Comparative Anatomy of the Skeleton of Stellerides
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Integrative Biology Books Integrative Biology 1879 Comparative Anatomy of The Skeleton of Stellerides Camille Viguier John M. Lawrence University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/bin_books Recommended Citation Viguier, C. Comparative Anatomy of The Skeleton of Stellerides (J. M. Lawrence, Trans.). This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Integrative Biology at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Integrative Biology Books by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. \ Jl lll~SENTitEs A 11ACULTE DES SCIENCES DE PARIS POUR OU'J'ENllt E URADg .DE DOC'l'EUR ES SCIENCES NA TUllJi:LLlrn P:\H CAMILLE VIGUIER u n<:T£lrn ,,;;-,;. ,.11h.11.-.:c1Nt.: L ' l,Al ll i:AT DE [,A t'Al,:t.:,:rE ut: M?:nJo.:t.:INI:::. \ L,/',.' Ci THJ\:SE. - ANATO.\II E CO!ll'AllEE DU SQUELETTE DES STEI.L1::1111JES. ~ THESE. -. PnOl'OSITIONS DONNl'. Es l>Al\ .LA l'ACU!.TI:: • .1 08 , ·,., //J.iu1tviur t 8 7 0 cl evan t. l a Commi !Ss j0n ll'exa m cn Mi\'!. llEB~llT, l'res idcn t. DUCIIARTH8, .., i /l':i:amiuateur~. DJ~ LAGAZE-DUTHrnns, PARIS 'l1YPOGRAPHIJ,; A. HENNUYEl} ll lJE n'AllCET, 7 187!) THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF SCIENCES OF PARIS to the Faculty of Sciences of Paris for the degree of Doctor in Natural Sciences BY CAMILLE VIGUIER DOCTOR OF MEDICINE LAUREATE OF THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE SKELETON OF STELLERIDES Submitted 10 January 1879 before the examining committee MM. HEBERT, President DUCHARTRE DE LACAZE-DUTHIERS, Examiners Translated by John Lawrence Department of Biology University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 33620 Translator's note Viguer made a notable contribution to the understanding and taxonomy of asteroids through his observations on their skeletal parts and organization. Viguier also made insightful interpretations on the consequences of skeletal structure on the functioning of the organisms although he gave no indication he ever observed living individuals. His commentary gives insight into the nature of museum collections in the latter half of the nineteenth century and the interaction of scientists concerned with their care and use. I know nothing of Camille Viguier except he became Directeur de la Station Zoologique d' Alger and Professeur a l'Ecole Superieur des Sciences. This translation was made in 1983 on the beautiful Isles de Kerguelen, Southern Ocean. To EDMOND PERRIER Professor Administrator of the Museum of Natural History COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE SKELETON OF THE STELLERIDES by Doctor Viguier INTRODUCTION Until now it has scarcely been possible to use, in the different classifications of the Stellerides, the characters furnished by the various accessory productions that cover the skin of these animals and that one can see without preparation of their external skeleton. The anatomical study, strictly speaking, of the skeleton from the exterior to the interior still has not been attempted in the past two years. At least nothing has been published on the subject save brief notes in the more general works that I shall mention in the historical account of the question. It is easy to understand why this work still has not been done. The complete study of the skeleton involves the destruction of the specimen as, in order to render an exact account of the form and the situation of the calcareous pieces that constitute it, it is absolutely necessary to attack with potash the often very dense skin in which these pieces are more or less enclosed. This procedure should be done in the cold as it is very difficult to control otherwise. The concentration of the alkaline solution should vary with the strength of the skin. When it is seen that the action is too rapid, it is necessary to wash the piece first with water, then with strong alcohol in order to remove the potash and harden the tissue a little. One then dries with cautiously, but without using heat. It is necessary to proceed with a certain prudence to be able to draw the ossicles as soon as they are exposed, and before the skin is very altered so that they lose their relationships. That sometimes happens abruptly. A tissue that at first seems very resistnt can in effect melt in some manner with great rapidity under the action of alkali. One or two small gaps in the collection of my plates are due to accidents of this nature with animals of which I could not obtain another specimen. Considering the often very great difficulty experienced in procuring certain species, and reflecting on the incontestable fact that a study of this kind will be conclusive only if the condition of all, or at least most of the types of a whole group is addressed, it is understandable that a work requiring material so difficult to assemble has not yet been done. The necessity of seeing whether or not it is possible to extract from this study characters that are new and that more precisely can serve to establish anatomically the classification of the group of Stellerides is still felt. Also, my wise friend and master, Professor Perrier, investigated new elements of classification in 1869. He examined, in an important 2 memoir (1), all of the works that had appeared on this question and knew better than anyone of studies undertaken to this general point of view. He proposed to me first of all to make it the subject of my thesis for the doctorate of science. The present work has thus been done in his laboratory at the Museum since May 1876. I spent more than a month in August and September at the Laboratory of Experimental Zoology of Professor Lacaze-Duthiers at Roscoff where I could study the species that live on that coast. I had already obtained interesting results when I had to leave abruptly in the month of November in order to spend the winter on the Isthmus of Darien as the physician of an international commission of engineers who seek the most favorable point for a route of an interoceanic canal. This excursion,which I undertook not only for the love of travels, but from which I hoped to give an account, visiting a relatively new country for naturalists, of some interesting information unfortunately has not produced all that I had hoped due to the difficult conditions where I was located. The small collections that gave me pleasure to offer to various departments of the Museum on my return were little compared to the good will with which they were made or even to the sacrifices that they cost me. Could I hope that the intention would be considered? Be that as it may, the present work was interrupted for an entire year, from November 1876 to November 1877. During this time, Alexander Agassiz published an important memoir. The author stated in his preface that the plates that he gives are lithographs produced over a period of more than twelve years, and that, as time for him to finish the work following the initial plan was lacking, he made haste to publish them from fear that the work of European naturalists, who he knew now to work on the subject, would make them lose their present interest. I shall often have to return to this memoir of A. Agassiz, most frequently to confirm his views, but sometimes however to dispute them. This work has for the principal goal, as indicated by its title, the description of American species. For the moment I shall remark only that it is rarely possible, even after a careful examination of the figures, which most frequently preserves the soft parts and spines, gives an exact idea of the skeleton of the animals represented. If my plates, which always show the skeleton completely denuded, are compared with those of Agassiz, the importance of this observation will be understood. In addition, it is nearly impossible to compare the figures he gave of one type with those of another. Instead, I undertook from the beginning of my work to represent always the same view, the same section, and the same pieces so that the comparison could be made immediately. It is necessary not to forget, however, the conditions in which the memoir of A. Agassiz appeared, and I would be ungreatful to complain that something remained for me to glean where had passed one of the masters of science. It is certainly with this work that my study has the most analogy. Several of the species represented by Agassiz were already studied and figured by me at the time of the publication of his memoir, but I did not believe that they should be suppressed. First of all, it is easy to be convinced that a very small number of my figures duplicate his, and the exact disposition of the various pieces of the skeleton is always easier to see in (1) Revision de 1a co11ection de Ste11erides du Museum de Paris (Arch. de zoo1ogie experimenta]e, 1875. 3 mine. Finally, it is good to present all of my research simultaneously. I tried first of all to represent, as one sees in the memoir of the American author, the interbrachial systems which he called interbrachial arch at some times and interbrachia1 partition at others. However I renounced, well before the publication of his work, his system of illustration. It suffices, in fact, to look at the plates he included in order to see how difficult it is to compare figures of this sort.