Anatomy, Artistic; Animals in art; Zoological illustration
Thus, the bear (plantigrade) has five digits, and the power of
performing the movements of supination and pronation. Indeed, we know
with what facility this animal is able to move his paws in every
direction, and climb a tree by grasping it with his fore-limbs. It is
well known, however, that no animal except the ape can perform the
movements of rotation of the radius around the ulna with the same
facility as man; and that none possesses the same degree of suppleness,
extent, and variety of movements of the forearm and hand.
In the digitigrades there is one finger which is but slightly developed,
and which is always removed from the ground--that is, the thumb: there
is also a little less mobility of the radius around the ulna.
In the ungulates the limbs are simply required to perform the movements
of walking, and form veritable columns of support, which become the more
solid as they are less divided. The bones of the forearm are fused
together; there is therefore no possibility of rotation of the radius
around the ulna. The metacarpus is reduced to a single piece, which in
the horse constitutes what is known as the _canon_. The number of digits
becomes diminished, so that in ruminants there are not more than two,
and in the horse but one. We should, however, add that, up to the
present, we have taken into account only perfect digits, those that rest
on the ground. We shall see further on that there exist supplementary
digits, but that they are only slightly developed, and are represented
in some cases by mere osseous spurs; it is this fact that has permitted
us to ignore them in the general study which we have just made.
Because, as we have already said, the unguligrades have the inferior
extremity of the digit encased in a horny sheath, which forms the hoof
of the horse and the corresponding structures (_onglons_) in the ox,
those animals have been placed in a special group, which is based on
that peculiarity--that is, the group of ungulate mammals.
The plantigrades and digitigrades, of which the paws have their surfaces
of support strengthened by an epidermic sole and fatty pads, have the
free extremities of the third phalanges covered on their dorsal surface
by nails or claws; hence they are named _unguiculate_ mammals.
The bat and birds have the bones of the forearm so arranged that the
radius cannot rotate around the ulna. This is necessary in order that
during flight, when the wing is being lowered, the radius and hand shall
not be able to turn; for, if such rotation took place, each stroke of
the wing would place it in a vertical position, which would occasion a
loss of resistance incompatible with the effect to be obtained.
The Forearm
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