First lesson in zoology : adapted for use in schools . met Fig. 250.—a, fore foot of Tapir;B, of Horse, u, ulna; r, radius;p, pisiform bone; c, centrale; sZ,semi-limar; sc, scaphoid; u, unci-form; cp, capitatum; tr^ trape-zoid; met, metacarpus; 2, 3, 4, 5,8d, 3d, 4tli, andBth digits. THE DOOILE MAMMALS. 253 front in four toes and behind in three, and these toes endin hoofs which spread out; a useful feature, since the tapirs,when alarmed, take refuge in swamps and streams. On the other hand, the horse has a graceful form, all itslines indicating capacity for great speed, particularly asregards
First lesson in zoology : adapted for use in schools . met Fig. 250.—a, fore foot of Tapir;B, of Horse, u, ulna; r, radius;p, pisiform bone; c, centrale; sZ,semi-limar; sc, scaphoid; u, unci-form; cp, capitatum; tr^ trape-zoid; met, metacarpus; 2, 3, 4, 5,8d, 3d, 4tli, andBth digits. THE DOOILE MAMMALS. 253 front in four toes and behind in three, and these toes endin hoofs which spread out; a useful feature, since the tapirs,when alarmed, take refuge in swamps and streams. On the other hand, the horse has a graceful form, all itslines indicating capacity for great speed, particularly asregards the feet. Here, so to speak, everjrthing has beensacrificed to a single object, , speed. To this end thefirst, second, fourth, and fifth toes have been Fio. 261.—Skeleton of Wild Ass. i. incisor teeth; g, grinding teeth, with the gapbetween the two sets, as in all large grass-feeders; fc, knee; h, heel; /, foot; 1,S, 3, three joints of the middle toe; «, splint, or remains of one of the two losttoes; e, elbow; w, wrist; ha, hand-bone. and the leg is supported on the third toe alone, that cor-responding to our middle finger. Where else shall we findamong the mammals such a special adaptation of structureto the needs of the creature? On the other hand, the tapiris what naturalists call a generalizedform; all the partsof the body being equally developed, just as among man-kind we have jacks-of-all trades, while as examples of spe-cialized types are the geniuses who, as poets, artists, orphilosophers, do one thing remarkably well. The horse was preceded in geological history by a long 254 FIRST LESSONS IN ZOOLOOT. series of creatures which fill up more or less completely thegap between it and the tapir. In the Tertiary deposits ofthe
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1894
