The morphology of the mammalian cervical pleurapophysis

Abstract

Current osteological literature manifests an unacceptable lack of uniformity in the topographical definition of the mammalian cervical pleurapophysis. Definitions advanced are inadequate or erroneous or even mutually contradictory. A new and corrective definition of the cervical pleurapophysis is therefore propounded satisfactory to the phylogenetic and morphological requirement of vertebral serial homology.