Over het borstbeen (sternum) van de mammoet

The authors describe the breastbone (sternum) of fossil elephants, especially that of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). The breastbone in elephants consists of three (sometimes four) parts, viz. prae-, meso-, and xiphosternum (fig. 1). It is situated between the humeri, just below the scapulae. The breastbone has a carinate form and characteristically shows a number of facets that indicate the attachment of the cartilage connections for pairs of ribs. The number of ribs directly connected with the sternum by cartilage varies with each part. Until now, this part of the skeleton has barely received any attention in the literature; short descriptions of the praesternum (TOEPFER, 1957) and the meso-xiphosternum (KOENINGSWALD, 1989) are the only references of the woolly mammoth to be registered. MACCAGNO (1962) described and figured sternum bones of Mammuthus (Archidiskodon) meridionalis of l’Aquila (Italy). GARUTT and NIKOLSKAJA (1988) mention the sternum of Mammuthus trogontherii of Edersleben near Sangerhausen (Germany). This article mentions 18 sternal parts of the woolly mammoth from the Netherlands and the bottom of the North Sea between England and the Netherlands. Some of these are described. Two praesterna of the southern mammoth, M. (A.) meridionalis, are described. One is from the bottom of the North Sea, the other from Senèze, France.