Some muscular changes in the tail and thigh of reptiles and mammals

New dissections of the caudal and short posterior thigh muscles of the reptiles Iguana, Varanus, Crocodilus and Testudo, and the mammals Sciurus, Galago and Herpestes were made, and the findings correlated with those described in the literature. The condition in the lizards, Sphenodon and crocodiles is very constant; in each case there is a puboischiofemoralis externus and an ischiotrochantericus passing from the pelvis to the femur, a deep caudal mass passing from the tail to the femur, and a superficial caudal sheet attached to the ilium and ischium. In the Chelonia, with the specialization of the gait, the deep caudal musculature has lost its attachment to the femur, and has migrated onto the vertebral column and the inner surface of the pelvis, while the other muscles occupy their typical position. In the Mammalia the deep caudal musculature has undergone a change similar to that in the Chelonia, forming the pubo‐, ilio‐, sacro‐ and ischiococcygeus muscles, while the superficial caudal musculature has disappeared except for a part which forms a sphincter cloacae. The posterior part of the puboischiofemoralis externus has formed the quadratus femoris, and the ischiotrochantericus the obturator internus and the two gemelli. In specialized mammals with reduced tails the caudal musculature has taken over new functions and become respecialized in different ways.