The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle [vol. 1 of 5] : $b Fossil mammaliaOwen, Richard
Science
The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle [vol. 1 of 5] : $b Fossil mammalia
Owen, Richard
Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Mammals, Fossil; Paleontology -- South America; Zoology
In the preceding pages the nature and affinities of a large extinct
Mammal were attempted to be determined from the cranium and teeth
exclusively: we come now to consider the remains of a quadruped
consisting of bones of the trunk and extremities, without a fragment of
a tooth or of the cranium to serve as a guide to its position in the
zoological scale.
It may appear, even to anatomists and naturalists familiar with the kind
of evidence afforded by a fossil fragment, that an opinion as to the
relation of the present species to a particular family of Ruminants,
formed without a knowledge of the important organs of manducation, must
be vague and doubtful, but the evidence about to be adduced, will be
regarded, it is hoped, as more conclusive than could have been _à
priori_ expected.
The portions of the skeleton of the animal—which, in relation to the
affinity above alluded to, as well as from the length of its neck, I
propose to call _Macrauchenia_[16]—were discovered by Mr. Darwin in an
irregular bed of sandy soil, overlying a horizontal accumulation of
gravel on the south side of Port St. Julian: and independently of the
circumstances under which they were found, their correspondence with
each other in size, colour, texture and general character prove them to
have belonged to one and the same individual.
These remains include two cervical vertebræ, seven lumbar vertebræ, all
more or less fractured; a portion of the sacrum and ossa innominata;
fragments of the right scapula; of the right radius and ulna, and right
fore-foot; the right femur nearly entire, the proximal and distal
extremities of the right tibia and fibula; and a metatarsal bone of the
right hind-foot.
Before entering upon the description of these remains, a few
observations may be advantageously premised on some of the
distinguishing characters of the Camelidæ. It is well known that the
Camels and Llamas deviate in their dentition, viz., in the presence of
two incisors in the upper jaw, from the true Ruminants; and we cannot
avoid perceiving that in this particular the direction in which they
deviate tends towards the conterminous Ungulate Order, in which incisor
teeth are rarely absent in the upper jaw. They also further deviate from
the Ruminants and approach the Pachyderms in the absence of cotyledons
in the uterus and fetal membranes; having, instead thereof, a diffused
vascular villosity of the chorion, as in the sow and mare.
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