The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 10 (of 10)Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Science
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 10 (of 10)
Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Animals; Mammals
The stomach is simple in form, and the epithelium of the oesophagus does
not extend into it as is the case with the Horse and Rhinoceros. A gland or
a collection of smaller glands occurs in the stomach, and recalls the
"cardiac gland" of the Wombat and the Beaver, also that of the Giraffe. The
large intestine is long, rather more than half the length of the small
intestine. The caecum is well developed in these animals. The liver has a
very simple form, being but slightly lobulated. It is actually only
bilobed, but it is important to notice that this division does not
correspond to the two halves of the liver. As shown by the attachment of
the suspensory ligament, one half consists of the left lateral lobe alone,
the other half embracing the remaining primary lobes. The simplicity of the
liver looks like an archaic character. No Elephant has a gall-bladder. The
lungs again are simple in form through their slight lobulation. Each half
in fact is without subdivisions, and is of a triangular form. In this the
Elephants resemble the Whales, as in the simple liver. In both cases
probably the likeness is due to the permanence of primitive features of
organisation. The brain[139] of the Elephant {221} has hemispheres which
are extremely well convoluted; but they leave the cerebellum entirely
uncovered. This suggests a brain which is a great specialisation of a low
type. The brain has been particularly compared with that of the Carnivora,
with which group the Elephants agree in the characters of the placenta. It
is, however, always a matter of the very greatest difficulty to compare the
brains of mammals belonging to different orders.
There are but two living species of Elephant, of both of which we shall now
proceed to give some account. Only a few of the rather numerous fossil
forms can be touched upon here.
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