The Vertebrate SkeletonReynolds, Sidney H. (Sidney Hugh)
Science
The Vertebrate Skeleton
Reynolds, Sidney H. (Sidney Hugh)
Skeleton
CETACEA. In nearly all the Odontoceti the scapula is broad and
somewhat fan-shaped; the prescapular fossa is much reduced, and the
acromion and coracoid process form flattened processes, extending
forwards nearly parallel to one another. Some of the Mystacoceti, such
as _Balaenoptera_, have a broad, fan-shaped scapula, with a long
acromion and coracoid process, extending parallel to one another.
Others, such as _Balaena_, have a higher and narrower scapula, with a
smaller coracoid process.
In UNGULATA the scapula is always high and rather narrow, and neither
acromion nor coracoid process is ever much developed. In no adult
Ungulate except _Typotherium_ is there any trace of a clavicle, but a
vestigial clavicle has been described in early embryos of sheep[171].
[Illustration FIG. 103. SKELETON OF A LLAMA (_Auchenia glama_) × 1/18.
(Brit. Mus.)
1. hyoid.
2. atlas vertebra.
3. seventh cervical vertebra.
4. scapula.
5. imperfectly ossified suprascapula.
6. olecranon process of ulna.
7. metacarpals.
8. ilium.
9. patella.
10. calcaneum.]
UNGULATA VERA. In the Ruminantia the suprascapular region (fig. 103,
5) is very imperfectly ossified, and when this is removed the upper
border of the scapula is very straight (fig. 101, 5). The spine is
prominent, and generally has a fairly well-marked acromion. In
_Hippopotamus_ the acromion is fairly prominent, but in the other
Suina, though the spine is prominent, the acromion is not developed.
The Perissodactyla have no acromion, but while the Equidae and
_Hyracotherium_ have the scapula long and slender, with the spine very
slightly developed, the other living Perissodactyla have the spine
prominent and strongly bent back at about the middle of its length.
SUBUNGULATA. _Typotherium_ (Toxodontia) differs from all other known
Ungulates in having well-developed clavicles; its scapula has a strong
backwardly-projecting process, much like that in _Rhinoceros_.
_Phenacodus_ (Condylarthra), has a curiously rounded scapula, with the
coracoid and suprascapular borders passing imperceptibly into one
another. The scapula resembles that of a carnivore more than does that
of any existing Ungulate.
_Procavia_ has a triangular scapula with a prominent spine and no
acromion; there is a large unossified suprascapular region.
The scapula in the Proboscidea has a large rounded suprascapular
border and a narrow, slightly concave glenoid border. The spine is
large, and has a prominent process projecting backwards from about its
middle. The spine lies towards the front end of the scapula, so that
the postscapular fossa is much larger than the prescapular fossa.
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