of the tip of a pointed ear. In one case, of which a photograph has
been sent me, the projection is so large, that supposing, in accordance
with Prof. Meyer s view, the ear to be made perfect by the equal
development of the cartilage throughout the whole extent of the margin,
it would have covered fully one-third of the whole ear. Two cases have
been communicated to me, one in North America, and the other in
England, in which the upper margin is not at all folded inwards, but is
pointed, so that it closely resembles the pointed ear of an ordinary
quadruped in outline. In one of these cases, which was that of a young
child, the father compared the ear with the drawing which I have given
(34. The Expression of the Emotions, p. 136.) of the ear of a monkey,
the Cynopithecus niger, and says that their outlines are closely
similar. If, in these two cases, the margin had been folded inwards in
the normal manner, an inward projection must have been formed. I may
add that in two other cases the outline still remains somewhat pointed,
although the margin of the upper part of the ear is normally folded
inwards in one of them, however, very narrowly. [Fig.3. Foetus of an
Orang(?). Exact copy of a photograph, shewing the form of the ear at
this early age.] The following woodcut (No. 3) is an accurate copy of a
photograph of the foetus of an orang (kindly sent me by Dr. Nitsche),
in which it may be seen how different the pointed outline of the ear is
at this period from its adult condition, when it bears a close general
resemblance to that of man. It is evident that the folding over of the
tip of such an ear, unless it changed greatly during its further
development, would give rise to a point projecting inwards. On the
whole, it still seems to me probable that the points in question are in
some cases, both in man and apes, vestiges of a former condition.
The nictitating membrane, or third eyelid, with its accessory muscles
and other structures, is especially well developed in birds, and is of
much functional importance to them, as it can be rapidly drawn across
the whole eye-ball. It is found in some reptiles and amphibians, and in
certain fishes, as in sharks. It is fairly well developed in the two
lower divisions of the mammalian series, namely, in the monotremata and
marsupials, and in some few of the higher mammals, as in the walrus.
But in man, the quadrumana, and most other mammals, it exists, as is
admitted by all anatomists, as a mere rudiment, called the semilunar
fold. (35. Muller s Elements of Physiology, Eng. translat. 1842, vol.
ii. p. 1117. Owen, Anatomy of Vertebrates, vol. iii. p. 260; ibid. on
the Walrus, Proceedings of the Zoological Society, November 8, 1854.
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