some curious facts respecting the walrus and seal , &c. 239 
The resemblance of the bones of the hind flipper of a 
walrus to those of the human hand, which I believe is like 
nothing else in nature, is curiously exact ; the bones of the 
wrist are the same in number and shape ; so are those of 
the metacarpus ; so also the phalanges of the thumb and 
fingers. The tendons of the perforantes muscles pass through 
those of the perforati in the palm upon the metacarpal 
bones, while in the human hand this takes place upon the 
first phalanges of the fingers ; and there are no lumbricales 
muscles whatever. On the back of this gigantic hand I was 
astonished to find the tendon of the indicator muscle. 
The muscles and tendons that are peculiar to this flipper, 
not met with in the human hand, are those of the web which 
extends beyond the fingers and thumb : this web is a strong 
ligamentous elastic substance intermixed with muscular 
fibres ; it has a set of muscles, which have their origin from 
the sides of the last phalanges of the fingers insensibly lost in 
it, and tendons go off from each side of the perforator muscles, 
which spread out and are lost in it. 
That this gigantic hand is employed as a cupping glass to 
prevent the animal from falling back in its movements, whe- 
ther on the ice, or in climbing the rocky cliffs, there can be no 
doubt ; for it is only necessary to take the human hand, and 
envelope it in an elastic web extending some way beyond the 
points of the fingers, to prove that it could perform such an 
office ; but when we find the lumbricales muscles wanting, 
the only use of which is to clench the fist, it adds to the proof ; 
and when the indicator is met with, a mode of opening a 
valve to let the air in is pointed out. 
It may be doubted, whether the extent of the flippers is 
