The Vertebrate Skeleton

by Sidney H. Reynolds

In the Marsupialia the ilia are generally very simple, straight, and narrow, while the pubes and ischia are well developed and meet in a long symphysis. Marsupial bones are nearly always prominent, but are not developed in Thylacinus or Notoryctes. The ischium often has a well-marked tuberosity and in Kangaroos the pubis bears a prominent pectineal process on its anterior border close to the acetabulum. The pelvis in Notoryctes differs much from that in all other Marsupials, the ilium and ischium being ankylosed with six vertebrae in a manner comparable to that of many Edentates.

In the Edentata the pelvis is generally well developed, but the symphysis is very short. In the Sloths the pelvis is rather weak and slender, the obturator foramina are very large and the ischia do not meet in a symphysis. In the Megatheriidae the pelvis is exceedingly wide and massive, and is firmly ankylosed with a number of vertebrae. In the Armadillos, Glyptodonts, Anteaters, and Pangolins it is much developed and firmly united to the vertebral column by both the ilia and the ischia. In Orycteropus however the ischium does not become united to the vertebral column, and the pubis generally has a strongly developed pectineal process.

In the Sirenia the pelvis is quite vestigial. In the Dugong it consists on each side of two slender bones, one of which represents the ilium and the other the ischium and pubis; the two bones are placed end to end and are commonly fused together. The ilium is attached by ligament to the transverse process of one of the vertebrae. In the Manatee each half of the pelvis is represented by a triangular bone connected by ligaments with its fellow and with the vertebral column. In neither Manatee nor Dugong is there any trace of an acetabulum but one can be made out in Halitherium.

In the Cetacea the pelvis is even more vestigial than in the Sirenia, consisting simply of a pair of small straight bones which probably represent the ischia, and lie parallel to and below the vertebral column at the point where the development of chevron bones commences.

In Ungulata vera the pelvis is generally rather long and narrow. The ilium is flattened and expanded in front (fig. 103, 8), but becomes much narrower and more cylindrical before reaching the acetabulum. Both pubis and ischium contribute to the symphysis which is often very long. The ischia are large and have prominent tuberosities, especially in Artiodactyles. In most Ruminantia there is a deep depression, the supra-acetabular fossa above the acetabulum, but this is not found in the Suina or Tylopoda.

Subungulata. In Procavia the pelvis is long and narrow, and bears resemblance to that in Artiodactyles.

The Proboscidea have a very large pelvis set nearly at right angles to the vertebral column; the ilium is very wide, having expanded iliac and gluteal surfaces, and a narrow sacral[176] surface. The pubes and ischia are rather small, but both meet their fellows in the symphysis. Uintatherium (suborder Amblypoda) also has a large and vertically placed pelvis (fig. 108) with a much expanded ilium. The pelvis however differs from that of the Proboscidea in the fact that the ischia do not meet in a ventral symphysis.

In many Rodentia the ilia have their gluteal, iliac, and sacral surfaces of nearly equal extent; in the Hares, however, the gluteal and iliac surfaces are confluent. The pubes and ischia are always well developed and sometimes, as in the Hares, the acetabular bone also. In these animals the pubis does not take part in the formation of the acetabulum, and the ischium bears on its outer side a well-marked ischial tuberosity.

In the Carnivora the pelvis is long and narrow. The iliac surfaces (fig. 78, A, 5) are very small and the sacral large; the crest or supra-iliac border is formed by the union of the sacral and gluteal surfaces. The symphysis is long and includes part of both pubis and ischium. The ischial tuberosity (fig. 78, A, 10) is often well marked, and sometimes as in Viverra the acetabular bone is distinct. In the Pinnipedia the pelvic symphysis is little developed, or sometimes not developed at all, and the obturator foramina are remarkably large.

In some Insectivora such as Galeopithecus, there is a long pelvic symphysis, in others such as Erinaceus and Centetes, it is very short, in others again such as Talpa and Sorex, there is no pelvic symphysis. The acetabular bone is exceptionally large in Talpa and Sorex.