﻿PELIS SPELjEA. 



127 



§ 3 a. Patella (PI. XIX, figs. 5, 5'). — The patella of Felis spelaa, of which many 

 specimens are preserved in the Taunton Museum from the caves of Sandford Hill and 

 Bleadon, exactly resembles that of the Lion and Tiger in form, but surpasses them in 

 size. As in the recent Feles, it varies considerably in size and proportion. In shape it 

 resembles a flattened pear, the small end being that to which the great ligament is attached 

 which unites the bone to the anterior crest of the tibia. Many anatomists consider that 

 in this bone we have the analogue, in the hind limb, of the olecranon of the ulna, a point 

 that will be found fully discussed in the ' Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology.' l The 

 outer or anterior surface (PI. XIX, fig. 5') is roughened for the attachment of the tendons 

 of the muscles, which we have elsewhere pointed out as the extensors of the leg and the 

 flexors of the thigh, including the "paracural" of Straus-Dnrckheim, which has no 

 analogue in man. The upper part of the proximal or posterior surface (fig. 5) is entirely 

 occupied by the slightly convex articulation which fits the intercondylian or anterior facet 

 of the femur ; its edges slightly extend beyond the body of the bone. 



The only patella liable to be confounded with that of Felis spelaa is that of the Bear ; 

 it may, however, be easily distinguished by its more oval form, and by the greater com- 

 parative extent of its femoral articulation. 



§3/3. Measurements. — The variation in size is seen in the following table of 

 measurements of the patella in Felis spela>a, F. leu, and F. tigris : — 





Felis spelcea. 



Felis leo. 



F. tigris. 



Taunton Museum. 





th 



to 



£f> 

























>* 







j* 











a 



a 



3 





■ co 









W 



cc 



W 



03 





cd a 



<D 



<u 



<D 













> c 



> 



to- 



> 













C m 



<s 

 O 



a 



ed 

 O 



a 



a 





"3 



"3 

 o 







o 



o 



a 



o 





oT 



«6~ 



i— i 





13 T3 



13 



13 



13 





<N 



CM 



o 





flj o 



cd 



id 



CS 





CO 



to 



1—1 





<l> '— 



CD 



<D 



CJ 































3 gj 



PP 



m 



pa 













E 



















2-90 



3-00 



2-80 



2-50 



2-40 



2-42 



1-85 



1-94 





473 



5-00 



4-58 



4-37 



4-00 



4-1 



37 



3-4 



Transverse measurement of proximal arti- 





















1-85 



2-00 



1-80 



170 



1-55 



1-58 



1-4 



13 



Vertical ditto 



1-90 



1-95 



1-95 



1-85 



1-50 



1-25 



1-J 



1-33 





1 Article " Skeleton," p. 664 et seq. 



