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Show 1894.] ON THE PUPILS OF THE FELIDvE. 481 appear, according to Hoffman (' Bronn's Amphibia'), to be normal, or at any rate very frequent, iu Pipa, Pelobates, and Dactylethra (Xenopus). EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXIII. Figs. 1-15 illustrate the abnormal vertebral column of B. mugiens, drawn by my wife, to whom my thanks are due. Fig. 1. The vertebral column, ventral view : natural size. A, B, 0, D, E, F, the six movable vertebral pieces. The R o m a n numerals indicate the corresponding vertebra} of the two sides. Fig. 2. The vertebral column, dorsal view: natural size. Lettering as in fig. 1. Figs. 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15 are drawn twice the natural size. Figs. 3-6 represent the first vertebral piece, A, from above, below, and from each side. x. The deep notch on the right side between the neural arch and the articular cup for the occipital condyle. y. The minute intervertebral foramen. Figs. 7-11 represent the second vertebral piece, B, from above, below, the two sides, and in front. a, b, c. The three neural spines, tr.p. The transverse processes, which are supposed to be cut short in fig. 9. The dotted lines in fig. 8 represent the lines of union, but are more strongly marked than in the specimen. Figs. 12-15 represent the filth vertebral piece, E, from above, below, and from each side, d, e. The two neural spines. The transverse processes are represented as being cut short. Fig. 16. Bufo pantherinus, ventral view of terminal region of the vertebral column, natural size. 9. The foramen for last spinal nerve, c. Cartilage. 6. On the Pupils of the Felidce. By GEORGE LINDSAY JOHNSON, M.D., F.R.C.S., F.Z.S. [Eeceived May 31, 1894.] There has been considerable controversy with regard to the shape of the pupils of the eye of the Felidae. In the text-books the statements vary : some say that all the Felidas have more or less vertically oval (or oat-shaped) pupils, others, again, state that the pupil is round in some and oval in others. Most naturalists merely refer to the domestic cat, and Some go so far as to divide all domestic cats into two classes, viz. those with round and those with oval pupils. In tbe course of my investigations on the ophthalmology of the Mammalia I have had abundant opportunities of noticing the shape of the pupils in the Felidae. As a knowledge of the shape of the pupils of animals and of the comparative anatomy of their irides may contribute to our knowledge on accommodation generally, and clear up some important questions connected with Astigmatism, the observations I am about to record may have some practical value. I will first refer to domestic Cats, 180 of which, comprising the |
