. The myology of the raven (Corvus corax sinuatus.) A guide to the study of the muscular system in birds . nsive thanit is at the present time. We may hope for some light upon the question ofsuch homologies only through exhaustive and comparativestudies of the entire muscular systems of the Struthiousforms of existing birds, and such other types as Echidna,the Duckbill, certain Fish forms, with such living Reptilesas are known to approach these in their structure. Atthe best, the unravelling of these homologies is an ex- o o ceedingly difficult task, and one that demands all ourpatience, as we
. The myology of the raven (Corvus corax sinuatus.) A guide to the study of the muscular system in birds . nsive thanit is at the present time. We may hope for some light upon the question ofsuch homologies only through exhaustive and comparativestudies of the entire muscular systems of the Struthiousforms of existing birds, and such other types as Echidna,the Duckbill, certain Fish forms, with such living Reptilesas are known to approach these in their structure. Atthe best, the unravelling of these homologies is an ex- o o ceedingly difficult task, and one that demands all ourpatience, as well as our keenest insight into morphologicalproblems. Not a little has already been accomplished inthe direction I point out, but very little as comparedwith the enormous amount of exhaustive comparativework that still remains in such fields, for the handsand minds of the generations to come. We find in most existing Chelonians that these mus-cles of the dorsum have almost entirely disappeared;while among the Snakes they are highly developed bothas regards complexity and differentiation. In living s 2. FIG. 66.—Dorsal aspect of the skeleton of the trunk in a Raven. Designed toshow the origin and insertion of certain muscles thereto life-size, by the author, from his own dissections. THE MUSCULATURE OF THE TRUNK. 261 Telcosts among fishes they form a bulky mass that goesto he inserted at the back of the cranium. No less interesting is the study of the group ofcaudal muscles in this Raven, as compared with severalof the forms suggested above. In a bird as high inthe scale of organization as our present subject, ofcourse, these muscles now all subserve the specialmovements of no less important an instrument tothe performance of flight than the tail. With many ofour existing Lizards, however, the tail must be consi- o dered more in the light of an ornament rather than anessential part in the economy. For instance, our littleAnolis seems to get along quite as well
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookcollection, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmuscl
