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Show 754 PROF. W. H. FLOWER ON MLURUS FULGENS. [Nov. 15, On its arrival it was in an extremely feeble and emaciated condition, though, under the careful treatment of the Superintendent of the Gardens, it gradually recovered health and strength ; but, while apparently in excellent condition, it died suddenly in the night of December 12, and was sent to the Royal College of Surgeons on the following morning. Unfortunately m y other engagements were then so numerous that I was not able to undertake as complete an examination of the anatomy of this interesting animal as I could have wished, and I have not since had time or opportunity to make such a detailed comparison of its structure with that of allied forms as may be desirable. As, however, the opportunity of dissecting an Mlurus may not occur again for some time, I think it right not to withhold any longer from the Society such notes as I have made, especially as they relate to most of the essential points required to determine the affinities and position of the genus. The animal was a male, and of full size, though incomplete union of the epiphyses of some of the larger limb-bones, and the unworn condition of the teeth (of which the permanent set were all in place), showed that it had but just attained to adult age. It was in exceedingly good condition-the subcutaneous tissue and the mesentery and subperitoneal tissue being loaded with fat. The only morbid appearances observed throughout the dissection were certain heemorrhagic spots, presently to be described, in the intestinal canal; but after the preparation of the skeleton it became evident that the bones generally were soft and spongy in texture, a condition not unusual in animals which die under the abnormal or unhealthy circumstances to which they are subjected in captivity. The weight of the animal was 9| lbs. It measured from the end of the nose to the root of the tail 24" ; the tail was 17" long without the hair, or, to the end of the hairy tip, 19g". These dimensions, as well as the weight, sliglitly exceed those given by Hodgson for a mature male animal. The external characters of Mlurus are too well known to need further description ; but some details regarding the structure of the limbs may be noted. Amid the dense woolly covering of the under surface of the feet, the merest rudiments of naked pads can be detected by separating the hairs under the prominences formed by the articulation between the second and third phalanges of each digit; and there is a larger, transversely oval, bare space *4" across, covered by piuk, soft skin, and scarcely forming any prominence, in the place of the usual palmar or plantar pad. The claws are of nearly equal size, and semiretractile on both fore and hind feet. When allowed to take their natural position, the middle phalanx is bent down nearly at a right angle with the proximal phalanx, but the terminal phalanx projects forwards, so that the end of the claw is always exposed, extending distinctly beyond the dense hairy clothing of the foot. There is a strong elastic ligament to maintain this position. The claws are very sharp, moderately curved and much compressed, *75" long, measured in a straight line from base to tip, and *35" deep at the base. |