508 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
XXXV. — The Morphology of the Manus in Platanista gangetica, the 
Dolphin of the Ganges. By Sir Wm. Turner, K.C.B., D.C.L., 
F.R.S., President of the Society. (With Four Plates.) 
(Read July 4, 1910. MS. received July 5, 1910.) 
In July 1909 I communicated to the Society * a description of the 
skeleton of Sowerby’s whale, and discussed the morphology of the Manus in 
the Ziphioids, Mesoplodon and Hyperoodon, and in the Delphinidae. In 
this paper I propose to consider the morphology of the manus in the 
pentadactylous Gangetic dolphin, the type example of the Platanistidse. 
The most complete account of the anatomy of Platanista is contained in 
the chapter on the Cetacea in the important “ Anatomical and Zoological 
Researches” by the late Dr John Anderson.f As director of the Indian 
Museum, Calcutta, he collected and studied both the soft parts and the 
skeleton in a number of specimens of both sexes. He analysed the 
constitution of the manus, and assigned to the carpal bones names corre- 
sponding with those used in descriptive human anatomy. 
The material at my disposal for study consisted of two adult skeletons, 
a male and a female, presented some years ago by Dr Anderson to the 
Anatomical Museum of the University of Edinburgh ; the skeleton of both 
hands from an adult male skeleton presented by Dr Alcock to Professor 
MTntosh of St Andrews University and the body of a young female, about 
3 feet long, in Professor MTntosh’s collection since 1883,j both of which, 
with his customary courtesy, he has allowed me to examine and describe ; 
the flippers of a young male presented to me this year by Dr Nelson 
Annandale, Director of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, along with the tail 
and half the head. Altogether I have examined ten hands of Platanista, 
a number which has enabled a range of variation to be studied, and a 
conclusion to be drawn as to the morphology of the carpus. 
The external characters of the flipper were well seen in Dr Annandale’s 
specimen. It was flattened on both surfaces, and the outlines of the digits 
could be seen subjacent to the integument. Its length was 19*5 cm. 
(7J inches), and the limb was short in relation to its breadth 13*5 cm. 
* Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin ., vol. xxix., part vii., p. 687. 
t Vol. i., text, pp. 417 e.s., and vol. ii., plate xxxi., e.s., London, 1878. 
f This specimen had been sent from Calcutta as an exhibit for the London Fisheries 
Exhibition. 
