XVII.—Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Observations on the Anatomy of the Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes Weddelli)

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• Main Author: Hepburn, David
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1912
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; General Environmental Science; Antarctic; Weddell; Antarc*; Leptonychotes weddelli; Weddell Seal
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0080456800002891; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0080456800002891

In the specimen under consideration there were fifteen pairs of ribs, of which nine pairs were vertebro-sternal. The costal cartilage associated with each of these was long and very flexible. The articulation of the first pair of costal cartilages with the sternum was effected by means of a short but strong band of fibrous tissue, which permitted considerable freedom of movement and did not form a junction of the more or less rigid character seen in man.