LORQUINIA 
Published by the Lorquin Natural History^ Club 
(Organized— August 1913) 
Volume II 
Number 4 
Los Angeles, Cal., November 1917 
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STUDIES IN ZOOLOGY.— I. 
Osteology 
To any one intending to make a study in any line of vertebrate 
zoology a knowledge of osteology is quite essential. Without the 
scientific terminology one would be at a loss to understand the litera- 
ture of one's chosen subject. One would be more or less out of 
touch with specialists in other lines of vertebrate study and this must 
be avoided as much as possible. 
With the object in view of directing the attention of many to the 
beauty and value of such a course, I shall attempt to make plain some 
of the beautiful things related to such a study. 
As an instance let us suppose that I am interested especially in 
herpetology — then my scientific vocabulary relating thereto must closely 
resemble the vocabulary of my friend whose specialty is the study 
of birds. The two vocabularies are similar but by no means identical. 
They must closely resemble each other because both groups as we 
now see them have descended from common ancestors and must have 
a striking likeness in homological parts and therefore similarly related 
in terminology. They must also be somewhat dissimilar because of 
the unlikeness of general structure and of particular parts which have 
come about through aeons of gradual change. To be specific, we may 
use the lower jaw of any vertebrate as an illustration. We know 
that in all vertebrates the lower jaw is developed from or about a 
primitive structure caled Meckel's cartilage. We know, also, that 
from a part of this cartilage there develops a bone common to reptiles 
and birds ,knov/n as the quadrate bone, and we know the subsequent 
history of it. We cannot be correctly informed without being familiar 
with the origin and destiny of this bone throughout the philogenetic 
history of the vertebrate stem. What is true of this particular element 
is equally true of many other parts which might be cited in evidence. 
The most thoroughly informed generalist will be, other things 
being equal, the best specialist. 
It matters little where we begin to study vertebrates — we no 
sooner get a good knowledge of any individual or group than we begm 
to inquire of its ancestry — whence did it come? This leads us to 
