On the 3d November 1869, a huge Finner whale was stranded on the beach at Gosford Bay, Longniddry, Firth of Forth.Most of the large Fin whales which have been examined by British and Continental anatomists have been found floating dead on the surface of the sea, and have then been towed ashore by their captors. But, from the account which was given in the Edinburgh daily newspapers, it would appear that, for some days previously, this animal had been recognised by the fishermen, swimming to and fro in the Firth. On the morning of the 3d it was seen from the shore, blowing with great violence from its nostrils, flapping its huge tail, and obviously struggling to disengage itself from the rocks and shoals, amidst which an unusually high tide had permitted it to wander. Shots were fired at it, and, from the wounds produced, blood poured forth which tinged the surrounding waves. As the tide receded, the animal was fairly stranded; and, after some vigorous but ineffectual attempts to disengage itself from its position, it slowly died. The animal lay some yards above low-water mark, so that for several hours each day it could be examined, and photographs taken from various points of view.
In May 1908 an adult female Sowerby's whale, Mesoplodon bidens, was stranded in St Andrews Bay, about a mile from the clubhouse. Its capture and external characters were recorded by Professor W. C. M‘Intosh in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, December 1908. The skeleton was obtained by him for the Gatty Marine Laboratory, and at his request I have examined and prepared this report on its characters.
From the margin of the area germinitiva a delicate fold arises, which, by becoming more and more elevated, gradually extends itself above the back of the young embryo, until at last the folds from opposite sides meet in the middle line, become continuous with each other, and form the membrane of the amnion. Between the amnion and the back of the embryo is a space, the cavity of the amnion, which increases in size by, the secretion of the liquor amnii into it. The amnion consists of two layers, an outer and an inner, and as it is derived from the area germinitiva it is necessarily continuous with the blastoderm. The inner layer of the amnion, which lies next the amniotic cavity, consists of tessellated epithelial cells, is derived from the epiblast, and is continuous with the cuticular layer of the embryo. The outer layer of the amnion 9 9 * .;
Deviations from the usually described arrangements of the parts, of which the human body is composed, have from time to time attracted the attention of the anthropotomist. In many anatomical text-books, as well as in sundry memoirs specially devoted to the subject, numerous examples of such variations have now been recorded. To the scientific anatomist these have always had a certain value, but of late years this department of anatomical inquiry, more especially in connection with variations in the muscular system, has had additional importance and interest attached to it, on account of the attention which has been directed to the correspondence, or want of correspondence, in the muscular arrangements in man and the other mammalia, more particularly the apes.
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