. Its height at the withers about 108 cm. 

 The basal length of the skull measured about 36 V2 cm. The exteriör of the muzzle 

 and the face of the gnu can be omitted here as it has been so many times described 

 by various authors, among others by Sclater and Thomas in their splendid »Book of 

 Antelopes» to which I also refer with regard to the bibliography of this animah About 

 4 cm. in front of the eye is a round cushion, black in colour, smooth and naked. 

 On its surface small pores are seen which form the openings of the anteorbital gland. 

 This latter has the shape of a round lenticular body about 3 V2 cm. in diameter and 

 about 1 V2 cm. in thickness. This is thus quite difterent from the hairy »tearbag» of 

 the muskox. 



The lips of the gnu are broad and on their inner surface quite smooth. 



Thanks to the great length of the palate the number of palatal ridges is con- 

 siderable. There can namely be counted 20 or 21 pairs (without regard to those irre- 

 gularly divided). This is considerably more than even in Bos and Ovihos") in which genera 

 these elevations are about 13 — 14 in number, not counting the small posterior ones. 

 The posterior margin of these rugce pnlati is sharply prominent and crenulated, but not 



^) Conf. the foregoiug chaptei- 011 the structure of the horns. 



^) In Ovis and Capra the number is 11 — 12; in Saic/a MuElE has stated ^a dozen — — fringed 

 palatal elevationss (Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1870 p. 489). 



