On the difference of structure between the human membrana tympani and that of the elephant

In an elephant three weeks old, the membrana tympani was of an oval form, 1½ inch long, and 1 1/3 broad. The muscular fibres lie upon its inner surface, and terminate by an attachment to the point and two sides of the malleus, so that one portion of the fibres is short, and the other more than double their length. From this structure the elephant cannot adapt its ear to musical sounds in the same manner the human ear does; but in Sir Everard’s opinion, it is enabled by the long fibres to hear sounds at a great distance. In regard to musical sounds, high notes scarcely excite its attention, but it listens to the lower ones with apparent satisfaction. In neat cattle, and in the deer, the membrana tympani is oval, and the structure approximates to that in the elephant. In the horse, the hare, and the cat, the handle of the malleus lies in the middle line, so that the fibres on the two sides are equal, and the organ appears similarly constructed in the whole of the feline tribe.