Descriptive catalogue of the osteological series contained in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England / ... by Richard Owen.

  • Royal College of Surgeons of England. Museum.
Date:
1853
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Descriptive catalogue of the osteological series contained in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England / ... by Richard Owen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    34/578
    2074. The separated bones of the skull of an Agouti {Basyprocta Agidi). The bones are numbered on coloured labels, to correspond with the Table of Synonyms. The basispbenoid, presphenoid, and their respective alae have coalesced into a single bone ; bat the pterygoid remains united by suture to the ectopterygoid and entopterygoid processes of the alisphenoid ; and, by its union Avith the ectopterygoid process, an interpterygoid canal is formed, which is completed, as will be seen in the Porcupines, by the entopterygoid plate. Bristles are passed through the minute entocarotid canals, which perforate the sides of the basis])henoid near its back part. The alisphenoid is directly perforated by the foramen ovale, but there is neither an ectocarotid nor an alisphenoidal canal. Presented by Prof. Owen, F.B.S. Family Hystricida (Porcupines). Genus Hystrix. Dental formula:—i p m 3-^5=20. 2075. The skeleton of the Crested Porcupine {Hystrix cristata). It is of a female, and not quite adult, some of the epiphyses being still ununited. The ver- tebral formula is:—7 cervical, 15 dorsal, 4 lumbar, 4 sacral, and 12 caudal. Eight pairs of ribs directly join the sternum, which consists of seven bones. The potential base of the acces- sory processes begins to be developed upon the fourth dorsal, and divides upon the eleventh into the anapophysis and metapophysis. The distinction of both these processes from the diapophysis, which supports the last floating rib, is well marked in the last dorsal vertebra. In the lumbar vertebrae the anapophyses strengthen the joints by xmderlapping the metapo- physes, but both processes become rudimentary in the last lumbar. The two anterior sacral vertebrae support the ilia. The hinder half of the upper costa of the scapula is straight and nearly parallel with the lower costa: the base is slightly curved, and at almost right angles with the costae. The supraspinal fossa is broader than the infraspinal one, the spine inclining downwards or backwards and the acromion being bent in the same direction. The part answering to the descending process in the Cavies appears here to form a direct prolongation of the acromion, its true anterior extremity forming only an obtuse angle. The humerus has a large vacuity between the condyles, but no perforation above the inner condyle. The cla- vicular bones have not been preserved in this specimen. Mus. South. 2076. The skull of a male Porcupine {Hystrix cristata). The occipital region is nearly flat, and inclines from below upwards and a little forwards. The paroccipitals descend nearly to the level of the lower part of the occipital condyles. The mastoid forms only a rough ridge. The auditory bullae are moderately developed: the external meatus is short, directed outwards and a little forwards, and is notched behind. A