On the anatomy of a fin-whale (Physalus antiquorum, Gray) captured near Gravesend / by James Murie.

  • Murie, James.
Date:
[1865]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the anatomy of a fin-whale (Physalus antiquorum, Gray) captured near Gravesend / by James Murie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    18/24 (page 222)
    Senes of Measurements to illustrate the comparative Dimensions of the Caudal Vertehrce, in inches. CJ 0 ^ A 8 u 3 £ it •*j 5 ^ T3 'o. to 0 10 >-> 0 A Caudal vertebrae. ■fsf lit 0 CO to O ■-> O <u p3 — 1 3 S A (X O cu 2 est wid body. S & 2 tJ.S P< a £ 2 0 Oo.f s 0 rt S u O 1st 28 30 125 3rd 26 275 125 5th 235 225 13 7th 18 205 13 9th 15 19 13 11th 155 115 13th 10 14 10 ■Ui O Ui 12 m Hi Hi 105 105 W w 0 a A . .« 9 8 O 0 £ l! 11 % 3 V a • t 3 V c . A^ *-> O A P- tLg A 0 « £ o.£ A ~ <*-, w 0 c A'3, 0 rf 4) O ^ 5 Ss a » a ~ rt Ui 0 e l! 3 » 105 7 65 14 6.5 105 6 65 12 5 105- 5 55 7 35 105 4 7 6 25 10 25 6 3 J 2 9 5 3 1 8 3 if 1 TT CL, ss * 2 £ 2 O'* - o 4i 4 35 4 35 2| 2i 3i 35 35 4 35 25 The bodies of the remaining caudal vertebrae are as follows :— Greatest width. Greatest height. 16th 7f 3f 17th 75 35 18th 6 35 19 th 5 3 20th 4 2 21st 35 2 The number of the chevron bones is fourteen; but from the cor- responding vertebral facets one would believe them to have been ori- ginally fifteen. The first and second have moderate-sized laminae; a sharp-edged keel, long and tapering in front, shorter and more rounded behind ; both processes more produced in the first bone. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth are considerably larger, each some- what oblong in shape, their depth being greatest; the antero-poste- rior projections not prominent. In the seventh the laminae are very much stronger and thicker, the articulating facets of great breadth, considering the size of the bone. In the eighth, ninth, and tenth there is a slight return to the shape of the first and second. The laminae, however, are broader in comparison with these last: the keel is roughened at the junction with the laminae; at the same time it is thinner, deeper, and shaped not unlike the sternum of a bird, sharp pointed in front; it is not so long and tapering as in the two first; the posterior projection likewise is concave instead of convex. The laminae of the eleventh and twelfth are much shorter in depth ; the keel processes not prominent, although the bones are longest in this diameter. On the whole, they are solidified, and of an opposite oblong form to the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. The thirteenth and fourteenth bones diminish much in size, but they are thicker in proportion ; they approach the triangular in figure ; the front articu- lations are very long and sloping, and these occupy the greater part [18]