An introduction to the study of mammals living and extinctLydekker, Richard
Science
An introduction to the study of mammals living and extinct
Lydekker, Richard
Mammals
there any trace of a hind limb, but in the extinct _Halitherium_ an
acetabular depression and rudimentary femur have been discovered.
Two kinds of teeth, incisors and molars, separated by a wide interval,
are generally present. The former may be developed into tusks in
the upper jaw, or may be quite rudimentary. The molars vary much in
character. In one genus (_Rhytina_) no teeth of any kind are present, at
least in the adult. Some fossil forms show a more decidedly heterodont
dentition, while _Halitherium_ has milk-teeth, of which no traces have
been observed in the recent genera. In all recent types the anterior part
of the palate, and a corresponding surface on the prolonged symphysis
of the lower jaw, are covered with rough horny plates of peculiar
structure, which doubtless assist in mastication. The tongue is small
and fixed in position, with a surface resembling that of the plates just
spoken of. The salivary glands are largely developed. The stomach is
compound, being divided by a valvular constriction into two principal
cavities, the first of which is provided with a singular glandular pouch
near the cardiac end, and the second usually with a pair of elongated,
conical, cæcal sacs or diverticula. The intestinal canal is long, and
has very muscular walls. There is a cæcum, either simple, conical, and
with extremely thick walls, as in _Halicore_, or bifid, as in _Manatus_.
The heart is broad and flat, with its apex deeply cleft between the
ventricles. The principal arteries form very extensive and complex retia
mirabilia. The lungs are remarkably long and narrow, as, owing to the
very oblique position of the diaphragm, the thoracic cavity extends far
back over the abdomen. The epiglottis and arytenoid cartilages of the
larynx do not form a tubular prolongation as in the Cetacea, so that the
epiglottis is not intranarial. The brain is of comparatively small size,
and the convolutions on the surface of the cerebrum are few and shallow.
The kidneys are simple. The testes abdominal. The uterus is bicornuate.
The placenta (in the Dugong) is non-deciduate and zonary. The umbilical
vesicle disappears early. The mammæ are two, and pectoral, or rather
postaxillary in position.
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