358 DISEASE IN WILD MAMMALS AND BIRDS 
two diseases have been found. Veterinarians are familiar 
vnth. systemic osseous diseases in all the domesticated 
herbivores, but Hutyra and Marek note them as un- 
common in dogs and birds. Among the Primates, osteo- 
malacia occurs almost exclusively in New World monkeys, 
CebidaB and Hapalidae, whereas rickets is much more 
common among macaques (Cercopithecidae). Eight of 
the ten cases of rickets in monkeys seem to have arrived 
at the Garden with evidences of this disease. Half of the 
cases were arrested, or at least not florid, when the beast 
came to autopsy. All of the osteomalacic lemurs belonged 
to the ring-tailed species, born in the Garden and dying 
at ages from three to seven years. The cases of rickets 
among the Camivora were four Felidae, three Canidae 
and one Procyonidae while all the osteomalacia cases 
were in the last family. Six of the eight cases among 
the rodents affected squirrels. The large number of cases 
of rickets among the marsupials is due to a litter of 
small opossums thrown by an apparently healthy mother 
and dying in from six weeks to three months. 
The avian varieties which show the most definite 
osteomalacic changes are the pigeons and pheasants, with 
the parrakeets presenting nearly as characteristic lesions. 
Birds when affected \vith this disease, may come to 
autopsy in fairly good plumage and without any very 
marked emaciation. This is remarkable, for when the 
cresta sterni is palpated tliis ridge may sometimes be 
bent enough laterally to touch the ales sterni. How the 
bird can sit upon a perch when it is possible to bend the 
femora almost double, is difficult to understand. De- 
formity is by no means so frank as in mammals although 
periosteal overgro\Ni:h may be quite marked at times. 
Anemia is undoubted in nearly every instance, the pallor 
of the muscles seeming to be as great as if the specimen 
were intentionally bled to death. 
