. Zoology : for students and general readers . Zoology. CETACEANS. 591 The largest bats are the fruit bats or flying foxes {Ptero- pus) of the East Indies ; one species of which expands one and a lialf metres (nearly five feet) from tip to tip of the wings. Our commonest species is the little brown bat, Vesjyertilio sttiulatus of Say ; nearly as com- mon is the red bat, Atalapha no- veboracensis Coues. Order 5. Cete {Cetacea).—We now come to the Educahilia, in which the brain is more highly de- veloped, and begin with two very aberrant orders, the whales and Sirenians, in which the body is fis
. Zoology : for students and general readers . Zoology. CETACEANS. 591 The largest bats are the fruit bats or flying foxes {Ptero- pus) of the East Indies ; one species of which expands one and a lialf metres (nearly five feet) from tip to tip of the wings. Our commonest species is the little brown bat, Vesjyertilio sttiulatus of Say ; nearly as com- mon is the red bat, Atalapha no- veboracensis Coues. Order 5. Cete {Cetacea).—We now come to the Educahilia, in which the brain is more highly de- veloped, and begin with two very aberrant orders, the whales and Sirenians, in which the body is fish-like, though the tail is hori- zontal ; the pelvis and hind limbs are wanting, either wholly, or mi- nute rudiments may be present; and they are aquatic, occasionally leaping out of the water, but usu- ally only showing the dorsal fin or nose when at the surface to breathe. The whales and porpoises have a large, broad brain, with numer- ous and complicated deep convolu- tions. In the skull (Figs. 512, 513) the aperture for the spinal cord {fora- men magnum) is entirely j^osterior in situation and directed some- what ujiward. The lower jaw is straight, with no ascending ramus, the narrow condyles being situated at the end of the jaw, at the point indicated by the angle of the ramus in other mammals. The teeth are conical, with a single root, but aro sometimes wanting. There is no neck ; the cervical verte- brae are sometimes confluent, forming a single mass. The. Fig. 513.—Skull of the Bperm whale, longitudinal section show- ing the rdative size and form of the cranial cavity, m, maxilla; pm, premaxilla.—After Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring), 1839-1905. New York : Henry Holt
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1879
