British Museum (Natural History) General GuideBritish Museum (Natural History)
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British Museum (Natural History) General Guide
British Museum (Natural History)
British Museum (Natural History) -- Guidebooks; Natural history museums -- England -- London -- Guidebooks
The central case of the bay contains a collection illustrating the
principal characters of the teeth of Mammals. Its inspection should
commence at the north-east corner, where the visitor will find himself
after completing the survey of the specimens of skeletons in the
wall-cases. In the first division are placed specimens showing the
general characters of teeth, their form, the different tissues of
which they are composed, the two great types of dentition in Mammals,
_homœodont_ and _heterodont_,[5] the names and serial correspondence
of the different teeth, and their development and succession. The
principal modifications of teeth according to function are next
shown by examples of forms adapted for fish-eating, flesh-eating,
insect-eating, grass-eating, etc. The remainder of the case is taken
up by examples of the dentition of the families of Mammals arranged in
order, and prepared so as to display not only the shape of the crowns,
but also the number and character of the roots by which they are
implanted.
[Sidenote: Bay II. Classification of Mammals.]
In bay No. II the two wall-cases contain a collection arranged to show
in a serial manner the orders and sub-orders of existing Mammals, by
examples selected to illustrate the predominating characters by which
these are distinguished. A brief popular account of the characteristics
of the group, and a map showing its geographical distribution,
are placed with each. This is intended to serve not only for an
introduction to the study of the class by visitors to the museum, but
also as a guide to a method of arrangement which may be adopted in
smaller institutions.
Among the illustrations of the order _Primates_ is placed the skeleton
of a young Chimpanzee dissected by Dr. Tyson, which formed the subject
of his work on the “Anatomy of a Pigmie,” published in 1699, the
earliest scientific description of any Man-like Ape.
[Sidenote: Skin of Mammals.]
The central case of this bay contains illustrations of the outer
covering or skin and its modifications in the class of Mammals, divided
into the following sections:
1. Expansion of skin to aid in locomotion, as the webs between the
fingers of swimming and flying animals, the parachutes of flying
animals.
2. The development of bony plates in the skin, found among Mammals only
in the Armadillos and their allies. The cast of a section of the tail
of a gigantic extinct species (_Glyptodon_) shows a bony external as
well as an internal skeleton.
3. The outer covering modified into true scales, much resembling in
structure the nails of the human hand. This occurs in only one family
of Mammals, the Pangolins, or _Manidæ_.
4. Hair in various forms, including bristles and spines. The two kinds
of hair composing the external clothing of most Mammals, the long,
stiffer outer hair, and the short, soft under-fur, are shown by various
examples.
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