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1869MivartG

 

The author discusses his observations of LCF absence in chimpanzees and orangutans.

 

IX. Contributions towards a more complete knowledge of the Skeleton of the Primates.

By Sr. George Mivart, F.L.S., Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy at St. Mary's Hospital.

Part I. The Appendicular Skeleton of Simia.

Read December 13th, 1866.

[Pirates XXXV. to XLIII.]

Quote p. 200

It is commonly asserted that the ligamentum teres is absent in. the Orang, as also the pit for its reception on the head of the femur (1). I find no trace of the latter in either femur of any specimen, with one exception (2); but in that. exceptional specimen each femur (Pl. XL. fig. 7 i) exhibits a small but distinct depression on its head in the place occupied in other forms by the pit for the round ligament. This absence has not, as far as I am aware, been noticed in Man or the Chimpanzee; but. in the Gorilla I have sometimes been unable to detect any trace of such a fossa on the head of the femur (3). It may therefore be the case that this ligament is occasionally absent in the Gorilla, and occasionally present in the Orang.

1) Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. i, p. 365, and De Blainville, ‘Ostéographie,’ Primates, Pithecus, p. 31.

2) No. 3i in the osteological collection of the British Museum.

3) E.g. in all four femora of the specimens Nos. 5179 a and 5179 8 in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Quote p. 214

The Orang differs from every other Primate without exception in: — the great absolute length of the pectoral limb minus the manus, of the manus itself, of its third digit both with and without its metacarpal, and of the metacarpal of the pollex; the great difference between the length of the pollex and that of the index; the large diameter of the acetabulum compared with the length of the spine; the small proportion borne by the femur to the humerus; the very obtuse angle formed by the neck of the femur with its shaft; the all but constant absence of the pit for the ligamentum teres on the head of the femur; the shortness of the tibia compared with the humerus; the length of the pes compared with that of the rest of the pelvic limb; the length of the pes compared with that of the tibia; the absolute length of the three middle metatarsals; the absolute length of the longest digit with its metatarsal; the very small proportion borne by the length of the hallux to that of the longest digit of the pes; the occasional absence of the second digit of the hallux; the great length of the index, with its metatarsal, compared with the length of the spine; the small length of the hallux (both with and without its metatarsal) compared with that of the whole pes; the great length of the index, without its metatarsal, compared with that of the whole pes; the nearly equal length of the indices of the pes and manus, both with and without the metatarsal and metacarpal; the shortness of the tarsus compared with the length of the pes. Thus the Orang is one of the most peculiar and aberrant forms to be found in the order Primates.

Quote p. 220

PLATE XL. Femur and Patella.

Fig. 1. Anterior aspect of right femur of No. 3 B.

Fig. 2. Posterior aspect of right femur of No. 3 A.

Fig. 5. Inner (or tibial) aspect of the same.

Fig. 4. Outer (or peroneal) aspect of the same.

Fig. 5. Distal end of right femur of No. 3 B.

Fig. 6. Proximal end of the same.

Fig. 7. Articular head of femur of No. 31, in the British Museum, showing the presence of a pit as for the ligamentum teres.

Fig. 8. Anterior surface of patella of No. 3 C.

Fig. 9. Posterior surface of the same.

a, articular head; b, greater (or peroneal) trochanter; c, lesser (or tibial) trochanter; d, posterior intertrochanteric line; e, anterior intertrochanteric line; f, its continuation as the “spiral line;” g, depression of the gluteus maximus; h, line leading down towards the entocondyloid prominence; i, pit for ligamentum teres; k, ectocondyloid prominence; l, entocondyloid prominence; m, external condyle; n, internal condyle; o, rotular surface; p, popliteal space; s, pit for popliteus. 

External links

Mivart G. Contributions towards a more complete knowledge of the Skeleton of the Primates. Part I. The Appendicular Skeleton of Simia. Transact. Zool. Soc. 1869;6:175-226. [biodiversitylibrary.org]

Authors & Affiliations

St. George Jackson Mivart (1827-1900) was an English biologist, Professor of Biology at the Catholic University College, Kensington. [wikipedia.org]

St. George Jackson Mivart.
Photograph by Barraud & Jerrard. original in the 
wellcomecollection.org 
(CC0 – Public Domain, fragment)
 
George Jackson Mivart (before 1900)
Unknown author, source: Jacob W. Gruber: A Conscience in Conflict.
The Life of St. George Jackson Mivart; original in the 
wikimedia.org collection
(CC0 – Public Domain, no changes)

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, animals, chimpanzee, orangutan, absence

                                                                     

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ZOOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY

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