. Bulletin of the Department of Geology. Geology. 1914] Taylor: Aquatic Adaptation in the Carnivora 477 The orbit in the two skulls of the sea-otter is relatively (to the length of the skull) larger than in the Lutra canadensis. This enlargement may be due to an increase in size of the visual organ to adapt the animal for sight under water, paralleling the con- ditions in this respect observed by J. C. Merriam23 and others in iehthyosaurs, in which group the orbits of the later Jurassic forms are larger than in the earlier Triassic reptiles. The relative enlargement of the skull of Latax lutri
. Bulletin of the Department of Geology. Geology. 1914] Taylor: Aquatic Adaptation in the Carnivora 477 The orbit in the two skulls of the sea-otter is relatively (to the length of the skull) larger than in the Lutra canadensis. This enlargement may be due to an increase in size of the visual organ to adapt the animal for sight under water, paralleling the con- ditions in this respect observed by J. C. Merriam23 and others in iehthyosaurs, in which group the orbits of the later Jurassic forms are larger than in the earlier Triassic reptiles. The relative enlargement of the skull of Latax lutris may also be definitely. Fig. 3. Skull of Lutra canadensis (Univ. Calif. Col. Palae.) x%. Fig. 4. Skull of Latax lutris (no. 8124, Univ. Calif. Col. Palae.) X%. related to aquatic adaptation. The later iehthyosaurs, those which had lived longest in the water, had larger skulls relatively to the length of the trunk than those of earlier periods. As an extreme example of this kind of skull modification, the whales, in which the proportionate size of the skull is tremendous, may be cited. 25 Merriam, J. C, "Triassic iehthyosauria, with special reference to the American forms," Mem. Univ. Calif., vol. 1 (1908), p. 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 University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Geology. Berkeley : The University Press
Size: 1560px × 1603px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectgeology, bookyear1902
