20 



PLEISTOCENE MAMMALIA, 



(2) Tables of Comparative Measurements of tiie Limb Girdles. 



Scapula. 



1. Length from coracoid process to end of 

 spine 



2. Length measured along glenoid border . . . 



3. Maximum diameter of neck 



Meles taxus, 



Pleistocene, Lang 



with (Mullins 



(.'oil. . 



9'45 

 7'55 

 20 



Lutra vulgaris, 



Prehistoric, Burwell 



fen (Sedgwick 



Mus.). 



7-7 

 6-0 

 1-8 





Mustela iiiavtrs, 



? Prehistoric, 



Newhall, Co, 



Clare (Nat. 



Mus. Dublin). 



Mustela robusta, 

 Pleistocene, 

 Ightham, nr. 



Maidstone 



(Lewis Abbott 



Coll.;. 



Mustela p/ifu- 

 riiis, Pleisto- 

 cene, Ightham, 

 nr. Maidstone 

 (Corner Coll, . 



Mustela vul- 

 garis, Pleisto- 

 cene, Ightham, 

 nr. Maidstone 

 (Corner Coll.). 



Meles faxus, 



Pleistocene, 



Langwith 



(Corner Coll. . 



Luira vulgarit, 



Prehistoric, 

 Reach fen, 

 Caml.s. (Sedg- 

 wick Mus. 

 Camb.). 



Pelvic Girdle. 



1 . Maximum length 



2. Length from acetabulum to 

 supra-iliac border of ilium . . . 



3. Dorso-ventral measurement 

 of ilium at widest point 



4. Antero-posterior diameter of 

 acetabulum 



61 

 32 



1-2 



■95 

 2-05 

 1-7 



5'35 



2-8 

 11 

 •8 

 1-8 

 1-35 



39 



2'2 



•9 



•65 

 1-35 

 1-0 



1-8 



1-1 

 •35 

 •25 

 '5 

 "5 



110 



(505 



2-8 



1-7 



3-0 



2-2 



10-4 



4-8 



1-95 



1-3 



43 



2-3 



5. Length from acetabulum to 

 posterior border of ischium ... 



(3. Maximum diameter of obtu- 

 rator foramen 





e. The Limbs. 



These show a progressive decrease in relative length from Gulo, in which they 

 are longest, through Meles, Lutra, and the larger members of the genus Mustela 

 to Mustela erminea and vulgaris, in which they are very short. The limbs are 

 sub-plantigrade in Gulo, Meles and Lutra, digitigrade in Mustela. The claws are 

 strong (except sometimes in Lutra), and in Mustela are semi-retractile. 



Anterior Limb. — The humerus in Meles and Lutra is a very powerful bone with 

 strong deltoid and supinator ridges. An ent-epicondylar foramen is present in 

 Meles, Gulo and Mustela, and may or may not be present in Lutra. In Meles the 

 radius and ulna are also very short powerful bones, the lower end of the ulna 

 bearing a prominent ridge on its inner side. The metacarpals tend to be shorter 

 than the metatarsals, especially in Lutra. 



Posterior Limb. — In Mustela this is considerably longer than the anterior, but 

 the difference is less marked in the other genera. In Meles and Lutra the femur 

 does not show such conspicuous ridges for the attachment of muscles as does the 

 humerus of these animals. The fibula is slender, and stands somewhat widely 

 away from the tibia except at the extremities. The metatarsals and digits are of 

 greater relative length in Gulo than in Meles. 



