Full text of "Catalogue of shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum"

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CATALOGUE

SHIELD REPTILES

THE COLLECTION

THE BRITISH BIU8EUM.

PART II.

EMYDOSAUEIANS, MYNCHOCEPHALIA, AND AMPHISBiENIANS.

BY
JOHN EDWARD GRAY, F.R.S. &c.

LONDON: / ^RVlCtS

/ DATE May 1 o
PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES. ' — - f-Vir^.'. 1 'A |^r^^

1872.

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PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

INTRODUCTION.

The chief object in preparing the present Catalogue has been to give a complete account
of all the species of Eniydosanrians, Rhynchocephalia, and Amphisbsenians now in the Britisli
Museum, and of those species which are known to exist m other Cabinets, but wliich arc
at present desiderata in the Museum, to enable travellers, collectors, and others to assist in
completing the National Collection.

The woodcuts are those which were prepared to illustrate the series of papers on the
arrangement and determination of the species of these animals first published in the ' Pro-
ceedings of the Zoological Society,' and have been kindly lent by the Council of the Society
for the purpose.

JOHN EDWARD GRAY.

British Museum, September 7th, 1872.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page

Order EMYDOSAURI 1

Fam. I. GAVIALID^ 5

Gen. 1. Gatialis 5

gangeticus 5

Gen. 2. Tomistoma 6

Schlegelii (j

Fam. II. CEOCODILID^ 6

Gen. 1. OopHOLis 8

porosus 8

pondicherianus 9

Gen. 2. Bombifron^s 9

indicus 9

siamensis 13

Gen. 3. PALnaA 13

rhombifera 13

Moreletii 14

Gen. 4. Ceocodiltjs 14

vidgaris 15

Gen. 5. Molinia I7

americana 17

intermedia 18

Gen. 6. Halceosia 19

nigra 20

Gen. 7. Mecistops 21

cataphractus 22

Page

Fam. III. ALLIGATORID^ 24

Gen. 1. Jacaee 25

nigra 25

latirostris 25

multiscutata 26

longiscutata 2G

ocellata 26

punetulata 26

hirtieoUis 27

Gen. 2. Catman 27

trigonatus 28

palpebrosus 28

Gen. 3. Ailigatoe 28

mississipiensis 29

helois 29

Order RHYNCHOCEPHALIA .... 29

Gen. 1. Sphenodon 30

punctatum 30

Order AMPHISB.a;NIA 31

Fam. I. TROGONOPHID.^ 33

Gen. 1. Trogonopeis 33

Wiegmanni 33

Fam. II. CHIROTID^ 33

Gen. 1. Chieotes 34

lumbrieoides 34

CONTENTS.

Fam. III. AMPHTSB.EXID.E.

Page
34

Tribe I. Amphisb^xina 34

Oen. 1. BL.\srs 34

cinorcus 34

Lrcii. 2. Anvtnsn.fsx 34

alba 35

americana 35

eamura 35

hett'rozonata 35

petnei 35

Tcrmicularis 35

Darwinii 30

jilumbea . . 30

Uoii. 3. CrxiscA 36

leucura 36

violacea 36

quadrifrons 36

Gen. 4. Bronia 37

brasUiana 37

Gen. 5. Sarea 37

caeca 37

innocens 37

fenestrate 38

Page

Gen. 6. Cadea 38

punctata 38

Tribe II. Anopina 38

Gon. 7. Anops 38

Kingii 38

Gen. 8. Baikia 38

africana 39

Fam. IV. LEPIDOSTEllNIDiE 39

Tribe I. Lepidosternina 39

Gen. 1. Lepidosternon 39

microcophaluni 39

Grayii 40

phoca3na 40

octostegum 40

Tribe II. Cephalopeltina 40

Gen. 2. Cephalopeitis 40

scutigera 40

Gen. 3. Monoieophis 41

capensis 41

Gen. 4. Dalophia 41

Welwitschii 41

CATALOGUE

SHIELD REPTILES.

Order EMYDOSAURI (EMYDOSAURIANS).

Emydosauri, Blainville.

Gray, Ann. Phil. x. p. 195, 1825; Cat. Tortoises and
Crocodiles Brit. Mws. p. 38, 1844.
Crocodilia, Owen, Beport on British Fossil Eeptiles, Report
of Brit. Assoc. 1841, p. 65.

Huxley, Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv. p. 1.

Head large, covered witli a thin skin ; ears linear, closed
with two valves ; gape wide ; tongue short ; jaws with a
single series of conical teeth inserted in sockets and re-
placed by teeth formed beneath them ; hinder part of the
lower jaw produced behind the condyle ; nostrils small,
anterior ; eyes small. Throat with two glands. Neck
and sides of the body with a wrinkled skin, covered with
small tubercular scales. Back with a hard disk, formed
of longitudinal series of square, keeled, bony plates im-
bedded iu the skin ; under surface covered with smooth,
thin, square plates ; back of the neck with two groups of
bony plates, the first called the nuchal, and the other the
cervical plates. Tail compressed, with two series of com-
pressed plates above. Vent longitudinal. Legs short ;
feet webbed ; toes 4-5, but only the inner 3 of each foot
clawed.

Living in fresh and brackish water ; almost exclusively
in tropical climates. Eating animals which they have
killed by drowning.

The distinction of the species of Crocodiles has hitherto

been one of the difficult problems in systematic zoology ; and
therefore I believe that it may be of some slight use to give
the result of the examination of the very large collection
of Crocodiles of all ages and from various localities which
are contained in the British Museum. Knowing the diffi-
culty that surrounds the subject, great exertions have been
made to obtain specimens from dilFerent countries ; and
the examination of these specimens has shown that the
characters of the species, when allowance is made for the
changes that take place in the growth of the animal, are
quite as permanent as in any other group of Reptiles, and
not more difficult to define.

An outline of the synopsis of theCrocodUidie and Alligato-
rida; was published in the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural
History ' for 1862 (3rd series, vol. x.). Since that period
additional specimens have been examined which have been
received in the British Museum, and also those in other
collections, especially the skulls in the museum of the Eoyal
College of Surgeons, the specimens in the two museums at
Liverpool, and in other local collections within reach.
Among the specimens recently received by the British
Museum are some typical skulls from the Dutch possessions
iu the East, obtained from Leydeu, which enable us to
determine with certainty the species described by the Dutch
zoologists.

The determination of the species has always been at-
tended with considerable uncertainty ; and if we may

CATALOOfK OF STIIKT.T) ItElTILES.

jiiilgo by the mnnner in which the specimens and the
skulls of them iirt- iiiiuicd in Museums, or sent about by
the more seietititie dealers, it would appear that us j'ot
they arc not projH'rly understoi«l.

1 do not mean as to the piveise limit of a sjiecies — that
is to say, whether the specitneus from ditl'erent distriets of
the same zoological or gcograi)hic!d province are mere local
varieties of the same species or are dislinot : for that is a
()uestion which I admit must, with the materials at our
command, for the present remain unsolved and open to dis-
cussion. But it is not unusual to find most distinct species
confused midcr the same name, and specimens of the same
species, only diflerent in age, separated uuder two or more
names.

I have endeavoured to condense into a short synopsis the
principal leading characters, especially those t'uniislied by
the esamination of the skull and the nuchal and dorsal
idates, by which the different species of Crocodiles and
Alligators may be most easily determined, the object being
to furnish the zoologist with the best character to distin-
guish the different species of Crocodile and Alligator with-
out any pretence of giving an account of the comparative
anatomy or osteology of the species. I make this state-
ment, as confusion arises in the student's mind between
the object of the studies of the two branches of the science,
both equ;dly important ; but the one ought to be based on
the examination and comparison of the largest possible
number of specimens and species, while the most impor-
tant papere on comparative anatomy are often those which
arise from the examination of a single example of the
animal.

There is a prejudice against such short essays ; and
they incur the reproach of certain continental and native
naturalists ; but after considering their objection and their
practice, I am still of opinion that papers of the kind are
far more useful to the working naturalist than the long
descriptions of species which it is the custom of these natu-
ralists to prepare, when their descriptions, instead of merely
presenting the character of the species under consideration,
give in full detail under each species (so as to hide in a
mass of words the characters which you are looking for)
the character of the genus or even of the famUy or order
to which the species belongs. MacLeay weU observes, " The
modem art of describing is too long, often insufferably long,
whde human life remains as short as ever " (Illustr. Zool.
S. Africa, p. 54).

I know by experience that sjTioptical papers take far
more mental and bodily labour to prepare than the descrip-
tion of a single specimen, often taken at haphazard and

regiu-ded as the typo of a species because it presents some
striking peculiarities of apjiearance.

Tins memoir, short as it is, is the result of the examina-
tion and repeated reexamination at different periods of
more than two hundred specimens of Crocodiles, — a series
of the most characteristic specimens of each species having
been laid out so that they could bo viewed and studied
together at leisure, and their peculiarities and likenesses
noted down.

If nil the notes made during these comparisons were
printed, as is the custom with many naturalists, they would
fill man)' pages, and thus make a large work. Many papers
and books are estimated by their size rather than by the
extent of labour that has been bestowed upon them ; while
the results of much labour and careful study, condensed
into a few pages, are often spoken of by critics, who never
undertook such researches, or who dislike the labour of con-
densing their observations into systematic order, as merely
the short notes of a hasty examination : at least that is the
way in which some papers, which were the results of
equally extensive examinations, have been regarded by
naturalists who should have known better.

I may further observe that even after so much study,
when new specimens have been accumulated and with
additional experience, one finds peculiarities overlooked and
facts requiring verification when the old and newly ac-
quired specimens are submitted to a reexamination and
study. It is this experience that makes me inclined to
place less reliance than other naturalists upon essays pre-
pared by persons who come and look at a series of speci-
mens for the first time and describe them offhand. Yet
such works are often regarded as of authority, very often
on account of their length or the beautiful manner in which
they are printed or illustrated.

The references to the ' Catalogue of the Osteological Spe-
cimens in the College of Surgeons ' are based on the exa-
mination of specimens in that collection ; and I have to
thank the Council of the College for their permission to
examine them, and Mr. Flower, the energetic Curator of
the collection, for his kindness and assistance in determining
them.

If any evidence were required of the difficulties of de-
termining the species of this family, I need only refer to
the nomenclature of the skulls in the Catalogue above
referred to, which was prepared by the late Curator of the
collection. Professor Owen.

In this collection, for example, I found what I consider
to be three distinct species in one case, and two distinct
species in another, confounded under the same name ; and,

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD EEPTILES.

on the other hand, I found what I regard as skulls of the
same species inserted under three different names.

The skull of a Crocodile which is found in the internal
rivers of India is named Crocodilus rhomhifer, Cuvier,
(which is an American species,) tliough the specimen in the
College Museum was received from Bengal.

I do not by any means regard my determination of these
skulls as infallible ; but I have taken every care to render
it correct by repeated examination. I tirst arranged the
skulls as they appeared to be alike, according to the cha-
racters here assigned to them, without pajdng any attention
to the names given, placing them in order according as
their size showed the change iu the growth ; and ilr. Flower,
Mr. Gerrard, and some other zoologists who are used to the
examination of bones agree with me in my determination,
and were much interested in obserWug how gradually the
skuUs of different ages glided into each other.

I must observe, if there is this difference of opinion in
the determination of skuUs of recent CroeodUes, where the
series of skulls of animals different in age can be compared,
and where the skuUs are in a perfect state, how much
more diffioult it must be to have confidence in the determi-
nation of the skulls of fossil species, wliere the skulls are
generally more or less imperfect, and perhaps only single
specimens (often very imperfect specimens) have been
examined !

The chief difficulty in distinguishing the species has
originated from the very great changes that take place
in the shape and proportions of the head of the animal
in its different stages of growth ; but the changes seem
nearly similar in aU the species, and therefore when
once observed they can be easily allowed for. The differ-
ence may be divided into three stages, exemplified in the
young, the nearly fuU-grown, and the adult or aged speci-
mens. The head and beak of the young are generally de-
pressed, with more or less distinctly marked symmetrical
ridge and depressions ; and these characters are gradually
modified until the animal assumes its nearly full size — the
skull becoming thicker and more solid, but yet retaining
most of the characters that distinguish its young state.
After this period, as the animal increases in age, the skuU
becomes more and more convex, swollen, and heavy, and
assumes a very different external form.

It is to be observed that in all these changes in the ex-
ternal form of the skull, the bones themselves of which it
is composed preserve their general form and relation to
each other ; and the sutures between these bones appear to
me to offer some of the best characters for separating the
species into groups. In many instances, when I have been

in doubt, the sight of the intermaxillary suture has at once
solved the difficulty, which has been verified by the obser-
vation of the locality of the specimen.

These changes in the form of the head have been among
the causes that have made the study of the species of Cro-
codiles so difficult. If this is the case with the recent
species, how much more caution is requisite to determine
the fossil remains of the animal ! Cuvier set a very good
example in that respect : he commenced the study of each
group of animals with an examination of the osteology and
external characters of the living species, and then applied
the knowledge he thus acquired to the distinction of the
fossil remains ; but now we often find pateontologists, as
they call themselves, neglecting, or, at most, only taking the
outline of the osteological and zoological characters of the
living species at second hand, and describing the fossil, and
often forming a genus and species on a small fragment, thus
encumbering the science with a multitude of names.

At one time I proposed to give accurate measurements
of the different parts of the skull of each of the specimens
of the different species in the British-Museum collection ;
but I am satisfied that the importance of such tables of
measurements is overestimated : no doubt it has a very
imposing appearance ; but a good figure is more useful than
any amount of measurement. Every species has its normal
measurements ; but these are liable to vary in the different
individuals ; and any difference sufficient to show a di-
stinction of species is easily appreciated by the eye, as it
must alter the general proportions of the different parts of
the head.

It has been suggested that I ought to give the description
of each separate bone of which the skuU is composed. This
may be of use to the student of comparative anatomy, but
is not of so much importance to the zoologist; for though
each bone has a normal form in each species of Crocodile,
yet they are each liable to considerable variation within
certain limits in the different individuals of the species.
The bones of the different genera have been described in
several works on osteology, and have been well figui-ed by
De Blainville and others.

De Blainville, in his ' Osteographie,' devotes five folio
jtlates to the osteology and dentition of recent Crocodiles,
giving details of Crocodilus hiporcatus, C. lucius, C. vid-
garis, C. ScMeijelii, C. hmglrostris, C. rhomhifer, and C.
sderops. These plates were prepared to accompany an
essay that M. de Blainville was preparing for the ' Memoires
de I'Academie des Sciences de France ' when he died.

Professor Carl Ecrnhard Briihl, of the Universities of
Cracow and Pesth, has published twenty quarto etchings of

CATAI.OGUK OF SHIELD REPTILES.

the skeletons of Croeodilcs and AUigiitors, giving details of
three or four spoi'ies. The i>liitos are oxcocdingly nocurato
and full of details, being drawn and etehed by llio l'rt)fossor
and his wife direct from the siwcimens. They were pub-
lished at Vienna in 1S():?. There is a continuation of the
work containing tbree additional plates, published in 186"),
princijjally devoted to the canals of the eor-bono.

I must hen' refer to a paper by Professor Huxley, en-
tilled " On the Dermal Armom- of Jacarc and Caiman,
with Notes on the Specific and Generic Characters of re-
cent Crocodilia.'' As this paper contains an excellent
account of the ostcologienl difterences between the different
genera of Crocodilia, I have not considered it desirable to
repeat them here, more especially as they were chiefly
drawn up from specimens in the British JIuseum.

Subseciuently to my Synopsis, Dr. Alexander Strauch
published a memoir on the recent species of Crocodiles in
the Mem. Acad. Sc. St. Pet. x. Xo. 13, ISOP.. pp. 120. He
gives a compiled synopsis and diagnosis of all the species
known, and of the synonymy, with their habitats, illus-
trated by a map, and a detailed description of the thirteen
.•ipecies in the St.-Petcrsburg Sluseum. But the specimens
examined, characterized, and described are generally young ;
and there is an evident want of material for so extensive
a work, as is generally the case with the continental au-
thors who do not visit the Enghsh collections.

Srrforsis of the Families.
A. The cervical and dorsal plates forming ime dorsal shield.

1. GAVIALlDiE. The large front teeth and the canines in the

lower jaw tit into notches in the margin of the upper jaw.

B. The cervical shield forms a small group, which is separate from
the dorsal shield.

2. CROCODILID.E. The canines fit into notches in the upper

jaw, and the large front teeth fit into pits or perforations in
the front of the upper jaw.

3. ALLIGATORIDjE. The large front teeth and the canines fit

into pits or perforations in the edge of the upper jaw.

The large front teeth of the Garials fit into a notch in
the front of the upper jaw, and the canines into a notch
also. In the Crocodiles the canines fit into a notch, as in
the Garials, but the large front teeth into pits or perfora-
tions in the front of the upper jaw ; and in the Alligators
both the canines and the large front teeth fit into pits or
perforations in the edge of the upper jaw.

The geographical distribution of the genera may be thus
exhibited : —

.\KltlCA.

Orocodiliis.
I lalcrosia.
Mecistops.

Asia and Ailstualasia.
Fam. Gariulidte.
Gavialis.
Toniistoma.

Fam. Crocodilidce.
Oopholia.
Bombil'rous.

Ambrica.

Palinia.
Molinia,

Fam. AUigatoridce.

Alligator.

Caiman.

Jacare.

In Africa there are three species of Crocodiles. They all
seem to have been known to Adanson. They are : — (1) the
common Crocodile (called the Olive Crocodile by Adanson),
Croeodilus vulgaris, which is spread over the whole of
Africa, from north to south, and from east to west ; (2) the
Black Crocodile of Adanson (Ifalcrosia nigra) ; and (3) the
False Gavial of Adanson (the Mecistops cataphr actus). The
two latter are confined to the rivers on the west coast of
Africa.

In India there are also three species of Crocodiles : —
(1) the Oopholis porosus (or Croeodilus biporcatus of Cuvier),
which is found only in the estuaries at the mouths of the
large rivers ; (2) the Muggar ( Bombifrons indicus) ; and
(3) the Garial or Ghurrial, which is confined to rivers in
the interior of the country. The Coombeer or Muggar
ascends the rivers to the mountains, where the water is
often frozen. The Ghurrial, on the contrary, is confined
to the lower level, where the climate is warm.

In stating that there are three species of Crocodiles in
India, I only intend to state that there are three distinct
forms ; for I will not undertake to say, for certain, that
the Muggar of Ceylon, of Siam, and of India are not di-
stinct species.

Mr. Blyth observes — " Both the Gangetic species of Cro-
codiles have been received by the Asiatic Society, Calcutta,
from Java. The Crocodiles are known to abound in Timor,
from which island they may well have passed to Australia.
Governor Grey met with them in the north-west." — Blyth,
Rep. Austral. Vert, in Mus. A. S. C.

If by "both the Gangetic species of Crocodile" Mr.
Blyth means the estuarine Crocodile {Oopholis porosus)
and the Coombeer or Muggar {Bombifrons indicus), no ex-
ample of the latter animal from either Java, Timor, or
Australia has occurred to me, and the animal figured as
Croeodilus raninus by Dr. Salomon MiiUer is certainly
Oopholis porosus; and there is in the British Museum a

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD EEPTILES.

fine adult skull of that species, sent by the Leydeii ilu-
seum from Java.

The observations of MM. Dumeril and Bibron (Erp. Gen.
pp. 2.5, 47), that Crocodiles are not found in Australia, and
that the American Crocodiles are confined to the islands of
that continent, are no longer consistent with facts ; indeed,
long before the publication of their work, various travellers
had recorded the occurrence of Crocodiles on the north
coast of Australia.

The estuarine Oopliolis porosus was observed by Governor
Grey on the north-west coast of Australia. There is in the
British Museum a skull of the species sent thence, and
also a full-grown specimen killed and preserved in that
country.

The island of Borneo is inhabited by a false Garial
named Tomistoma Schlegelii. I am not aware that it has
been found in any other island of the archipelago. It is
intermediate in character between the true Garial and the
Crocodiles.

The Crocodiles and Alligators are widely distributed in
America. There arc four American Crocodiles, and nine
Alligators. One of the Crocodiles (Palinia rhombifer) is
peculiar to the island of Cuba ; the other species of Cro-
codiles and the Alligators are found on the mainland. The
Alligator mississipeiisis is found far north, where the waters
are often frozen ; aU the other Alligators and American
Crocodiles are confined to the tropical and subtropical parts
of the continent. Molinla americann is found in Cuba and
St. Domingo, as well as in the rivers of the east and west
side of the continent, showing the incorrectness of the
assertion of MM. Dumeril and Bibron that the Crocodiles
of America are confined to the islands of that continent
(Erp. Gen. pp. 2.5, 47).

Fam. L GAVIALID^.

The cervical and dorsal plates formed into a single con-
tinuous shield. Teeth nearly of uniform size, all fitting
into notches on the edge of tlie upper jaw. The front
large teeth fitting into a notcli in the front, the canines
into a notch on the sides of the front of the upper jaw.
The jaws elongate, slender.

Crocodilidae (part.). Gray, Ann. Phllos. x. p. 195, 1825.
Crocodilida3§*, Ora>/, Cat. Tort, and Crocod. B. M. p. 36.
GaviaUdai, Uaccley, Journ. I'roc. Linn. Soc. Zooh iv. p. IG,
1859.

Synopsis of the Genera .

1. Qavialis. Beak elongate, linear, end swollen. The lateral

teeth oblique, not received into pits.

2. Tomistoma. Beak conical, thick at the back, the lateral

teeth erect, received into pits between the teeth.

1. GAVIALIS.
Beak of skull linear, end dilated from the enlarged nos-

i. •! rr iu 27-27 28-28

tnls. Teeth ^^ or —r^r-.

25-2o 2b-lib

The mandibular symphysis extends to the twenty-third
or twenty-fourth tooth. Most of the lateral teeth of both
jaws are directed obliquely, and not received into inter-
dental pits. The front margin of the orbit is much raised.

Gavial, Oppel.
Le Gavial, Oitvier.
Gavialis, Merrem.

Gray, Atm. Phil. x. p. 195, 1825 ; Cat. Tortoises ^c.
B. M. pp. 36, 57, 1844 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi.
p. 132.

Geoff. Mem. Mus. xii.

Huxley, Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv. p. 20, 1859.
Gavialia, Flemincj, Phil. Zool.
Bamphostoma, Waijler, Syst. Amph. p. 441.
llhamphognathus, Voyt, Zool. Brief, n. p. 289.

1. Gavialis gangeticus. (The Garial or Nakoo.)

Narrow-beaked Crocodile, Edw. Phil. Trans, i'lix. p. 039,

t. 19.
Le Gavial, Lacep. Q. 0. p. 1235, t. 1.5.

Faujas, Mont. S. P. p. 235, t. 8. f. 46, 47.
Lacerta gangetica, Ginelin, S. N. i. p. 1057.

Shaw, Zool. iii. p. 197, t. 60.
Crocodilus longirostris, SchneiJ. Amph. p. 160.

Dandin, liept. p. 4293.

Blainv. Osteoq. Croc. t. 2. f. 4, t. 3. f. 6, t. 4. f. c, t. 5. f. 5.
Crocodilus arctirostris. Baud. Rept. ii. p. 393.
Crocodilus teuuirostris, Cavier, Ann. Mus. x. t. 1.

Tiedern. Amph. t. 15.

Wagler, Syst. t. 7. f. 111.

Merrem, Tent. p. 38.
Gavialis gangeticus, Geoff. Mem. Mus. xii.

Gray, Syn. Rept. p. 36 ; Cat. Tort. ^r. B. M. p. 57 ;
Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 132.

Dnm.SfBih. Erp. Gen. iii. p. 135, t. 26. f. 2.

Huxley, Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv. p. 20, 1859.

BrW, Slcelet. Krolcod. t. 8, 9, 10, 11, 17.

Strauch, Syn. Crocod. p. 63.
Crocodilus gangeticus. Tied. Opp>el, and Libosch., Naturg.
Amph. p. 81, t. 14.

Geoff. Mem. Mus. H. N. xii. p. 118.

Burm. Gavial, t. 4 (skidls).
Gavialis longirostris, Merrem, Amph. p. 37.
Gavialis tenuirostris, Merrem, Amph. p. 38.

Guerin, Icon. R. Anim. t. 2. f. 3.
Eamphostoma tenuirostre, Wagler, Nat. Syst. Amph. p. 141,

t. 8. f. 3.
Le Gavial, Lacep. H. N. Q. Ouip. i. p. 235, t. 15.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

Uariol, Oiir»i, Motioffr. Fossil lieptilia of the London Clay,
i. xi. 1849 (skeJe'toii).

Hah. Indian rivers. Bengal, Nepal, Malabar.

2. TOMISTOMA.

Boak of the head conical, tliick at the base. Teeth f^^^-

The mandibular symphj-sis extends to the fifteenth tooth ;

the liinder tooth of the upper jaw oud most of those of the

lower jaw roeoived into interdcntiU pits. Prcmaxillary

hardly expanded, orbital margins not raised.

Gavialis, sp., MiUhr, Otvfn, Strauch.

Tomistonia. .S'. Miiller, Wifjm. Arch. lS4fi, i. p. 122.

Oral/, Traim. Zool. Soc. 1S(!0, vi. p. 133.
Khvnchosuchus, /Iiu-kif, Joiini. Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv.

p. in, 1S")1».

The upper edge of the intermaxillary bone extends back
as far as the seeond canine tooth ; and in this character it
differs from the skull of the slendcr-uoso Crocodiles, as Cro-
cimIHus Gravcfii and Mecisto^s caUi^hractus.

Dr. Falconer, when describing the skull of CrocodUus
cataphractus in Ann. i!t Mag. Xat. Hist. 1846, xviii. p. 362,
observes, " CrocodUus Schleyclii constitutes the passage from
the true Crocodiles into the Gavials," and he shows how
the skuU agrees with the Crocodiles' in the position of the
nasal bones.

Prof. Owen, in the first 'Essay on the lloptilcs of the
Ix)ndon Clay,' Crocodiles, p. 15, observes, " The Bornean
species, CrocodUus; Schleijelli, was in fact originally described
as a new species of Ga\-ial ; but the nasal bones, as in the
fossil from Sheppey (fig. in t. 2. f. 5), extend to the hinder
borders of the external nostrils." This does not agree
with our skull, nor with the figures of the skull in Blain-
ville's ' Osteographie.' See also Huxley, Journ. Proc. Linn.
Soc. Zool. iv. p. 18.

1. Tomistoma Schlegelii. (Bornean Gavial.)

CrocodUus gavialis Schlegelii, Miiller, Naturqesch. Ost-Ind.

t. 123. f. 1-5.
Crocodilus Schlegelii, Blainv. Osteoq. Crocod. t. 2. f. 3 t 5
f.4.

Briihl, Skelet. Krol: t. 8. f. 6.
Owen, Fossils of the London Clay, p. 15.
Burm. Gavial, t. 2. f. 7 (skuU).
Ehynehosuchus Schlegelii, Hu.vlei/, Proc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 17

(1859) ; Ann. j- Mag. Nat. Hi.<!t. 1859.
Mecistops Journei, ffrny, Cat. Tort. ^x. B. M. p. 38 (not

synon.).
Tomistoma Schlegelii, &ra?/, Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 134.
Gavialis Schlegelii, Strauch, Syn. Crocod. p. 63.

Hob. Australasia, Borneo {Miiller, Brit. Mus.).

The two figures of the skull in Midler ^- Schhytl, t. 3.
f. 1 lit 2, show the dift'eronco that occurs in the form of the
skull of the same species.

In the British Mu.scum there is a young .spocimcn in
spirits, and an adult skull received from the Leydon Col-
lection, and a very fine adult skull from Borneo, obtained
fi'om Mr. Mitten.

Fam. n. CROCODILIDJE.

The cervical plates forming a distinct shield, separate
from the dorsal shield. Teeth strong, very unequal in size,
hinder larger. The 9th upper and the 11th lower tooth
larger, like canines, the large teeth of the lower fitting
into pits or perforations, and the canines fitting into notches
on the edge of the upper jaws. Nose of both sexes
simple.

The upperside of the intermaxillary is slightly expanded
behind, and its hinder end is divided and separated into
two parts by the front end of the nasal bone.

CrocodilidaB § **, Gray, Cat. Tort. Sfc. B. M. p. 36, 1844.
CrocodUidee, Huxley, Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv. p. 5.
Crocodilus, Cuvier.

Gray, Ann. Phil. 1825, x. p. 195.
Champse, Mtrrem, Tent.

Professor Huxley divides this family into two genera,
Crocodilus and Mecistops. See Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc.
Zool. iv. p. 6.

The CrocodUes when they are first hatched have a very
short beak to the head. This is even the case with the
long-beaked Mecistops catuphractus, which in its very
young state is hardly to be distinguished in the form of its
beak from the young of the common Crocodile, Crocodilus
mdyaris. As the young obtain strength the beak developes
itself more or less rapidly according to the species, until
its noi-mal character is attained.

The head seems to continue of nearly the same form,
merely increasing in size, for some time, perhaps years ; for
we know little of the duration of the life of the Crocodiles,
and they are probably long-li\'ed animals. As they reach
maturity, and as old age creeps on, the skuU thickens
considerably, and the jaws dilate and thicken on the
sides.

The growth of the teeth, which are produced in succes-
sion and gi-eatly enlarge in diameter, and the enlargement
of the jaws proceed pari passu : the latter is also influenced
by the development of these teeth and the larger alveoli re-
quired to support them.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD EEPTILES.

The head of the Crocodile first increases in length com-
pared with its width, and then, having arrived at a certain
form, increases in width, thickness, and solidity.

The same change takes place in the head and skull of the
Bornean Garial, Tomistoma SchUgelii, as is found in lliiller
and Schlegel's figures of the half-grown and adult skulls in
their work.

It is to be observed that each of the Crocodiles of India and
Africa (and it may also be the case with those of America)
seems to present two varieties — one with a broad and the
other with a narrower face ; this variation occurring in each
of the species appears to me to show that it is more probably
a local, or perhaps even sexual variation than a specific
distinction.

If it were a sexual distinction it might soon be settled
by observers in the country where they abound ; but the
sex of the skins and of the sknUs sent to Europe is rarely,
if ever, marked on the specimens.

The broad-nosed variety is much more abundant in the
Museum than the narrow-nosed one ; and this is against
the form of the face being a sexual distinction, as one
would suppose that they would be nearly equal in number,
unless the narrow-nosed specimens are the males and they
are more wary and not so frequently caught.

Some naturalists might be incUned to regard them as
distinct species ; but in the Museum series, large as it is,
we have not sufficient materials to decide the question with
any confidence. Perhaps, if the skulls of specimens from
each locality could be compared, other characters might be
found ; but this must be left for my successors in this field
of research.

In the short-nosed species the uppcrside of the Lnter-
maxiUary bones is short, and the nasal bones are produced
between their edges to the edge of the nostril ; and in the
genus Halcroda they are produced beyond it, and form a
bony septum between the nostrils. In the long and slender-
nosed species the intermaxillary bones are rather produced
behind, and the nasal bones do not reach the edge as does
the long nostril in the genus Mecistops ; they are consider-
ably short of it ; but still the nasal bones come between
the hinder ends of the intermaxiUaries, and this character
at once separates the skull of that genus from the two
genera of Garials which have short nasal bones.
The skulls of Crocodiles may be separated thus : —

1. Nasal bone produced and separating the nostril into
two parts. Halerosia.

2. Nasal bone produced and dividing the edges of the
nostril. Oopholis, Crocodilus, Molinia (americana), Bom-
bifrons, Palinia.

3. Nasal bone not reaching the nostril. Molinia (inter-
media), Mecistops.

The intermaxillary bone in Bomhifrons and Palinia is
short and truncated behind. lu Halerosia it is rather pro-
duced behind, the straight sides converging to a point. In
all the other genera it is produced behind, with the
hinder edges converging on the sides and truncated at the
end.

The palatal bone in all the genera is truncated or rounded
in front, except in Mecistops, where it is narrow, short, and
acute in front.

The skulls of the genera Bomhifrons, Oopholis, and Mo-
linia are easily distinguished in the young state, — the face
of Oopholis being much longer and narrower than that of
Bomhifrons, and that of Molinia longer and narrower than
that of Oopholis. The following measurements are for
three skulls which appear to be from animals nearly of the
same state of growth, in inches and lines : —

Bombifrons. Oopholis. Molinia.
in. lines, in. lines, in. lines.

Length of sk'ill, entire 48 58 69

Length of face to front of orbit 2 8 3 6 4 4

Length of forehead to front of

orbit 2 2 1 2 4

Length of palatine from con-
dyle to front end 2 11 3 4 3 10

Length of middle sutui-e of

maxiUa . 1 2 1 H 1 7

Length of middle suture of in-
termaxiUaries 9 1 3 1 6

Width at occiput 2 6 2 5 2 10^

Width at hinder contraction of

beak 1 6 1 4 1 4i

Width at notch 9 9 9

The dorsal scales present considerable variations in dif-
ferent specimens from the same locality ; but, allowing for
such variations, the genera may be arranged thus : —

1. The dorsal scales nearly uniformly keeled, in four or
six longitudinal series; the outer series ovate-elongate.
Oopholis.

2. The dorsal scales nearly uniformly keeled, quadrila-
teral as broad as long. Crocodilus, Palinia, Molinia, and
Mecistops.

3. The dorsal scales quadrilateral, as broad as long ; the
vertebral scries scarcely keeled, the lateral series irregular
and keeled. Halerosia and Molinia.

The eyelid of the genus Halerosia is thickened with hard
bony plates, as in some of the Alligators, with which it also
agrees in the external form of the head and the disposition
of the nuchal shield. In all the other genera it is thin and
membranaceous.

CATAT.norF. OF SmKl.l) KEniLES.

Synopsis of ins Gbskra.
Section I. OrnVn/ disk rhomhir, fr/xtratfti from the dorsal shielil.

Normal Cnvoililos.
A. .V«rA.i/ scutMt now. Dortal plates oi-ale-elont/ole, in four

or «> longiludiiial trries. Estuorine Crocodiles.
I. OopholU. Asift mill North AiistnJiii.
15. Xuchal pltitfs four, in a t ran f verse series. Dorsal plates as

broad as long, square. Fluviatile Crocodiles.
«. lnterma.rillar!/ bone truncated behind, with a nearly straight

hinder rdi/e. Fact broad, oblong,

3. Boniblfi-oiu. Toes webbed. Legs distinctly fringed. Asia.

3. PoUuin. Toes short, free. Legs with only nn indistinct

fringe. America,
li. Intenna.villiar;/ bone elongate, produced and truncated behind ;

sutures sloping backirards and conrerging, then transverse or

sinuous. Toes trebled. Legs fringed.

•4. Crocodllns. Face oblong, without any ridge from front of
orliit ; forehead flat. .Vfrica.

5. Molinio. Face elongate, forehead convex, smooth, without

ridge from orbit. Ajnerica.

Section IL Cervical disk stronglg keeled on each side and nearly
continuous icith the dorsal shield. Abenant Crocodiles.

* Face broad, nasal bones produced into the nostrils. Alliga-
toroid Crocodiles.

6. Halcrosia. .-Vfrica.

** Face very long, slender, riasal bones not reaching the nostrils.
Garialoid Crocodiles.

7. Mecistops. Africa.

I. The tiape with a rltomhic disk formed of si.v plates,
which is well separated from the dorsal shield. Nor-
mal Crocodiles.

A. Xuehal seuUUa none. Dorsal scales in few or six lon-
gitudinal series ; the outer series ovate-eloiigate. Toes
webbed. Legs fringed. The intermaxillary bone pro-
duced, truncated, and converginr/ on the sides. Estua-
rine or brackish-water Crocodiles.

1. OOPHOLIS.

Face oblong : orbits with an elongated, longitudinal,
more or less sinuous ridge in front. Nuchal scutella none,
or rudimentary. Cervical disk rhombic, of six plates.
Dorsal plates uniformly keeled, in four or six longitudinal
series ; the vertebral series with straight internal edges,
the outer ovate-elongate. Legs acutely fringed. Toes
broadly webbed. Intermaxillary bone produced, and trun-

cated behind, tlio sutures sloping backwards and converg-
ing, and then transverse or sinuous.

Oopholis, Gnu/, Cat. Tort. t$- Crocod. in D. M. 1844; Ann.
i\- M(ui. Not. Hist. 3rd series, x. p. 207 ; Trans. Zool.
,'Soc. iNiii, vi. p. l;!7.

a. The dorsal scales in si.v loni/itiidinal series ; the vertebral
ones clowjated like the others.

1. Oopholis porosus. (The Saltwater Crocodile.)

Crocodilus porosus, Sehn. Amph. p. 159.

(Jray, Cat. Tort. 6,- Crocod. cjr. Brit. Mus. p. 58 ;
P. Z. S. 1S61, p. 140.
Crocodilus oopholis, Schn. Amph. ii. p. 165.
Crocodilus biporcatus, Cuv. Oss. Foss. v. p. 65, t. 1. f. 4,
18, lit (young skulls), t. 2. f. 8.

Midler 4- Schle.jel, Verh. t. 3. f. 6 (middle-aged skull).
Owen, Cat. Osteal. Mus. Coll. Surg. p. 159, nos. 719,

723, 724, 727, 728. _
Huxley, Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv. p. 11.
Blainv. Osteoijr. Crocod. t. 1, t. 3. f. 1, t. 4. f. , t. 52.
Burm. Gavicd, t. 2. f. 5 (head).
Strauch, Syn. Crocod. p. 52.
Crocodilus aeutus, Oicen , Cat. Ost. M. Coll. Surg. p.l57. n.713.
Cluimpse fissipes, Wagler, Amph. t. 17.
Crocodilus biporcatus rauinus, Midler ^' Schleyel, Verh. t. 3.

f. 7 (aged skuU).
Oophohs porosus, Grai/, Ann. tf- Mag. Nat. Hist. 3rd series,

x. p. 267, 1802; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 138.
Champses biporcatus and C. oopholis, Merrem, Amph.
pp. 36, 37.

Hal). Asia and Australia; India, Bengal, and Penang
(Hardwicke) : China {Lindsay) ; Trincomalee ; Borneo
(Belcher) ; Tenasserim coast (Packman) ; Siam, Cambogia
(Mouhot).

Var. ausiralis, Giinther.

Crocodile, Landeshorough, Explor. of Austral, i. p. 70.

Hab. North Australia (Elsey Sf Kraig).

Dr. Giinther has pointed out to me that all the Austra-
lian specimens which we have examined have one cross
band of shields less than the Indian sj^ecimens ; that is
to say, they have sixteen, and the Indian specimens seven-
teen bands of shields from the neck to the base of the tail.
That is the case both' with the small specimen in spirits and
the large specimen, 17-^ feet long, which was procured by
Mr. Kraig.

In the British Museum there are the skin of an adult from
N.E. Australia, another, 13 feet long, received from the
Zoological Society, and several (two thirds half-grown)
young specimens stuffed, and several young specimens in
spirits.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

Tlie largest skull iri the British Museum is 29 inches
long ; the adult skulls vary from 29 to 31 inches in length ;
a half-grown species is 19 inches long. The skull 20
inches long is said to be from an animal caught in Bengal
that was 33 feet long.

Cuvier figures the skulls of young and half-grown speci-
mens. S. MiiUer and Sehlegel figure two skulls, one under
the name of C. hiporcatus (f. 6), and the other under the
name of C. hiporcatus raninus (f. 7) : the latter seems to
be from an adult or aged animal ; the former (f. 6) from a
full-grown one before the skuU is thickened and spread
out. Another specimen, figured as C. hiporcatus raninus
(f. 8), appears to be from a specimen of Grocodilus or
Bomhifrons siamensis ; it certainly is not an Oopliolis, from
the form of the dorsal scales and the presence of the nuchal
ones.

There is a good series of skulls of this species in the
Museum of the College of Surgeons ; but no. 725, named
G. hiporcatus in the Catalogue, is the skuU of an adult Cro-
codilus vult/aris ; and no. 713, called C. acutus in the Cata-
logue, is Oopjholis porosus.

The British Museum received from the Leyden Museum
an adult skull of the Crocodilus {hiporcatus') raninus from
Borneo ; it is 22 inches long, and agrees in every respect
with the Oopliolis porosus from India.

Mr. Landcsborough observes : — " Harmless as this animal
is in Australia, we were not anxious for his company in
his native element." — Exploration of Australia, p. 70.

b. Tlie dorsal scales in fonr series ; the vertehred series
broader than loiuj, the outer series elongate-ovate.

2. Oopholis pondicherianus. (Pondicherry Crocodile.)

Oopholis poiuUelierianus, Grai/, Ann. 4' Mag. Nat. Hist.
3rd series, x. p. 268 ; Traiis. Zool. Soc. 18G9, vi. p. 139.
Grocodilus pondiccriauus, Giinthcr, llept. B. I. t. 7.

Tlie specimen of this species in the British Museum is
small and only just hatched, but it is quite distinct from
all the others. The vertebral series of plates are nearly
twice as broad as those in 0. porosus ; the others also are
rather wider in comparison ; all the dorsal scales are more
keeled, and the keels of the scales on the side of the base
of the tail are wider and more prominent. The black spots
are larger and further apart.

The specimen was purchased of M. Parzudaki of Paris,
it having formed part of a collection which he received
from the French Museum.

B. Nuchal plates four , or rarely two or Jive, in a cross series.
The dorsal pilates as hroad as long,in four or six series.
FluviatUe or River Crocodiles.

a. Tlte interina.villarg bones truncated behind, with a nearly
straight premaanllary suture. Face broad, oUong.

To observe the form of the premaxillary suture in the
preserved specimens, it is only necessary to elevate the skin
of the front of the palate and lay the bones bare.

* Toes tuebhed ; legs distinctly fringed. Asiatic Crocodiles.

2. BOMBIFRONS.

The premaxillary suture straight or rather convex for-
wards. The face oblong ; forehead with nodules in front
of the orbits, but no distinct preorbital ridges. Nuchal
plates four, in a curved line. Cervical plates six, in the
form of a rhombic shield, distinct from the dorsal one.
Dorsal plates oblong, rather elongate, all keeled, in sL\
longitudinal series, and with two short lateral series of
keeled scales. The legs fringed with a series of triangidar
elongated scales. Toes webbed.

Bomhifrons, Gray, Ann. 4' Mag. Nat. Hist. 3rd series, x.
p. 269 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 139.

SkuU with the nostrO. separate, the internal nostril as
broad as wide, with a deep pit on each side in front of it,
and rather bent down so as to open nearly horizontally.

1. Bomhifrons indicus. (The Muggar.)
(Figs. 1-4.)

The intermaxillary short, nearly semicircular.

Crocodilus vulgaris, var. indicus. Gray, Syn. Bept. p. 58,

1831!
CrocodUus dubius, Geoff. Ann. du Mus. xii. p. 122 ?
Crocodilus suchus, var. D, Dum. Enc. Meih. Bept. p. 27.
Crocodilus palustris, Lesson, Bilangers Voy. j). 305.
Gray, Cat. Tort. 4" Croc. B. M. p. G2 (young).
Owen, Cat. Osteol. Mus. Coll. Surg. pp. 164 & 752!
Giinther, Bept. B. Ind. t. 8. f. a.
Strauch, Crocod. p. 48.
Crocodilus bomhifrons. Gray, Cat. Tort. 4r Croc. B. M. p. 59,

1844 (adult) !
Crocodilus bomhifrons (palustris?), Huxley, Froc. Linn. Soc.

Zool. iv, p. 13!, 1859.
Crocodilus bijiorcatus, Cautley, Asiat. Besearches, xix. t. 3.

f. 1, p. 3! (not C!W>)-
Crocodilus trigonops, Gray. Cat. Tort. ^ Croc. B. M. ji. 62,

1844 (young) !
Bomhifrons trigonops. Gran, Ann. 4' Mag. N. H. 3rd series,

X. p. 269 !

CATALOGUE OF STIIKLD KEPTILES.

Fisr. 1.

Bomhifrom indicus. Skull, adult.

Crocodilus vulgaris, var. B, Dum. 4' Bibr. Erp. Gen. iv.

p. 108.
Crocodilus rhombifer, Owen, Cat. Osteol. Mus. Coll. Siirg.

p. 164. no. 752 ! (not Cuvier).
Crocodilus ?, Owen, Cat. Osteol. Mus. CoU. Surg. p. 159.

no. 726 !
Bombifrons indicus, Gray, Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 140.

Bab. India, Ganges (Dr. Satjer); Madras (Jerdon);
Ceylon {Kelaart).

The dorsal shields in four series, all equally keeled, with
two irregular series of plates on the sides. The shields are
often nearly of the same form and size ; but sometimes there
are larger and broader shields intermixed in and deranging
the series, and at other times the whole vertebral series is
formed of wider shields.

This species has generally been confounded with Ooplwlis
biporcatns and Crocodilus vulgaris.

The face of the younger specimen isrugulose and depressed,
with a deep pit on the sides over the eighth and ninth teeth ;
there are two arched ridges on each side behind the nostril,
and some rugosities in front of the orbits. In the older skull
the face is very convex and rounded, rugose, with some more
orlessdistinctrugositiesinfrontof the orbits, but not the dis-
tinct longitudinal ridge so characteristic of Oopholis porosus.

Prof. Owen described the peculiar form of the premaxil-
lary in a skuU in the College-of-Surgeons Museum, sent
from Bengal by Dr. Wallich ; but he refers the skuU to Cro-
codilus rliombifer of Cuvier, which is an American species.

The smallest specimen in the British Museum is 19
inches, and the largest nearly 10 feet long ; there are skuUs

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

-- >

Bombifrons indieus. Skull, nearly ndult.

showing that it grows to a much larger size. The speci-
men I described as G. trigonalis is 24i- inches long.

In mj' Catalogue of the Tortoises and Crocodiles in the
British Museum, published in 1844, I described it, from
two adult skulls from India of 18 and 20 inches length, as
a new species, which I called Crocodilus homhifrons, point-
ing out the straightness of the suture between the inter-
masillary and maxillary bones. I observed that I had seen
in the Paris Museum a large specimen which had been
described by Dumeril and Bibron as an adult of Crocodilus
biiiorcatus, which appeared to belong to this species, stating
that it was immediately known from C. porosus by the
breadth and convexity of the face.

In the same work I separated the Inchan specimen from
the common African Crocodilus, under the name of Croco-
dilus palustris of Lesson, and pointed out that it seemed to
be the same as the Crocodilus liporcatus raniaus of Miiller
and Schlegel ; and I described two other, veiy young speci-

mens under the name of Crocodilus tritjonops, on account of
the shortness and width of the head.

The examination of the specimens on which these species
were founded, and the comparison of them one with another
when ranged in a series, with the other specimens since
obtained intercalated in their places according to their size,
have convinced me that they are referable to mere varia-
tions of growth of a single species, which is generally spread
over the Indian peninsula.

Var. Nose narrow, the intermaxillary bones rather
longer and narrower.

Hah. Ceylon (skull, Kelaarl).

There may be two species of Ceylon Muggars, as in one
of the heads the intermaxillaries appear to be longer and
narrower than in others from the same coimtry. I have
not sufficient materials to satisfy myself as to the distinct-
ness of this species and the permanence of the forms.

I'ATALOUUl-; UF 8111HL1) REPTILKS.

Fic :?.

lfc"«#'

,#'"

1K>>

Bombifrom indicus. Skull : fig. 3, half-grown ; fig. 4, young, nat. size (see C. tru/onnps. Gray).

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

in. lin.

17 3

9 10

4 8

5 9

3 7

2 8

11 6

6 3

none

5 5

10 6

5 11

2 6

6 9

3 9

1 (i

5 11

2 4

Fig. 1.

in. lin.

Length of skull 20

Length from occiput to

front of orbit 6 9

Length of face 13 3

Length of lower jaw . . 27
Width at occiput .... 13 o
Width at hinder notch 9 2
Width at notch 5 4

The face becomes shorter compared with the width of
the middle of the face as the animal becomes older.

In the young (fig. 4) the length of the head is rather
more than three times the width of the swollen part behind
the notch ; in fig. 3 it is just three times, and in fig. 2 it
is twice and a half the width at the same part ; and in
the old skull (fig. 1) it is only a little more than twice
the width of the face.

As a good iUustratiou of the difference in the appearance

of the skulls of the individuals of the species, I may give
the measurements of two skulls of " Mu^ars " from India,
of the same size, in the British-Museum collection : —

Broad Narrow

variety. variety.

inches. inches.

Length of the skuU along the forehead .91 9g

Length of side of skuU 10| 10§

Width of back of skuU 5§ 5|

AVidth in front of orbits 4| 4

Width over largest tooth 3| 3j

Width at notch 2L 2orlj|

The broad-nosed variety (fig. 3) was presented by Sir J.
Boileau, and the narrow one by Capt. Boys.

A\Tien the two skulls are placed side by side, the large
teeth are just the same distance apart ; and the different
teeth in the two skulls exactly agree in size, position, and
distance from each other.

CATALOGUE OP SHIELD llEPTILES.

2. Bombifi-ons siamensis. (Siamese Muggar.)
The face depressed, elongate, nearly smooth, with a slight
nodule in front of the orbits ; intermaxiUarics rather
elongate, half oblong.

Crocodilus niloticus, Latr. liept. i. p. 206, t. (from Fau-

jas de St.-Fond, Monl. St.-Pien-e, t. 43).
Crocodilus siamensis, Schn. Amph. p. l.'iT.

Grin/, Si/n. p. 60 ; Cai. Tort. c|- Crocod. B. M. p. 03
(monstrosity)"? (from Perrmdt, Hist. Acad. Sci. in.
p. 255, t. 54).
Guiither, Eept. B. I. t. 18. f. 3.
Strauch, Croc. p. 50.
Crocodilus galeatus, Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. p. 52, t. 1. f. 9
(from Perranlt).

Bum. 4' Bihr. Erp. Gen. m. p. 113.
Crocodilus palustris (part.),2)itn4. i^-Bibr. Erp. Gin. iii. p. 113.
Crocodilus vulgaris (part.), Grnij, Sijn. p. 58.
Diim. (|- Bdjr. Erp. Gen. ii. p. 108?
Midler ^- ScJdcjel, Verh. t. 3. f. 9 (head ?).
CrocodUus vulgaris, Owen, Cut. Osteol. Mas. CoU. Surr/.

p. 107. no. 718?
Bombifrons siamensis, Grai/, Ann. 6f Miir/. Nat. Hist. 3rd
series, x. p. 2G0 ; Trans. Zool. Hoc. 1869, vi. p. 144.

Hah. Siam, Cambojia {M. MouJiot).

There is a weU-preserved half-grown siiecimcn of this
species in the British Museum. It differs from all the spe-
cimens of Bombifrons indicus in the collection in the face
being much longer and not so tubercular and pitted.

It has four series of nearly equal-sized, uniformly shaped,
and keeled shields, with three interrupted series of unequal-
sized smaller shields on each of the sides ; those of the outer
series are the longest.

As the head agrees with the figure of the head from which
Schneider named his species, I have retained it ; and I have
little doubt that the two keels which are present in that
specimen are either an individual peculiarity or perhaps a
character that developed itself as the animal approached
old age I

The skuU of the young animal in the Museum of the
College of Surgeons, no. 718, appears to belong to this
species ; but it requires more comparison. It is clearly a
Bombifrons, and it is much smoother and longer than the
skull of B. indicus of the same size and age. Prof. Owen
observes, " The palatine suture between the premaxillary
and maxillary bones passes obliquely backwards a little
way at its commencement, and then extends truncated
across ; but the premasUlary bones are larger than in the
second Gangetio Crocodile. There is a small palpebrary
ossicle above the anterior angle of the eyes." — Owen, I. c.
p. 157. no. 718.

There is a young specimen of a Crocodile, received from
Singapore, which somewhat resembles the one from Siam

in the form of the head, and has sis series of strongly
keeled sliields on the back ; but the four middle ones, of
nearly equal size and form, and those of the outer series,
are narrower, and there is a series of much smaller ones
below on each of the sides. I am by no means convinced
that this will form a distinct species ; it is probably only
an accidental or local variety.

** The legs ivith an indented fringe of short narrow scales.
Toes short, nearly free. American Crocodiles.

3. PALINIA.

The face oblong ; forehead very convex, with a ridge in
front of each orbit, converging iu front and forming a
lozenge-shaped space. Nuchal plates two or four, unequal.
Cervical disk rhombic, of six largo plates. Dorsal plates
large, broad, in six series ; the vertebral series nearly smooth,
the lateral one strongly keeled. The intermaxiUaiy short,
truncated behind the premaxillary, suture straight, trans-
verse. (See Cuvier, Oss. Foss. iii. p. 72, t. 3. f. 1-5.)

Palinia, Grmj, Cat. Tort, f Crocod. B. M. 1844 ; Ann. ^
Mai/. Nat. Hist. 3rd series, x. p. 270 ; Trans. Zool. Soc.
1869, vi. p. 145.

1. PaUnia rhombifera. (Cuban Palinia.)

The upper surface of the forearms and thighs covered
with convex keeled scales ; the outer edge of the legs and
feet with a series of very elongate scarcely raised scales,
forming only a slight fringe. The toes short, scarcely
webbed.

Aquez pahn, Hernaml. Nov. An. Mex. ii. p. 2.
Crocodilus rhombifer, Cuvier, Ann. Mus. H. N. x. p. 51 ;
Oss. Foss. V. p. 51, t. 3. f. 1-4.

Tiedem., Oppel, ^ Lebosch, Nat. Amph. j). 75, t. 10.

Graij, Sijn. Bept. p. 59.

JJiira. 4' Bibr. Erp. Gin. iii. p. 97.

Sar/ra, Cuba, t. 4.

Strauch, Crocod. p. 41.
Crocodilus rhombifer, Hu,clry, Proc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 10.

BJainv. Ostioi/'. Croc. t. 5. f. 3 (head?) (not Owen).

Biirm. Oaria'l. t. 2. f. 4, t. 3. f. 5 (head).
Crocodilus (Palinia) rhombifer, Gray, Cat. Tort. S^ Croc.
B. M. p. 63 ; Ann. ^ May. Nat. Hist. 3rd ser. x. p. 270.
Crocodilus planii'ostris. Graves, Ann. Gen. des Sci. Phys. de
Bordeaux, n. p. 348.

Gray, Syn. Bept. p. 59.
Crocodilus Gravcsii, Bory de St.- Vincent, Diet. Class. H. N.
iii. p. 109, t. .

Bum. 4' Bihr. Erp. Gin. iii. p. 101.
Palinia rhombifera. Gray, Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 145.

Hub. South America, Cuba (W. S. MacLeay, Eamon de
la Sayra).

I'AT.VLDUUE OF i^lllELD ItHl^TlLES.

Ill till' Ihiiish Alusoum there is ii woU-fjrown specimen,
.") foot 4 inches long, of this species, collected in Cuba liy
M. litimon do In Sjigra, and sent from the Frcncli Museum.
Two young sjioeiniens in spirits, sent from Cuba !>)• J[r. W.
S. MacLoay, are idmost 12 feet long, are pale brown, with
small dots on the head, and a dark spot on tho middle of
many of the dorsal scutella : tho face is irregularly tessel-
lated with sipiare brown spots.

Cuner described the Crocodihis rJiomhifer from two spe-
cimens : — one in the Cabinet of the Academy of Sciences, in
a nearly entire state ; and the other, a very mutilated skin,
in the Museum, which also furnished him with tho skull
figun'd in t. 3. f. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 of liis work on Fossil Bones,
pp. r>l-70. The original habitats of these specimens wore
not marki-d. But M. Kamou de la Sagra sent a young
living specimen to the Jardin dcs Plantes, proving tliat
this is an American species ; and it is probable that the
Crocodile wliich llernandez describes and figures as coming
from Xcw Spain, under the name of Aqite: palin, belongs
to this species.

M. Graves, in the ' Annales Generalcs dcs Sciences Phy-
siques de Bordeaux,' describes a Crocodile under the name
of C. planirostris, from a specimen which was formerly in
the Collection of the Academy of Bordeaux, but is now in
the Museum of that town. It was procured from M.
Joumee, the surgeon of a ship that for some time traded
with the negroes of the coast of Congo. M. Bory de St.-
Vincent, for these reasons, thought it might have come
from Africa; and he figured and described it under the
name of Crocodihis GravesU in the Diet. Classique d'Hist.
Nat. iii. p. 109, t. .

MM. Dumeril and Bibron observe that, when they asked
for a new account of the specimen, it was in such a bad
condition that they could only reproduce the description
written by M. Graves. The study of the description and
figure, which are the only materials now left for the pur-
pose, lead to the idea that it was not distinct from Croco-
dilus rhomhifer, and was most probably brought from tho
island of Cuba: the ships which are engaged in trade
with the negroes on the coast of Congo frequently visit
Cuba : so that it is not at all unlikely that the specimen
was brought from that island.

2. Palinia ? Moreletii. (Yucatan Palinia.)

CrocodUus Moreletii, Dum. Arch, du Mus. vi. p. 255, t. 20 ;

Cat. Kept. p. 28. n. 5*.
Strauch, Croc. p. 42.
Palinia ? Moreletii, Gray, Ann. S; Mag. Nat. Hist. 3rd ser.

X. p. 271 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 146.

Dorsal scales keeled, nearly square ; scales of the sides
and limbs smooth, without tubercles.

J/al>. Yucatiin ; Lac Flores (M. Moreht).

Tliis species is described from a specimen in tho Museum
of Paris, which is very badly figured and indistinctly de-
scribed in tho memoir above cited.

There are two young specimens of Crocodiles, in spirit,
without habitats, in the British Museum, which are pecu-
liar in the large size of the nuchal shield, the strength of
the keels of the dorsal shields, and the largo keeled scales
of the forearms and thighs, in which they agree with
Palinia rhombifera ; but there is so much difference be-
tween the two, and between each of thcra and tho specimens
of that species from Cuba, that I think they must be left
in doubt for further elucidation. There are also two small
stuffed specimens in tho collection (purchased of dealers,
but without any locality attached), which are peculiar in
having sis series of vmiform, squarish, very strongly keeled
dorsal scales ; they are very unlike any other specimen in
the collection, and may be uew ; but I do not like to de-
scribe them in the present imperfect state of our know-
ledge.

b. The intermaxillary hone elonr/ate, produced and truncated
behind ; the sutures sloping lachivards and converging,
and then transverse or sinuous. Toes ivehhed. Legs
with a fringe of elongated triangidar scales.

4. CKOCODILUS.

Face oblong, depressed, without any ridge in front of the
orbits. Nuchal shields four, in an arched series. Cervical
disk rhombic, of six shields. Dorsal plates quadrilateral,
as broad as long ; the vertebral series rather the widest
and most keeled. Intermaxillary produced behind.

Crocodilus, Ch-ay, Ann. ^ Mag. Nat. Hist. 3rd ser. x. p. 271 ;
Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 146.

" The Crocodiles live on the mud-banks or swimming
about the rivers " of Africa.

Dr. Balfour Baikie observes : — " The ninth upper tooth
of Crocodiles is said to be enlarged like a canine ; but this
is not correct. I have examined the dentition of eighteen
skulls of various species : in the lower jaw there are always
nineteen teeth ; but in the upper jaw the number in the
adult is seventeen on either side, while in the young it is
eighteen. This is owing to the second incisor being deci-
duous ; and in old skuUs the socket is completely obliterated

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

by the enlargement of the foramina for the two anterior
teeth. Thus in old animals there are only four teeth in
each intermaxillary bone, "while in the younger individuals
there are always five. So, more strictly, it is the tenth,
and not the ninth, upper tooth which is enlarged."— P. Z. S.
1857, p. 50.

1. Crocodilus vnlgaris. (Olive African Crocodile.)

Crocodilus niloticus (part.). Baud. liept. ii. p. 267.

WarjJer, Si/st. Amph. t. 7. f. 11. 1, 2.
Crocodilus vulgaris, Cuvier, Oss. Fuss. v. p. 42, 1. 1 . f. 5 & 12,
t. 2. f. 7.

Blainv. OsUogr. Croc. p. 12G.

Gray, Ann. Sf May. Nat. Hist. 3rd ser. s. p. 271 ;
Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 147, f. 5, 6, 7, 8.

Huxley, Proc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 6.

Burm. Gavial. t. 2. f. 6, & t. 3. f. 9 (head).

Strauch, Croc. p. 43.
Ci-ocodilus suchus, Geojf. Ann. 3his. s. p. 84, t. 3. f. 2-4.
Crocodilus chamses, Bory, Diet. Class. H. N. v. p. 105.

FiK. 5.

Crocodilus lacunosus, Gcnff. Croc. (TE'jypte, p. 167.
Crociidihis marginatus, QeoJ]'. Desc. d'Ejypte, p. 365.

Gray, Cat. Tort. p. 61.
Crocodilus cataphractus, Ruppell, MS.

Gray, Syn. Rept. p. 78 (Mus. Frankfort).
Crocodile vcrd de Senegal, Adanson, Seneg.

Cuvier, Oss. Foss. V. p. 4.
Crocodilus acxitns, Owen, Cat. Osteol. Mus. Coll. Swrrj. p. 157.

n. 715 (not Cuvier).
Crocodilus binuensis, Balfour Bailcie, P. Z. S. 1857, xxv.

pp. 49, 50 (skull described).
Green Crocodile, Gray, Hep. of Brit. Assoc. 1862, Sections,
p. 107.

Hah. African rivers. Living on the mud-banks : North
Africa, Egypt; West Africa, Senegal (Adanson), Gaboon
(Murray, Cope) ; South Africa, Cape of Good Hope ; Cen-
tral Africa, Kwora and Blnui (Bai/cie) ; Madagascar (Eavet,
fide Cuvier, Oss. Foss. p. 44); Palestine, river Gischun
(Macyreyor).

The largest specimen in the British Museum is nearly
Fig. 7.

Fig. 6.

Fig. 8.

ii_-*0'<;''^

«'il|/j*!itfi';ieiil\!fjijn

CrocodUxis vulgaris. Head and nuchal and cervical shields.

15 feet long. There is a very fine skull received from Old
Calabar, whose greatest width behind is 13 inches, length
above upper surface from end of nose to back of occiput
22 inches, width at the larger lateral tooth 7| inches, at
the notch 4| inches. The intermaxillary bones are produced
backwards between the ends of the maxilla!. The hinder
nasal opening is transverse, inferior, and ascending nearly
perpendicularly. The nose has two large oblong diverging
prominences on the sides — one over the hinder edge of the

notch, and the other over the hinder part of the root of the
largest tooth, behind the notch.

There is a second skuU from West Africa in the Museum,
of nearly the same length, which is considerably narrower
in aU its parts. Length along the upper surface from the
end of the nose to back edge of occiput 20-L inches ; greatest
width behind 12 inches, at largest lateral tooth 6i inches,
at the notch 3| inches.

These two skulls rather differ in the direction of the

lATALoiiUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

suturi" behind llip maxillan- lioncs : in the vddcT specimen
it isniiu'li more proiliux^d lu-liind th;m in the other.

I have oxnminiMl nntl compared witli c are siieeimens of
different ages frjni North Africa i\ear tlie Nile, from West
Africa nt Senepd and Ciaboon, South Africa at the Cape
of Goo<l IIopo and Natal, and a specimen brought from
Centnd Africa by Pr. liaikie ; and althougli they each ex-
hibiti-d certain peculiarities, yet 1 believe, as far as the
specimens at my command enable mo to form a judgment,
that they all belong to a single species wliich is generally
distributed over the African continent.

At the same time, from the slight differences which the
spocimeus from the different localities do exhibit, I should
not be surprised, if we had a complete series of perfect
specimens and of skulls of diftcreut ages from each locality,
to find that there were sufficient differences between (hem
to show that each locality has a special local variety or,
perhaps, species : but unfortunately there is not in the
liritish Museum, or in the other museums and collections
to which I have access, such a scries ; all the specimens
from the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa seem to be
either in the adidt or very young state, while those from
the other localities are either very young or of an inter-
mediate age. On the other hand, the series of specimens
from the same locality, as from S. Africa for example,
whence we have most specimens, exhibit variations among
themselves quite as great as between the specimens from
various parts of Africa. It is therefore more safe to re-
gard them all as one species.

Tlie species grow to a large size ; we have a specimen
from the Nile and some from the Cape of Good Hojic in
the British Museum which are nearly 1.5 feet long.

The skulls which seem to belong to larger specimens
often reach the length of 24 or 2.5 inches.

The history of the Nile Crocodile is given in great detail
in the fifth volume of Cuvier's ' Eecherches sur les Osse-
mens Fossiles,' v. p. 43.

Geoflroy St.-HUaire, in his ' Essay on the Crocodiles of
Egypt,' separated the Egyptian specimens into two species,
under the name of CrococUlus laennosKS and C. manjinatus.
In the ' Annates du Museum,' vol. x. p. 83, he described a
third, under the name of C. sikJiv.s. Professor Owen has
figured the skull of a Crocodile, from an Egyptian mummy,
under the name of C. sucJms, Geoff., in the ' Monograph of
the Fossil EeptUia of the London Clay,' published by the
Palaeontographical Society, 18-50, t. 1. f. 2. I do not see
how it differs from the Crocodiles at present found in the
leUe. See also Huxley, Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 1.5.

In the 'Catalogue of Tortoises and Crocodiles,' p. 61, I

sejiarated the adult (!ape Crocodiles from the North-African
specimens, under the name of C. marc/hxttus, because the
head is not so narrow ; but it is to bo observed that most
of the North-African specimens with which I had com-
piu'cd them were of small size, and consequently had the
head less developed.

T)r. Baikie described the Crocodile of Central Africa,
found in the river Kwora and liinue (or Niger and Twedda)
under the name of Crocodihis hinuensis ; it is of a dark
green colour, and lives on the mud-banks or swimming in
the rivers.

Mr. Cope (' Proceedings of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia' for 1859, p. 290) regards the
Crocodile of Equatorial Western Africa (Ogobai) as the
Crocodihis marginatus of Geoffrey.

Dr. A. Smith, referring the Cape specimens to Grocodilus
man/lnafits, observes, " they are occasionally found in the
rivers west of Port Natal, but more abundantly in those
to the eastward and northward, and occur in such num-
bers in the rivers in a district north of Knrrichanc, between
24° and 22° south latitude, that the natives who used to
reside there were known by the appellation Baquana=t}ie
people of the Crocodile." — Zool. South Africa, Appendix,
p. 2, 1845.

MM. Dumeril and Bibron, in their ' Erpetologie Gene-
rale,' iv. p. 1U4, divided their Crocodilus vidgarls into four
varieties, thus : —

Var. a. The Crocodilus vuhjarls of Geoffrey, from North
Africa, Egypt, and the Nile.

Yar. b. Crocodilus ^xdtistris, Lesson, described from a
specimen sent from the Ganges by M. Duvaucel, and from
the coast of Malabar by M. Dussutoier.

Var. c The Crocodilus marrjinatus, I. Geoffrey, from
North Egypt and the Cape of Good Hope.

Var. d. The Crocodile verd of Adanson, from the Nile,
the Niger, and Senegal.

There is no doubt that vars. a, c, and d are true Cro-
codiles, and are what is considered in this essay to be the
Crocodilus vulgaris of Africa. Var. b, on the other hand,
does not belong to the same genus. I have not the slightest
doubt this variety is founded on young and half-grown
specimens of Bombifrons indicus, most distinct from Croco-
dilus vulr/aris by the form of the head and the structure
of the skull, as MM. Dumeril and Bibron would have
found if they had examined any of the twelve specimens
which they say they procured. They have named the
adult specimen in the Paris Museum C. biporcatus.

In the ' Ann. & Mag. of Natural History,' vol. xviii. t. 7,
Dr. Falconer figures the skuU of a Crocodile under the

CAT.YLOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

Fipr. 9.

Molmia intermedia. Skull, adult.

name of C. marginatus, which is in the Belfast Museum.
It is said to have been brought from Sierra Leone ; but I
think this must be a mistake : it is not like the skull of
any Crocodile I have seen from West Africa, and it is not a
bad representation of the skull of a half-grown Bombifrons
indints from India. Can the habitat be a mistake ? Per-
haps the habitat was only intended for the first-described
species, Cataphractus mecistops, for which it is the true
locality.

A skuU of Cvocodilus vulijaris is described in Professor
Owen's ' Catalogue of the Osteological Specimens in the
iluseum of the College of Surgeons " under the name of
Crocodilus acutus, p. 157. no. 715.

5. MOLINIA.

Face elongate; forehead swollen, convex, especially in
the adult ; orbits without any anterior ridge. Nuchal plates
two or four, small. Cervical disk rhombic, of six plates,
the side plates generally small. The legs fringed with a
series of triangular elongate scales. Toes webbed. Scales

of the forearm and thigh thin, smooth. Muzzle oblong,
elongate, slender, with a swollen convexity on the middle
of the face before the eyes. Nostril not separated by a
long ridge : the internal nostril posterior, with an oblong
sloping opening ; the intermaxillary suture produced be-
tween tlie ends of the masiUse.

Molinia, Gray, Ann. ij- Mcif/. Sat. Hist. 3rd ser. x. p. 27'2 ;
Trcms. Zool. Soc. 1809, vi. p. 150.

* Face slender. Dorsal plates irreyidar ; the central series
small, keeled ; lateral scattered, stroni/li/ keeled. Nasal
hones produced to the nostrils. Molinia.

1. Molinia americana. (American Crocodile.)

Crocodilus americanus (I'lumieri), Sclin. AmjiJt. ii. p. 23.

Gray, Cat. Tort. c$- Croc. ^r. B. M. p. 60.
Crocodilus acutus, Geoff. Ann. Mus. ii. p. 53, t. 57. f. 1.

Cnvier, Oss. Foss. v. t. 1. f. 3 & 14, t. 2. f. 5.

Gray, Syn. p. 60.

Bum. Sf Bihr. Erp. Gen. iii. p. 120.

CATALOG UK OF ^UIKLD lUllTlLES.

I'rocodilus iioutus. Oicni. Cut. O.itfol. SpiC. ^[us. Coll. Siinj.
\>. ]'u. iios. 711, 711*. 714, 71i>; lirpt. of Lomlon Chuj, '
t. IT), f. 10.

B,hM. SktUl. Krokod. t. N & II, t. 10, t. 17.
liurm. Gaviiil. t. l'. 1'. 1. 3, & t. 3. f. '), (!, 7 (head).
Crocixiilus !uucricaiius(acutus, Cuv.), llu.rlf>i, Joitni. IVoc.

iiiiii. i^'iK-. iv. !>. 11, ljsi!!».
Moliiiin amoricaiiii, (rivii/, Ann. ^ Mag. Nat. Hist. sit. ;j,

X. p. 1*7-; Tnins. Zool. Soc. lS(i9, vi. p. 150.
*? Cnx'odilus biscutatus (jmrt.), Cuv. Oss. Foaa. x. t. 12. f. (>.

Tiolnn. Amph. t. 12.
Crocodile do St.-Dominsuc, Ocoff. Ann. tlu Miis. ii. p. 53,
t. 27. f. 1.

llab. Tropical America. Cuba (W. S. MacLfai/); Ja-
maica (B. M.) ; Wost Ecuador, Nicaragua (Fraser, lii-
chanlson): West coast of America (B,l<her) : St. Domingo
(Ci/i'iVr); Guatemala (Salvin).

The siK'cimens in tlie British Museum var\- in length
from 19 to 103 inches ; and the skulls show that they grow
to a larger size.

Croi-odihis ^laciJifHS from Guatemala, C. Itwyamis from
Columbia, and C. mej-icanus, Bocourt, Nouv. Arch. Mus. iv.
(with two plates of animal and skull), are probably only
varieties of this species.

Var. with two additional small cervical scutella behind
the others.
Crocodilus americanus. var ?, Crraij, Cat. Tort. 4' Croc. B. M.

p. 00.
Crocodilus acutus, var., A. Dum. Cat. Rept. p. 2S ; Arch, du

Mas. vi. p. 256.
Molinia americaua, var., Grai/. Ann. 4' ^I'lrj. Nat. Hist. x.

p. 272; Trans. Zuol. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 151.

Hab. AVest coast of America {Belcher) ; Mexico ( Warwiclc).

Cuvier, in his ' Essay,' gives the history of this species
under the name of " Le Crocodile a museau effile, ou de
Saint-Domingue (Crocodilus acutus, nob.)," Oss. Foss. v.
p. 45S, and figures the skull at t. 1. f. 3 & 14, and the nu-
chal shield at t. 2. f. 5.

Professor Briihl described and figured the skeleton of
this species in his work. There is the skeleton of a well-
grown specimen in the British Museum, and several skulls.
The central prominence of the hinder part of the muzzle is
sometimes much less developed than in the typical skulls.

** Face very slender. Dorsal plates nearly uniform. Nasal
bones not produced qidie to the nostrils. Temsacus.

2. MoUnia intermedia. (Orinoco Crocodile.)
(Fig. 9.)

Dorsal plates in sis rows, all slightly and nearly equally

elevated : the keels of tlio two vertebral series rather liirger
than the othcr.s, ipKulrilati'ral, rather broader than long ;
the lateral ones oval, with five or six large plates forming
an iiiterniiiled line ou tlie sides.

Crocodilus intcnncdius, Graves, Ann. Sci. Phys. ii. p. 344.

Gray, Syn. p. 59.
Crocodilus Journei, Bory, Diet, d'llist. Nat. v. p. 3.
])um. 4' Bihr. Erp. Gin. iii. p. 129.
A. Dtimcril, Arch, du Museum, x. p. 172, t. 14. f. 3

(head).
Jlu.vlfy, Priic. Linn. tSoc. iv. p. 11.
(Iroeodile de rOreno(iue, Parzudali, MS.
Mecistops Journei (part.). Gray, Cat. Tort. Sf Croc. B. M.

p. 58 (from Bory).
Molinia intermedia, Graif, Ann. 4' May. Nat. Hist. ser. 3,
vol. X. p. 272 ; Trans'. Zool. Soc. 1SG9, vi. p. 151, pi. 32.
tigs. 4-6.
?'.' ileeistops bathyrhynchus, Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philadelphia, 1S60, xii. p. 550 (skull).

Hab. America: Orinoco.

There is a young specimen in spirits in the British Mu-
seum, sent by M. Brandt, of Hamburg, as Crocodilus acutus,
and an adult skull, 20 inches long, received from Paris as
Crocodile de I'Orenoque, and a second very large skull pur-
chased in London.

In my Catalogue of Tortoises and Crocodiles in the
British-Museum collection, from aU 1 could then learn,
I was induced to believe that the Crocodilus intermedius
of Graves was the same as the Crocodilus Schlegelii of
Borneo, and I therefore called the Bornean animal Me-
cistops Journei. M. Dumeril, in his paper in the ' Archives
du Museum,' not seeing the mistake, says that I refer
the true Crocodilus intermedius to the genus Mecistops,
and suggests that the Crocodilus acutus ought also to
belong to it.

M. Auguste Dumeril, for the purpose of comparing
the head of this Crocodile with that of Crocodilus lepto-
rhynchus of West Africa, gave a figure of the head and
front part of the back of the Crocodile de Journee (Archives
du Museum, x. p. 173, t. 14. f. 3) ; but it does not appear
whether it is from a specimen, or only an enlarged
copy of the figure of M. Bory de St.-Vincent. If the
latter, it is so embellished that one is unable to discover
its origin.

Mr. Cope states that I have identified his Mecistops hra-
cJiyrhynchus with the " C. intermedius of Graves ;" with the
limited published materials as a basis he has reached a dif-
ferent conclusion. (Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad.
1865, p. 185.)

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD IIEI'TILES.

Fi:?. 1'^.

Fi";. 12.

Fis. 11.

Fig. 13.

Halcrosia nigra, young. Head and cerrieal and nuchal plates.

II. Nape with a broad flat-topped shield formed of two
or three pairs of keded plates, strongly keeled on each
side, and nearly continuous with the dorsal shield.
Legs fringed. Toes webbed. Abnormal Crocodiles.
A. Face broad ; nasal bone produced into the nostril. AUi-
gatoroid Crocodiles.

6. HALCROSIA.
The premaxillary suture transverse, rather convex back-
wards. Nasal bones produced beyond the intermaxillary,
and forming a bony septum between the nostrils. The
palatine bone produced to the same level as the lateral
opening — that is, to the lateral inflection of the skuU. The
face oblong, broad, without any ridge in front of the orbit.
Eyelids with two bony plates. Nuchal plates four, in a
cross row, strongly keeled. Dorsal plates in four scries ;
the central broad, slightly keeled ; the outer narrow, di-
stinctly keeled ; sides with largo convex scales.
Halcrosia, Gray, Ann. Sf Mag. Nat. Hist. 3rd series, x.

p. 273 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 152.
Osteolsemus, Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. sii. p. 550.
Prof. LiUjeborg has described an Halcrosia Afselii from a
specimen in the Swedish Museum, sent by Afzelius from

Sierra Leone (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 715) ; but it appears
to be only a slight variety of Halcrosia nigra.

Mr. Cope claims priority for the genus Osteolmnus, and
states that his 0. tetraspis should not be identified with
Halcrosia nigra (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 1867, p. 200) ; but
it appears to be only a slight variety.

Halcrosia has the square head and elongated cervical
shield formed of single pairs of scuteUa, and the bony eyelids
of the Alligators with bony eyelids ; but it is a Crocodile, and
there are two bones in the eyelid instead of one as in
Caiman p>alpchrosus.

The skull of the Alligator palpebrosus is easily known
from that of this species, even in the young, by the cheeks
of the former being flattened and nearly erect, and of the
latter spread out, and in the supratemporal fossa; being
open, while in the AUigator they are closed even in the
young specimens. Most probably it was from an exami-
nation of a skull of this CrocodUe that the statement has
arisen that in some Alligators the canine teeth sometimes
fit into a notch in the upper jaw, and not into a pit as they
normally do in that genus. I wiU not undertake to say
that such an abnormal state does not exist in the genus
Alligator ; but I have not observed it.

I) 2

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

1. Halcrosia nigra. (Rlnck Africnn Crocodile.)

(Figs. 10-i;J.)

Krokodile noir du Nijrer, Adanson, MS., Miis. P<u-is (see

C'miVr. O.ts. Fuss. iii. p. 41).
African Ulaok Crocodile. Ortii/, li<-p. Brit. A.'ss. 1862, Sect.

J.. 107.
CrvKodilus nigcr, lAttr. Jfist. Nitl. Rept. i. p. ■■>!<' (.from

v4i/n»i.<r>H).
Crocodilus iwli>obrosus, var. 2, Ciivia; O.w. Foss. iii. p. 41,

t. 2. f. (> (part.).
Crocoililus trigoiintus (part.), Ciivit'r, Oss. /•().•>•.«. iii. p. (''•).
Osteohvmus tetraspis. Cope, Proc. Acad. Sdt. Sci. Philml.

xii. p. "loO.
Crocodilus frontutu.'s, A. Mwra,/. P. Z. S. 1862, pp. 139,

213, tisr. head, t. 29, by Ford.

Striiiicli, Si/n. Croc. t. 1 (head, younp;).
Hnlcrosia frontata, Gnii/, Ann. ij- Mag. Nat. Hist. 3rd ser.

X. p. 277.
Halcrosia ni<ji-n, Gra;/. Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p, 153,
Halcrosia Alzelii, LiUjehonj, P. Z. S. 1867, p. 715.

Hab. West Africa : Senegal {Adauson) ; Gaboon ; Old
Calabar; Ogobai River (Cope).

Black, slightly mottled with pale whitish. Head pale
olive, black-dotted; sides of lower jaw black-banded ; muzzle
broad, oblong, trigonal, rather dilated on the sides ; fore-
head high, broad, flat, with a small tubercle at the front
angle of the orbit. Xuchal shields strongly keeled, two in
a cross line in two gronps. Cervical shields six, in three
pairs, all close together ; the two anterior pairs of equal
size, large, strongly keeled, and bent in on the outer sides;
the hinder pairs much smaller. The vertebral series of
dorsal shields broad, square, scarcely keeled, with one, and
in the front of the back two rows of oval, elongated, keeled
shields on the side of them, and a few isolated, scattered,
compressed, high, tubercular-like small ovate shields on
the sides of the body. Shields of the upper arm oblong,
trigonal, keeled, in six oblique cross series. The lines of
the upper jaw sinuous, three-parted ; the front with five,
the second with seven, and the hinder with five teeth.

The largest specimen I have seen is in the Free Museum
at Liverpool, and is nearly five feet long ; but I have no doubt
it grows larger. The muzzle of this specimen from the tip
of the nose to the orbit is 3| inches, its width in front of
the orbit 2i inches, and at the notch of the canine teeth
1 h inch. The eyelid is obliquely divided fiom the front of
the orbit to the back of the eye.

Tlie Black African Crocodiles appear to be a common
species on the west coast of Africa ; for they are often
brought to the port of Liverpool by the palm-oil ships, and
frequently in a living state : indeed I am informed that
there were some lately alive in the Society's Gardens in
the Regent's Park.

ilr. Andrew Murray, at my recommendation, has de-
scribed it in the ' Proceedings ' of the Society as a now
species of Crocodile under the name of C. frontatus ; for at
that instant it did not occur to me that it might be the
Black CroeodUe of .Vdanson, noticed as an Alligator. It
is to bo observed that, although they liave specimens of this
Crocodile in the Paris Museum in such abundance as to
part with the skeleton of it as a duplicate, it is not in-
cluded as Alligator j}al2)elrosiis, or under any name, in M.
Aviguste Pumeril's List of the Rejitiles of West Africa,
printed in th(^ last volume of the ' Archives du Museum '
of Paris.

This Crocodile has very much the external appearance
of the Caiman with bony eyelids, Crocodilus pa}2^ehrosus,
Cuncr ; and I think it very likely that Cuvier mistook a
specimen of it in the Paris Museum, which Adanson had
marked vnih. his own hand " Krokodile noir du Niger," for
a specimen of that species (see Cuvier, Oss. Foss. iii.
p. 41); and it is still confounded with that species by
the French naturalists : for there is a specimen in the
British Museum, lately sent from M. Braconier, of the
French Museum, under the name oi Caiman d paupieres
osseiises.

Adanson, in his ' Voyage to Senegal,' at p. 10, mentions
the occurrence of Crocodiles, and at p. 73 a second kind of
Crocodile, which is as large as the other, and distinguished
by the black colour and by the jaws being much more
elongated. It is more carnivorous, and said to be fond of
human flesh.

Cuvier, in his essay on the species of existing Crocodiles,
first published in the KJth volume of the ' Annales du
Museum," and reprinted in his ' Ossemens Fossiles,' under
the head of Le Caiman a paupieres osseuses {Crocodilus
palpehrosus, nob.), after dividing this species into two
varieties, expressed a doiibt if they were not inhabitants
of different continents. He observes, " One of my indivi-
duals, which has been for many years in the museum, has
on it the half-effaced name of Krokodile noir du Niger in
the handwriting of Adanson," — and proceeds thus : — " This
naturalist, in his ' Voyage,' speaks of two Crocodiles in the
Senegal. M. de Beauvois adds that he saw at Guinea a
Crocodile and a Caiman. It is therefore clear that there
is a species with the form of a Caiman that inhabits Africa.

" There remains still an embarrassment. Adanson says
his Black Crocodile has the muzzle longer than the Green,
which is certainly the same as the Crocodile of the Nile ;
but we have a specimen ticketed by his own hand which
has a much shorter muzzle than that from Egypt.

" Has Adanson made a mistake in writing this phrase ?

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

or has he erroneously ticketed the specimen ? How arc
we to disentangle these errors?" &c. (vol. v. p. 41).

Dumeril & Bibron, in their ' Erpetologie Gcncrale ' (vol.
iii. p. 75), adopt and repeat all that Cuvier has said, and
still doubt if these two varieties may not be found, the one
in America, the other in Africa.

If Cuvier and his successors had examined the two spe-
cimens on which they founded the account of his second
variety of C. j'^^J^e^'fostis, they would have found that they
were not only distinct species, but also species belonging
to two genera or subgenera. The one which had served as
the model for Scba, and which Seba, with the usual in-
attention to true habitats at that period, said came from
Ceylon, was a true AlUijator and a native of America ; and
the other, ticketed by Adanson as from the Niger, was
really a Crocodile from Africa : so that the sarcastic obser-
vation which he made on travellers, and which may in
some cases be true, was in this instance uncalled for, the
traveller being in fact more accurate than the cabinet
naturalist ; and Adanson only made a slip of the pen in
saj-ing that the beak was hnrjer instead of sJiorler than the
common Green Crocodile ; and any one who compares the
Black Crocodile of Africa with an American Caiman vriU
not think 31. Beauvois was very much out when he called
it a " Caiman."

Cuvier, in his Essay, when describing C'rocodllus biscuta-
tus, established on the Gcivial du Senega! of Adanson, again
refers to the Crocodile noir of that author. He states that
among the drawings of Adanson there is a figure of a C'ro-
codllus vuhjaris named Crocodile noir, and a Caiman a
paiipiires osscuses inscribed the Crocodile vert. This must
evidently have been an inadvertence, like the length of the
nose ; but, as Cuvier observed, this is pardonable, as Adanson
most probably named these drawings after he had forgotten
them, and had been studj-ing other things, long after his
voyage, which occupied some of the first years of his
youth. (See Cuvier, Oss. Foss. iii. p. 53.)

A Caiman, in some of its characters, but which is never-
theless a true Crocodile, with the canines fitting into a
notch and not into a pit in the upper jaw, is, there cannot
be a doubt, the Crocodile that Adanson referred to ; for it
agrees with his description in its colour and in its fcTocious
habits. And further, that it is the Crocodile that the
French naturahsts refer to, is i^roved by the fact, already
recorded, that we have received from one of the persons
employed by M. DumerO. at the Paris Museum a skeleton
of a young specimen of the Black CrocodQe of West Africa
as the skeleton of the American Alligator palpehrosus of
Cuvier.

Dr. Strauch refuses to believe that " Le CrocodUe noir '"
of Adanson is the Crocod iltts frontatus, which is universally
known as the Black Crocodile in West Africa, where Cro-
codilus cataphractus is called a Gavial (see Zool. Rec.
1866, p. 122). He afterwards gives in detail the reasons
why he refers Adanson's " Crocodile noir " to C. cutaphrac-
^tts and not to C. fro7itatus,a.nd states that Adanson's " Ga-
vial du Senegal," which is the C hiscutat'iis, Cuvier, is in
fact an American species and identical with C. aciUiis
(BuU. Ac. Sc. St. Petersb. xiii. p. 51, or Melang. Biol,
vi. p. C22 ; Zool. Rec. 1868, p. 120). These observations
are a good example of the mistakes an industrious compUer
may fall into. Ho forgets that Adanson wrote in Senegal
about Senegal animals, and was not likely to describe or
figure an American species. The best way to explain his
descriptions is to compare them with West-African speci-
mens, and with the names given to them by the inha-
bitants.

B. Face very long, slender ; nasal not reaching to the
nostril. Gavialoid Crocodiles.

7. MECISTOPS.

Face subcylindrical, scarcely dilated in the middle ; orbits
simple. Nuchal shields numerous, small, in two cross
series. Cervical disk narrow, containing two or three
pairs of plates. Dorsal plates small, all keeled, in six
longitudinal scries, lateral one narrowest. Intermaxil-
lary produced behind, and embracing the front end of the
nasal.

Mecistops, Gray, Ana. 4' J/cw/. Nat. Hist. 3rd series, x.
p. 273 ; Cat.^ Tort. 4' Croc. ' B. M. p. 58 : Trans. Zool.
Soc. 1809, vi. p. 156.

Huxley, Froc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 15, 1859.

This genus has some resemblance to the Gavials ; but the
structure of the skull and the position of the teeth are those
of a true Crocodile.

Professor Owen observes, " There is, however, a very
close resemblance in the elongate, slender pi'oportinn of the
skull, and the elongated festooned border of the jaws,
between this species and the Crocodilus Schlegelii from
Borneo." — Loc, cit. p. 158. The Crocodilus Schlegelii is a
Gavial.

Dr. Falconer observes, " The nasal bones (in Mecistops)
are extremely narrow and attenuated ; but, as in the true
Crocodiles, they descend between the maxillaries so as to
project into a notch between the intermasiUaries. The

CATALOGUE OF SIllKI.D UEPTILKS.

Fis. 14.

FiR. Ki.

Fisr. 15.

Fig. 17.

t«t*'^

Mecisiojis cataphractm, young. Head and nuchal and cervical shields

same holds good in C. Schle^jelii, where, as with the Gavials,
the nasal terminates a short way in front of the orbits, and
does not enter into the formation of the anterior portion of
the beak " (p. 363). " This character is a good diagnostic
mark between the Crocodile proper and the Gavial, sepa-
rating C. Schfeffflii from the latter genus, under which
MiiUer ranged it " (p. 363).

Dr. Balfour Baikie states, " In all essentials the skuU of
the Mecistops shows it to be properly classed as a member
of the family CrocodLlidoe rather than the GaviaUdae. The
teeth are irregular, the sides of the jaw not parallel ; there
is a distinct swelling opposite the ninth remaining upper
molar, and the lower canines are received into notches in
the upper jaw."— P. Z. S. 1857, p. 58.

1. Mecistops cataphractas. (^African False Gavial.)
(Figs. 14-17.)

Crocodilus biscutatus, Cuvier, Oss. Foss. iii. pp. 52, 65, t. 5

(very young).
Crocodilus bisulcatuS; Bory, Diet. Class. H. N. v. p. 108

(misprint).
Crocodilus cataphractus (Crocodile a nuque cuirassee),
Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. t. 5. f. 1. 2 [copied, A. Dimi. Arch.
du Mus. X. t. 14. fig. 2].

Dura. 4' Bihr. E. G. iii. p. 126 (young).
Bennett, Proc. Zoo?. Soc. 1834, p. 110.
Owen, Cat. Osteal. Spec. Mus. Coll. Sury. p. 155. n. 710
(Cuvier's type).
The Crocodile, Bowdieh, Madeira, p. 232.

Crocodilus leptorhynchus, Bennett, P. Z. S. 1835, p. 129.
A. Dum. Arch, du Mus. x. p. 252, & i. p. 171, t. 14.
f. 1.
Mecistops cataphractus, Grai/, Cat. B. M. p. 58 ; Trans.

Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 157.
Mecistops Bennettii, Gray, Cat. B. M. p. .57.
Gavial of Senegal, Gray, Hep. Brit. Assoc. 1862, Sect. p. 107.
Mecistops, Balfour Baikie, P. Z. S. 1857, p. 58.

Hab. West and Central Africa : ? Fernando Po (Benne^) ;
Gaboon, Lagos. Central Africa, river Binue (Baikie).

The species has been described from small young speci-
mens. It grows to a large size. There is an imperfect
specimen which is scarcely adult, in the British Museum,
that was sent from Fernando Po by Capt. R. F. Burton,
which must have been 13 or 14 feet long. Unfortunately
it wants the head ; the body is 5 feet, and the tail 8^ feet
long.

The specimen originally sent by Mr. Bennett was said
to have come from Fernando Po ; but Dr. Balfour Baikie
observes that Fernando Po is a small volcanic island, totally
without the muddy rivers delighted in by Crocodiles, and
possessing nothing but streams (which during the rainy
season are tumultuous mountain-torrents) with rocky beds.
—P. Z. S. 1857, p. 5.S.

Most probably Mr. Bennett's specimen came from the
coast, and was only received through agents at Fernando Po.

Cuvier, in his essay, described, under the name of Croco-

GAT.iLOGUE OF SHIELD EEPTILES.

diJiis bisciiffitus, and figured the nuchal shields at t. 2. f. G,
a species of Crocodile founded on a specimen in the French
Museum which is lahelled in Adanson's handwriting
" Gavial da SetieyaJ,'' and also on a verj' mutilated stuffed
specimen which Cuvier found in the Museum of the Aca-
demy of Sciences at Paris (see Oss. Foss. v. pp. 53, 65, t. 2.
f. 6). He observes, " The colour of these specimens is
scarcely darker than that of the common Crocodile ; there-
fore it cannot be the Black Crocodile of Adunson." And
he further specially remarks that " the jaws are a little
longer and narrower than those of C. vulr/aris, but not so
long and slender as those of C actdus." It resembles the
latter in the dorsal shield of the vertebral line being only
slightly keeled ; but its peculiar character is that the mid-
dle of its nape is armed with two large pyramidal shields,
and with two smaller ones in front of them.

This Crocodile has been a paradox until this time.
MM. Dumcril and Bibron regarded this mutilated specimen
as only a specimen of the American Crocodile (C ameri-
canus) with an anomalous development of the cervical and
nuchal shields, observing that the specimens of this species
are liable to variation in this respect ; but yet they do not
describe any as exactly resembling Cuvier's description or
figure.

It does not appear that the specimen labelled by Adan-
son came under the examination of these naturalists ; at
least I cannot find any reference to it in their work.
Cuvier, unfortunately, does not state its size ; but I have
a strong opinion that it must have been a very young spe-
cimen oi Mecisto2^s catriphractus, before its elongated jaws
were developed, and that the name of Gavial du Sener/al
was very applicable to it. The back is grooved by the
flatness of the vertebral series of shields, as described by
Cuvier, and as is characteristic of the American Crocodile
(C. a«(<«s)with which MM.Dumeril and Bibron compared
it. But this is a ijuestion which can only be solved by
the examination of the original specimens.

Cuvier, in his Essay (vol. v. p. .58), observes, '• When
in England in 1818, 1 saw at the Museum of the College
of Surgeons a dried specimen of a Crocodile." This he
describes and figures under the name of " Crocodile a nuque
cuirassee" {Crocodilus cataphractus, nob.).

In 1834 Mr. Edward Turner Bennett (P. Z. S. ii. p. 10)
gave a notice of a specimen of Croeodilus mtaphractus of
Cuvier being aUve in the gardens of the Zoological Society.
At the Meeting of the Society on the' 22nd September,
1835 (P. Z. S. iii. p. 129), after the animal had died, on
more close examination he described this animal as a new
species, under the name of Croeodilus leptorhynchus ;

and Mr. Martin added some notes on its internal
anatomy.

It is to be observed that Mr. Bennett and I were misled
on this occasion by the erroneous breadth given to the
animal in the figure published by Cuvier ; for he speaks of
the length of the head being to its breadth as 3 to 1, in-
stead of 2| to 1.

In the Catalogue of the Tortoises, Crocodiles, and
Amphibians in the Collection of the British Museum,
published in 1844, I formed a genus under the name of
Mecistops for this animal, and for the first time described
a full-grown specimen of it, which we had received from
the Gambia as Mecistops Bennettii; for M. lleiidal con-
sidered it distinct from Cu'S'ier's animal, but observed that
they might be varieties. This might aU have been avoided
if we could have seen the original specimen ; but when I
inquired for it, it could not be found.

The specimen described and figured by Cuvier is fortu-
nately now to be seen in the Museum of the College of
Surgeons, referred to under No. 710 in the Catalogue of
Osteological Specimens in that collection. It is a young
dried specimen of the Crocodile which is now so frequently
brought from the west coast of Africa ; and it affords no
ground for the supposition of M. Dumeril, expressed in his
paper " On the IleptUes of Western Africa " (Arch, du
Mus. V. p. 252), that these may be distinct species ; and it
shows that the figure of Cuvier, though characteristic, is
not very carefully drawn, and that any difterence that may
appear results from want of accuracy in the figure, and is
not to be found in the animal itself, — supj^orting the opinion
that I expressed in my paper in the ' Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist.' ser. 3, x. p. 274.

M. Atiguste Dumeril, in his paper " On the Reptiles of
Western Africa" (Archiv du Mus. x. p. 271), gives a good
figure of a half-grown specimen of this species under the
name of Croeodilus leptorhynchus, t. 14, aud places by the
side of it a tracing of Cuvier's figure of Croeodilus cata-
phractus to show that they cannot be alike; but the com-
parison of the specimens on which these species were
founded shows how much better it is to refer to nature
than to depend on figures and descriptions, which are liable
to the imperfection attending human observation and record.

Dr. Falconer, in the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural
History ' for 1 846 (xviii. p. 362, t. 6), described and figured
a skuU of this species under Cuvier's name, which was in
the Belfast Museum, and said to have been sent from
Sierra Leone. "

Dr. Balfour Baikie described the skull of a specimen
from the river Binue ^see P. Z. S. 1857, p. 58).

('AT.VIA)UUK OF .SHIELD llEl'TILES.

Fam. ITT. ALLIGATORID^.

Tlu' upper and olovoiitli lowor tot'th loiigor, like cmiines,
the ciiuiues of the lower juw titting iuto holes or pcrfoni-
tions on the edge of tlio upper jaw.

AUiiratoridw, Orai/, Cat. Tort. ijv. B. M. ]). 50, 1844 ; Trans.
Zool. ifoc. 18{i!i, vi. p. Kit).

Hu.vlty, Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 3.
Alligator, C'lii'iVc.

(Jnii/, Ann. Phil. x. p. 195.

Teeth strong, uneipial, the hinder ones differ in shape
from the iiuterior. The front pair of mandibular teeth
iuid the fourth pair (canines) ai-e received into pits on the
edge of the pnvmaxilla and maxillai. The mandibular
teeth behind these pass inside and not between the maxil-
lary teeth. The premaxillo-maxiUary suttu-e on the palate
is straight or convex forwards. The symphysis of the
lower jaw is short.

SpLx, in his work on Brazilian Lizards, gives very good
figures of the Alligators, with the colours well marked.
The memoir on South-American Alligators by Natterer
contains ver)- accurate and detailed figures of the head and
the neck-shield of the different species. He has figured
some varieties or species verj- nearly allied to those here
noticed, which have not come under my observation.

Spix divided the Alligators into two genera : — Jacaretinga,
with acute nose (1. /. mosehifer, t. l = Caiman palpehro-
■ius, p. IGI ; 2. J. puiictulatus, t. 2=:Jacare punctulata,
p. 159) ; and Caiman or Jacare, with blunt nose (including
1. C. niger, t. A=Jacare nigra, p. 167; 2. C.Jtssipes=
Jacare laiirostris, p. 167).

His figures are very good representations of the species
— indeed the best known.

MM. Dumeril and Bibron admit the three species de-
scribed and figured by Spix, thus : —

1. A. schrops, p. 74 (Caiman noir, Spix, Bras. t. 4). —
Head elongate, flattened ; a ridge in front of each eye ;
upper eyelid Jiiielg striated. ]!\^ape with two rows of small,
oval, compressed scales. Back with two central longitu-
dinal ridges ; the three last cross bands of six keeled scales.
Black, yellow-banded. I have no specimen agreeing with
the account of the nuchal scales and the eyelid of A. scUrop>s :
according to Spis the dorsal scales are elongate.

2. A. cijnocqyJialus, p. 86 (Caiman Ji.ssi2}es, Spix, Bras,
t. 3). — Head short, broad, thick ; a ridge in front of each
eye; the upper eyelid rugose. Nape with tivo rows of large,
square, keeled shields. Back scale keeled, the last three
cross bands of four scales. Sides with some strongly keeled
scales. Back green, black-dotted.

3. A. jnoictuhitiis, ]). i)1 (Spix, Bras. t. 2). — Head elon-
gate ; nose llattened, whh a rounded point in front, with-
out any preocular ridges ; upper eyelid rugose. Nape with
two rows of shields. Back flat, scarcely keeled. Sides
with some larger scales. Yellow, black-dotted.

John Natterer, in his ' Boitrag zu den siid-amerika-
nischen jUligatoren,' edited by Fitzingcr, describes eight
species of the genus Champsa : five have partly bony eye-
lids, and three have them entirely bony. The five former
belong to the genus under consideration.

The preorbital ridge distinct ; beak broad, with three
lateral fovcolaj ; eyelid striated ; beak broad and blunt :
C. nigra, t. 21.

The nuchal scutella many, in three series : C. fissipes,
t. 22.

The nuchal scutella many, in two series : C. sclerops, t. 23.

The preorbital ridge evanescent ; beak without lateral
foveoloe ; eyelids rugose ; the frontal ridge flexuous, bent
in front : C. vallifrons, t. 24.

The frontal ridge arched, bent back : C.punctulata, t. 25.

M. Natterer gives the following proportional measure-
ments of the heads ; —

Width of Width of Width of

Length of
head.

Width of
head.

crown
before.

crown
behind.

beak above
8th tooth.

in. 1.
Champsa nigra. 16

in. 1.
8

in. 1.
3 6

in. 1.
4 9

in. 1.
5 1

Jissipcs . . 10 3

C 5

2 7

3 5

sclerops . . 6 G

5 8

2 8

3 3

3,3

vallifrons . 7 10

4 G

2 9

2 3

puncitdata 10 5

.5 4

2 5

3 2

2 5

The figures of the heads of the last two species differ
from that of C. sclerops chiefly in the nose being narrower
(C. punctidata being the narrowest and very slender), nar-
rower than in any specimen that has come under my
observation ; the lower jaws in the figure also differ in shape,
that of C. vallifrons being the most slender. Dr. Strauch,
who had M. Natterer's specimens to examine, regards the
two latter as the same S23ecies, but distinct from sderops.

SnfOPsrs of the Genera.

I. The ventral scutella like the dorsal ones, bony and artietdected
toyether, forming a shield. The eyelids with an internal
bony plate. The cervical sndelta in pairs, foryning an elon-
yated shield. Nasal bone short. Tropical America.

1. Jacare. The orbits united by a bony cross ridge. Eyelids

partly striated or rugose.

2. Caiman. The orbits not united by a cross ridge. Eyelids

bony, entu'ely smooth.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

IL The ventral snitella thin; the dorsal seutcHa bony, not articu-
lated together. The eyelids Jleshy, smooth. The cervical
scutclla in pairs, separate. Nasal bone clonyate, separating
the ?wstrils. North America.

3. Alligator. The face broad, depressed.

Section I. The ventral scutclla lihe the dorsal ones, bony and
articulated together, forming a shield. The eyelids
with f'w internal bony plate. Tlie cervical seutella in
pairs, forming an elongated shield. Nasal bone short.
Tropical America.

1. JACARE.

Head moderately high, shelving on the sides. Orbits
united by a distinct bony cross ridge. Eyelids striated or
rugose, strengthened by a small internal bone. The cer-
vical seutella four or five pairs, forming a shield ; the dor-
sal and ventral seutella both consolidated together, forming
a dorsal and ventral shield ; the gular and ventral plates
smooth.

Jacaro, Gray, Cat. Tort. ^ Croc. B. M. p. 64, 1844 ; Ann.

Sf Mar/. Nat. Hist. 3rd ser. x. p. 327, 1862 ; Trans. Zool.

Soc. 1869, vi. p. 162.

Huxley, Proc. Linn. Soc. 1859, p. 4.
Jacaretinga, Spi.v, Lacert.
Pelosuohus, Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 1868, p. 203.

The pits in the maxilla are the cavities left by the pre-
orbital ridges as they advance. The intermaxillary bone
short, truncated behind, with an elongate-oval or lanceo-
late cavity between this and the front of the palate.

The figures of batterer are excellent to general appear-
ance, but they do not agree with the measurements of our
specimen ; that is to say, the nose of Champsa Jissipes, from
the ridge, is about the same length as the forehead ; but in
his figure it is represented as larger, and it is so in all the
other figures : perhaps this is to allow for the perspective.

A. Head elongate ; interorhifal ridges strong. Dorsal seu-
tella elongate, keeled ; heels of vertebral series highest.
Lumbar seutella in six longitudinal series ; nuchal seu-
tella small, compressed. Eyelids striated, with a raiJier
large interned bone. Bach blach, varied with yellow.

Melanosuchus, Gray, Ann. Sf Mag. Nat. Hist. x. p. 328.

1. Jacare nigra. (Black Jacare.)

Crocodilus sclerops, Schn. Amph. p. 162.

Blainv. Osteogr. Croc. t. 3. f. 2, t. 4. f. 13.
Crocodilus yakarc, Baud.

Alligator sclerops, Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. p. 35, t. 1. f. 6 & 7,

t. 2. f 3.

' Briihl, Sl-elet. Krohod. t. 12. f. 3, 5, 6, 7, t. 19. f. 21.
Alligator sclerops, var.. Gray, Syn. Kept.
Caiman niger, Spix, Bras. t. 4 (good).
Champsa nigra, Nafterer, Beitr. t. 21 (good).
Alligator niger, Otven, Cat. Osteal. Spec. Mus, Coll. Surg.

p. 704. n. 16G (adult).
Jacare nigra, Gray, Cat. Tort. Sf Croc. p. 65 ; Ann. Sf Mag.

Nat. Hist. X. pi 328, 1862 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi.

p. 163.

Hab. Para, 13 feet long (Graliam) ; Guiana (Owen).

I think it better to adopt Spix's name, as sclerops has
been used for all the species.

B. Head short J orbits with diverging rihs in front to edge
of jaw. Dorsal scutclla broad, slightly keeled, equal ;
the hmibar seutella in four longitudinal series ; nuchal
seutella distinct, in two cross series. Eyelids rugose,
with a small internal bone. Back olive, banded with
brown.

Cynosuchus, Gray, Ann. cf- Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862, x. p. 328.

In many of the specimens the first scale of the nuchal
shield has two keels, in others only one ; but in several
specimens the scale has two keels on one side and only one
on the other.

a. Head short, broad, depressed, with very distinct preor-
bital ridges to the edge of the jaw. Cervical disk short,
broad, formed of four bands of seutella. Sides ofjaivs
pale, with a series of dark S2)ots.

2. Jacare latirostris. (Dog-headed Jacare.) B.M.

Dorsal shields in eight longitudinal series, four on each
side. Ventral shields in twelve series.

Crocodilus latirostris andC. yacare, Daud. Rcpt. ii. pp. 407,

417.
Caiman fissipes, Spix, Bras. t. 3 (good).
Champsa fissipes, Wagner, Icon. t. 17.

Natterer, Beitr. t. 22 (good).
Crocodilus sclerops, Wied. Abbild. t.

Blainv. Osteogr. Crocod. t. 3. f. 2, t. 4. f. 13.

Schinz, llept. t. 112.
Jacare fissipes. Gray, Cat. Tortoises B. M. p. 64.
Alligator sclerops, Pr. Max. Ahhild. t.
Alligator cynocephalus, Bum. i( Bihr. Erp. Gen. ii. p. 86.
Alligator latirostris, Uensel, Wiegm. Arch. 1868, p. 348.

2«

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD llEPTILES.

Jocaro linirostris, Onii/, Ann. xS' Mni/. Nat. Hist. 1802, x.
J). ;{:JS : Titing. Zool. Soc. 1S()!), vi. p. 1(>3.

Hah. Bnusil, Pernambuco (./. P. O. Smith); Suriimni.

The noso of the young spocimen is iis long ns the width
at the eighth tooth. The noso from the ridges nearly as
long ns the back of the head; width of tlie muzzle at the
notch one-half the length of the head.

Var. 1 (three young in spirit). Head short ; sides of face
pale, with a dark spot under each ear and another larger
under each eye. The lower jaw pale; five round spots on
each side, the middle one, under the eyes, the largest.
Beak black, with interrupted or irregular pale brown cross
bars.

Hah. Pernambuco (/. P. G. Smith).

The smaller specimen is peculiar for the very small size
of the ventral shield in fi'ont of the veut. The spots on
the side of the face and lower jaw are to be seen in the
older specimens when they are between 3 and 4 feet long.

Var. 2. Head rather larger and narrower. The nose
from the ridge rather longer than the back of the head ;
width of the notch two-fifths the length of the head.
Cheek and side of the lower jaw with five large black
spots. Ventral shields in twelve series. Dorsal shields
four.

Hah. South America ; Lake of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

3. Jacare nmltiscutata. (Brazilian Jacare.) B.M.

With sixteen series of ventral shields ; hinder ventral
shields very narrow ; dorsal shields in ten longitudinal
series, five on each side.

Hah. Brasdl.

A skin in the British Museum (46. 7. 10. 41).

b. Head ehngate, lorujer than the width at the eighth tooth,
with none or only indistinct evanescent ridges from the
front of the orbit. Cervical disk oblong, elongate, of
five series of scutella.

* Face depressed, broad; sides ofthejaivs with a series of
large coloured spots.

4. Jacare longiscutata. (Long-shielded Jacare.) B.M.

Dorsal scutella elongate, longer than broad, uniformly

keeled, in ten longitudinal series on the middle of the body ;

ventral scutoUa elongate, in fourteen or sixteen longitudinal
series ; sides of the jaws pale, with five or six band-like
spots ; the inner pairs of tho first and second series of cer-
vical scutella largo and equal-sized.

Jacare longiscutata, Gratj, Aim. ij- Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862,
X. p. 328 : Trans. Zool. Soc. 1860, vi. p. 164.

Hah. South America (Brit. Mus.).

This is very like the following ; but the head is rather
broader, and the dorsal and ventral shields are much larger
and more numerous.

It is known from the young of Jacare nigra by its oUve
colour, the spots on tho sides of the jaws, and the presence
of the distinct nuchal scutella.

5. Jacare ocellata. (Eyed Jacare.) B.M.

Dorsal scutella broad, uniformly keeled, in eight longi-
tudinal series in the middle of the body ; ventral scutella
in twelve longitudinal series, the hinder ones smaller, larger,
and more numerous ; the central pair of cervical scutella
in the first series smaller than those that foUow.

Jacare ocellata, Gray, Ann. 4" Mag. Nat. Hist. x. p. 329,
1862; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1869, vi. p. 164.

Hab. Lake of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Brit. Mus.).

** Face attenuated, rather high on the sides ; sides of the
jaws one-coloured.

6. Jacare pvmctulata. (Dotted-jawed Jacare.) B.M.

Back yellow, banded with brown ; the sides of the head

yellow ; upper and lower jaws yellow, one-coloured, or

minutely speckled ; sides of the neck smooth, with flat

scales : nose rather high and square.

Jacare sclerops. Gray, Cat. Tortoises B. M. p. 64.
Crocodilus sclerops, Schii. Amph. p. 162.

Citvicr, Ann. Mus. & Oss. Foss. v. t. 1. f. 6 & 7, t. 2.
f. 3.

Tiedem. Amph. p. 60, t. 5.

Guerin, Icon. t. 2. f. 2 & 10.

Gray, Syn. Rept. p. 62.

Dum. 1^ Bihr. Erp. Gin. iii. p. 79.

Burm. Gavial. 1. 1. f. 5 & 8, t. 3. f. 1 (head).
Crocodilus americanus, Laur. from Seba, t. 104. f. 10.
Crocodilus caiman, Baud. Ihpt. iii. p. 394.
Caiman (Jacaretinga) punctulatus, Spi.v, Bras. t. 2 (good).
Champsa sclerops, Wagner, Syst. t. 7. f. 1, 2, & f. 42.

Natterer, Beitr. t. 22 (heads good).
Alligator punctulatus, Dum. i|- Bibr. Erp. Gen. ii. p. 91.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

Jaoare pnnctiilata, Gran, Ann. Sf Mag. Nat. Hist. 18G2,
X. p. 329 ; Trans. Zoul. Soc. 1SG9, vi. p. 165.

Hah. Brazil (^Lr) ; Surinam ; Argentine Republic {H.

Christy).

Natterer figures two other species, under the name of
GJiampsa vaUifrons (t. 24) (Jacare valUfrons, Gray, Cat.
B. M. p. 65), and Cli. inmchdata (t. 25) {Jacare punetu-
lata, Gray, Cat. B. M. p. 65), which seem to differ from the
former in the head being narrower and more tapering. I
have seen no specimens agreeing with these figures ; but
they look very Uke varieties of the above. At the same
time some of our specimens appear to have a more at-
tenuated snout than others ; but when you apply the cal-
lipers to the nose and to the other parts of the head, the
absolute proportions of the parts are very nearly the same, j

A stuffed specimen from the Argentine Republic mea-
sures 6 feet 9 inches long ; the head from the occiput is 10|,
and the nose from the ridge 6^ inches. In another, from
the Zoological Society's Gardens, 5 feet 10 inches long, the
head from the occiput is 10 inches, the nose from the ridge
6| inches long. A series of young specimens in spirits are
pale brown ; the back and tail wth narrow brown cross
bands, those on the back sometimes broken into square
spots ; the cheek and outside of lower jaw pale yellow,
without spots ; the sides of the nuchal disk dark-coloured.

AUigator lacordairei, Frudh. de Borre, Bull. Ac. Behj.
xxviii. 1869, p. 109, t. .

Hah. British Honduras (PrvdJwmme).

From a young specimen in the Museum of Brussels, and
very difficult to determine from his figure. He considers
it nearest to AUigator (Jacaretinga) punctulatus, Spix ; but
it is too young to determine.

7. Jacare Mrticollis. (Rough -nocked Jacare.) B.M.

The scales on the sides of the neck rough, spinulose,
pale yellow ; back and tail brown, cross-barred ; cheek and
sides of the lower jaw yellow, not spotted.

Hab. Demerara (Brit. Mus.).

I may observe that, characteristic as are the figures of
Dr. Natterer's paper, none of them exactly agrees in mea-
surements with the specimens in the British Museum.

In some specimens of the Jacare the first and sometimes
even the second cervical scuteUa have two keels, in others
only one ; but this is no specific distinction ; it is not rare

to find species with two keels on one side of the neck and
only one on the other.

Mr. Cope describes the genus Perosvxhus, and thus cha-
racterizes it : " Toes 5-4, with claws 2-3 ; no osseous nasal
septum or bony eyelid; belly protected by a series of
osseous plates as well as the back."

Perosuchus fuscus, Cope (from New Granada), Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sei. Philad. 1868, p. 203.

I do not see how this differs from Jacare.

2. CAIMAN.

Head high, flattened on the sides, angulated above. (Jr-
bits without any ridges. The eyelids smooth, strengthened
with a large, single, internal bony plate. The dorsal and
ventral scutella bony, articulated together, forming a dorsal
and ventral shield; the gular and lateral ventral plates
keeled, the abdominal ones smooth ; the cervical scuteUa
four or five pairs, with sometimes one or a pair interposed
between the second and third pairs.

Skidl with the superior temporal fossae obliterated, the
circumjacent bones uniting ; the eyelid with a single large
bony plate covering the whole upper surface ; vomer not
apparent on the palate.

Caiman, Gray, Cat. Tort. 6,-c.. B. M. p. 66, 1844 ; Ami. di" •
Mug. N. H. 1862, x. p. 330 ; Trans. Zool. 8oc. 1869,
vi. p. 166.

Huxley, Proc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 3.

This genus has been divided into two species— one having
the cervical shields two, and the other four in a cross series ;
in all the latter there are two in a cross series, with one or
two interpolated between the other shields.

I have seen no specimen which agrees in the nuchal
shields with either of the figures in Cuvier, Oas. Foss.,
though our two species agree in other respects with his
figures ; and how such species with distinct organic cha-
racters could be regarded as varieties I am unable to learn.

I cannot conceive what induced M. Cuvier in his 'Essay'
to consider the two South-American Alligators mth bony
eyelids varieties ; for he justly observes, " The Crocodile of
St. Domiugo is not more distinct from the Crocodile of the
Nile than these two varieties are from each other."

In the Latin synopsis of the species, which is appended
to the paper, they are regarded as distinct, and the second
one is called C. trigonatus. Yet MM. Dumeril and Bibroii
in their work persist in following Cuvier's first idea of their
being only varieties, and in regarding Adanson's specimens

If •?.

CATAI.OIU'K OF SlUKLl) UKITILKS.

:u Itoloiiging to the svcoiul varii-ty, iiiul also iu doubting if
tlio " two viirii-tii's " arc botli fi-om Ainorion.

Tho sptvinu'ii in tlio Uritish Miisoinu pnn-cs most di-
stinctly that thorv' aro two very distinct Alligators wtli
bony ("vclids found in TropiciJ America ; which agrees well
with the chiinictor that M. Cuvier luid MM. Uuuieril and
Bibron giro to tho two \nmetios of that species ; and these
sixH-ies are, as Cuvier observes, as distinct from one another
OS C. itiiurictiniis faini C. ruhjaris. The heads of both
these sjiocios are figured by Dr. John Natteror in his
•■ Essay on .Vmerican .VUigators" in the Vienna 'Transac-
tions.' This author also figuivd a third species, which he
calls A. ffibbicfj>s, which, if it is separable from A. trigo-
niUus, must he distinguishable from it by very sliglit cha-
racters.

The lilack Crocodile (Halcrosia paJpehrosa) of West
.Vfrica has so much resemblance to this animal that Cuvier
considered Adanson's Wost-Ati-ican spcciraeu a variety of
this sjR>cies.

Dumeril and Bibron evidently considered tho African
and American animals tho same species ; and wc a short
time ago received from M. Bracouier, of the Jardin dos
Plantcs, a skeleton of the African species Halcrosia nigra
under tho name of Alligator palpebrosxis, var.

A. Head shelving on the sides. Nuchal scuiella in a single
cross series ; cervical sciitella Jive pairs; dorsal scu-
tella highly keeled, irregular, in six sei-ies; the lumbar
scuiella in two lotigitudi)uil series ; the gidar and two
outer lateral series of ventral sctdeUa heeled. The flat
upper disk at the base of the tail broad and strongly
crested.

Paleosuchus, Gray, Ann. ^ Mag. Nat. Hist. 1862, x. p. 330.

1. Caiman trigonatns. (Hough-backed Alligator.) B.M.

Crocodilus trigonatus, Schn. Amph. p. 151, vi.

Tiedemann, Amph. p. 66, t. 67.
Crocodilus palpebrosus, var. 2, Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. n 40

t. 2. f. 1. ^ '

Caiman trigonatus. Gray, Cat. Tort. ^x. B. M. p. 66 ; Ann.

if Mag. Nat. Hist. x. p. 330, 1862 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. vi.

p. 167, 1S69.
Alligator palpebrosus, Briihl, Skelet. Kroc. t. 19. f. 3.
Chami)sa trigonata, Natterer, Beitr. t. 26 (good).

Hab. Tropical America.

The largest specimen in the British Museum is rather
above 4 feet long. The young specimens have the lateral
ventral shields keeled.

B. Head flat, and erect on the sides. Nuchal scutella many,
in tivo cross series; cervical scutella three pairs ; dorsal
scutella slightly keeled; the lu7nbar scutella in four
loiigiluitinal series; the gidar, the ventral, and the
lateral abdominal scutella keeled. The flat upper disk
at the base of the tail elongate.

Aromosuchus, Gray, Ann. <Sf Mag. Nat. Hist. x. p. 330.

2. Caiman palpebrosus. (Banded Alligator.) B.M.

Brown ; tail black-banded.

Crocodilus palpebrosus, var., Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. t. 1. f. 6-

,17, aiult. 2. f. 3.
Cliampsa palpebrosa, Natterer, Beitr. t. 27 (good).
Caiman (.lacaretinga) mosehifer, IS^ii.v, Bras. t. 1 (skull).
Caiman pal])cbrosu.s. Gray, Cat. Tort. cf-c. B. M. p. 07 ; Ann.
cj- Mag. Nat. Hist, x." p. 330, 1862 ; Trans. Zool. Hoc.
186S), vi. p. 167.
Crocodilus i)alpobrosus, Ticdm. Nat. Amph. t. 6.

Bunn. Gauial. t. 1. f. 1, 2, & t. 3. f. 3 (head).
Alligator paljjcbrosus, Mcrrem, Syst. p. 35.
Gray, ISyn. liept. p. 63.

Hab. Tropical America.

Natterer figures the head of a species under the name of
C. gibbice2^s ; but I do not see how it differs from the above,
except that the head is a little higher — perhaps a sexual
distinction. Dr. Strauch regards C. gibbiceps as the same
as C. palpebrosus.

Section II. The ventral scutella thin, the dorsal scutella
bony, not articulated together. The eyelids fleshy,
smooth. The cervical scutella in pairs, separate. Nasal
bone elongate, separating the nostrils. North America.

3. ALLIGATOR.

Head depressed, broad, without any ridges in front of
tho orbit. Snout very broad, flattened and rounded at
the end, the ninth maxillary tooth the largest. The eye-
lids smooth, fleshy. The dorsal seuteUa not articulated
together, in six longitudinal series; the ventral scutella
thin ; the gular and abdominal shields smooth ; nuchal
scutella one pair, small; cervical scutella three jjairs,
hinder smallest. Nostril separated by a bony septum.
The feet webbed. Dorsal plates in six longitudinal series,
the two vertebral closer together. The sides with a short
series close to the others, sometimes reduced to only one
or two shields.

Alligator, Gray, Cat. Tort. B. M. p. 66 ; Ann. ^ Mag. Nat.
Hist. X. p. 330, 1862 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. 1S69, vi. p. 168.
Huxley, Proc. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 3.
Champsa, Wagler, Syst. Amph. p. 140.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD EEPTILES.

1. Alligator mississippiensis. (Alligator.) B.M.

Alligator, Cateshi/, Carol, t. 63.
Crocodilus mississippensis, Daud. llept. ii. p. 412.
Crocodilus lucius, Cuvier, Ann. Mus. s., and Oss. Foss. v.
t. 1. f. 8, t. 2. f. 4.

Tiedem. Ainph. p. 58, t. 4.

Merrem, Zoul. p. 34.

Oiven, Cat. Osteol. Sj^ec. Coll. Surr/. p. 165. n. 760, 761.

Bldinv. Osfeogr. Crucod. t. 2. f. 1, t. 5. f. 1.

BnM, Skck't. Krolcod. t. 8. f. 5, 6, t. U. f. 3, 1. 10. f. 3,

4, t. 11. f. 2, 3, t. 20. f.
Burm. Gavial. t. 1. f. 3, 4, & t. 3. f. 4.
Alligator mississippieasis. Gray, Cat. Tori. i^-c. B. M. p. 66 ;
Ann. Sf Mag. Nat. Hist. x. p. 331 (1862) ; Trayis. Zool.
Sac. 1869, vi. p. 168.

Haufjhton, Ann. ^- Mag. Nat. Hist. (1868) i. p. 282,
t. 10 (anat.).
Crocodilus Cuvieri, Leach, Zool. Misc. ii. p. 117, t. 102.
Alligator lucius, Merrem, Tent. p. 34.

Dum. t^ Bihr. Erp. Gen. iii. p. 75, t. 25, 26.
Alligator Cuvieri, Bory de St.- Vincent, D. C. H. N. v. p. 104.

Hah. North America, New Orleans, Texas.

Var. 1. The uose very broad and short. The largest
specimen of this variety in the British Museum is nearly
4 feet long.

Var. 2. The nose narrower and longer. The largest
specimen in the British Museum is of the same size as the
former, which is nearly 4 feet long. Are they the two
sexes ?

The young specimens in spirit have the back black,
with narrow white cross bands. The head pale brown,
black-varied. Ventral shields in oiglit or ten longitudinal
rather irregular series.

There is a very young specimen of this species in spirit,
from New Orleans, in the British Museum. It is black,
with white cross bands. The beak is short, rather slender,
with a ridge of skin in front of each eye, giving the appear-
ance of a frontal ridge.

2. Alligator helois.

" Muzzle 6| inches from end to lines connecting orbits,
5| inches wide near the middle. Two keels behind and
between the eyes, diverging posteriorly ; a short and nearly
transverse keel in front of the eyes. Upper eyelid divided
by grooves into three areas ; an elevated keel above each
ear-opening. Two oblique rows of elevated horn-like
shields on each side of the neck, of rather small size, four
in the inner, three in the outer row, the third of the
inner and second of the outer form, with two large elevated
median plates, a transverse row. Four very high, short,
keel-like postcervicals. Eight rows of dorsal shields, ex-

cepting antt-riorly, where there are six in the first cross
row, and four in the two succeeding : aU are like heads of
spikes keeled. Four rows on the tail at its middle. Lateral
caudal shields continuous, abruptly elevated like the dorsals,
subquadrate. Sides -with smaU rounded scales ; width be-
tween dorsals and ventrals equal to length of third dorsal
cross series. A large row of plates on the inner side ot
the forearm. Claws long ; no palmar webs. Abdominal
rows eleven, each plate with a thin ossification ; two or
three large plates in the thoracic cross row. End of tail
little serrate above, scarcely compressed. From end ot
muzzle to occipital 12 inches, to between femora 32 inches ;
from latter point to end of taU 50 inches : total 7 feet,
10 inches.

" Colour dark brown, with vertical yellow bars on the
sides and taU, the former very irregular. Cliin, throat,
under and upper lips yeUow, without spots."

Alligator helois. Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1865,
p. 185.

" Hab. Unknown (single specimen, Mus. Munich).

" This rugged-looking species belongs to the genus Alli-
gator as restricted by Gray, in which the prolongation of
the nasal bones separates the external nares, and there is
no cross ridge between the orbits. It approaches Jacare
in that an external portion of this cross ridge exists on
each side. The habitat is not known, as the single speci-
men I have seen preserved is without label in the Museum
of the University of Munich. Through the courtesy of
Prof. C. von Siebold, I was enabled to make the above
description."

Order RHYNCHOCEPHALIA.

Body with four limbs and elongated taQ covered with
smaU scales. Head quadrangular. Belly and underside
of tail with four-sided smooth scales, in cross series. Tail
with longitudinal ridges of compressed spines. Limbs four.
Toes 5-5. Anus transverse. Claspers none. Penis none.
" Quadrate bone suturally and immovably united with the
skull and pterygoid ; columella present. Parts of the ali-
and orbito-sphenoid region fibro-cartQaginous ; rami of
mandible united by a short fibrous ligament. Temjiorai
region with two horizontal bars. Vertebroe amphiccelian.
Copulatory organs none."

Rhynchocephalia, Gimther, Phil. Trans, clvii. p. 595, t. 26,

27, 28.

" Its chief peculiarities consist in the structure of the

CATALOtilK OF SllTELD KKITILES.

skull, aniphicwlinn vortobnc (Owen), uncinoto proccest-s of
the rilw, ]in«ftuv of a <H>m|)licnto«l iilMlouiiiiiil stcrmmi, in
the dentition, ulisi'Uco of ii eopulatory orpin, i^tc." — 6'i<i»-
Ihtr, Xitol. Rtconl, lt>ti7, J). 138.

Tllis onlor has all tlie ii]i|H>iinineo of Li/.aril8. but itwant-s
the cl:i."*i'er»on thesiile of tin- vent, used in topuliition, and
usually fidaely cidled n |>eiiis ; but they have uo relation to
tliat jvirt (see limy, 'Ann. & Maj;. Nat. Hist." lj<71, vii.
p. :2S.'{), which are always found in Lizards, l^nakos, and
Anijihisbainians ; nud the quadrate bones of the skull, as in
Croeotliles and Tortoises, are suturally united to the skull,
and not articulated to it as in Snakes and Lizards.

The sexuid organs of lu-ptilos have been misunderstood.
Most authors Uovo considered Lizards and Snakes had two
pfiifs; but the examination of the Monitors has shown
that what have been called j)«i« were only chiywrs, by
which the males held on during connexion, as in the Sharks
and Rays araonp fish, and also in Snakes and Lizards,
which, like nejirly all birds, except the Pucks, have no2^enis
or entering organ. The Reptiles are variable in those par-
ticulars. The Tortoises and Crocodiles have an entering
organ and no claspers. The Amphisba^uians, Snakes, and
Lizanls have no entering organ but distinct claspers. The
BhiincfwcqiJialia, according to Dr. Giinther, have neither
entering organ nor claspers.

SPHENODON.

Head quadrangular, covered with small scales. Throat
with a cross fold. Xape and back v\-ith a crest of com-
pressed spines. Body covered with small scales. Belly
and underside of the tail with large squarish, keelless,
flat scales placed in cross series. Tail compressed, trian-
gular, covered with small scales, and with a ridge of large
compressed spines. Legs strong. Toes 5-5, short, strong,
cylindrical, slightly webbed at the base, covered above and
below with small scales. Claws short, blunt. Femoral
pores none. Preanal scales small, a few of them are
placed in the centre.

Sphenodon, Gray, Zool. Miscell. p. 14, 1831, from skull {not

Sphenodus).
Hatteria, Grarj, Zool. Miscell. p. 72, March, 1842 ; Ann.

4- -1%. Kat. Hist. 1869, iii. p. 167; Cat. Liz. 1845

p. 24U.

Giinther, Phil. Trans. 1867: Zool. Bee. 1869, p. 111.
Ehynchocephalus, Owen, Trans. Geol. Soc. 1845, vii. p. 64,
t. 6. f. 5 ifc 7 (skull) ; Cat. Osteal. Sine. Mm. Cull
Surff. 1. p. 142, 1853.

The skull of this Lizard was described in 1831 in the
following words:-" In the skull of an animal allied to

Atjama or Uromastyx, in the College of Surgeons, I have
observed that the ram\is {os complementaire, Cuv. ()s.
i\)8. tig. (•) of tlie lower jaw rubs against llio lateral i)ro-
C0S808 of tlio pterygoid bones, so as to prevent the lower
jaw from nioving from side to side, and that in the species
under consiileration tlu' hinder part of the upper jaw has
a series of l(.'eth about half the length of the outer scries
jilaced on a ridge just on the inner edge of the outer teeth,
leaving a groove bdwecMi tlio two series for the lower jaw
to fit into. This skull \\ill doubtless form the type of a
new genus which I propose to call Sphenodon."

Prof. Owen, eleven years afterwards, described and
figured the same skull in the Trans. Geol. Soc. vii. 1 845,
p. 64, t. 6. f. 5 & 7, and again, twenty-two years after-
wards, in the Cat. Osteol. Spec. Mus. Coll. Surg. i. 1853,
p. 42, and gave it the name of Rhynvhocejjhalus. Dr. Giin-
ther, as well as Prof. Owen, overlooked my first description.
Perhaps the label which I had attached to the skuU when
I examined and named it and the other Reptiles at the
request of Mr. Clift and his son, my hospital feUow student,
had been lost. Dr. Giinther evidently seems to have thought
the head was a modern acr]uisition when Prof. Owen de-
scribed it.

Another skull in the British Museum was figured in the
'Zoology of the Erebus and Terror;' and the same skull
was also figured by Dr. Giinther as Hatteria punctata.

1. Sphenodon punctatuni. (Tuatcra or Narara.)

Olive ; sides and limbs with minute white specks, be-
neath yellowish ; the spines of the nuchal and dorsal
crests yellow, of the caudal brown. The scales of the back,
head, tail, and limbs small, granular, nearly uniform. The
irregular folds in the skin are fringed at the top with a
series of rather large scales ; an oblique ridge of larger
scales on each side of the base of the tail, and a few
shorter longitudinal ridges of rather smaller ones on each
side of the upper part of the tail.

Sphenodon, Gray, Zool. Miscell. p. 13, 1831 (skull only).
Hatteria punctata. Gray, Zool. 31isceU. p. 72, 1842 ; Cat.

Liz. Brit. Mks. p. 249, 1845 ; Zool. Erebus if Terror,

t. (animal and skuU).

GiintJier, Phil. Trtins. 1867 (anatomy).
Ehynchocephalus, Given, Trans. Geol. Soc. vii. 1845, p. 64,

t. 6. f. 5-7 (skuU) ; Cat. Osteol. Spec. Mus. Coll. Surg. i.

p. 142, 1853 (skull only).
Monstrous Lizard, Cooh's Third Voyage, i. p. 153, 1785.
Tuatera or Narara, Dieffenh. New Zeal. ii. p. 205, 1843.

Hah. New Zealand, Bay of Plenty.

Dr. Dieffcnbach having presented to the British Museum

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

a Lizard which the natives called Tiiatem, I described it at
p. 72 of the 3rd number of the ' Zoological Miscellany,'
which was published ou the 1st of May, 1842, as a new
genus, under the name of HatUria, belonging to the family
Ayamiihx, calling the species HiUteria punctata, without
observing that I had previously described the skull
under the name of Sphenodon. The animal was afterwards
figured with its skull, afterwards obtained, in the ' Zoo-
logy of the Erebus and Terror.'

Dr. Dieffenbach observes that the species " lives in holes,
especially on the slopes of the sandhills of the shore. The
older missionaries say it was formerly very common, and
the natives lived upon it ; but for the last fifty years it
has been scarcely ever seen." This specimen was found on
a small rooky island, two miles fi-om the coast, in the Bay
of Plenty, and was given to Dr. Dieffenbach alive, but
shortly died, as it would not eat any thing that was ofi'ered
to it. It is extremely sluggish in captivity, and could be
handled without any attempt at resistance or biting. The
natives called it Tuatera.

Order AMPHISB.'ENIA (AMPHISB^NIANS).

Body elongate, cylindrical, naked, with square imbedded
plates placed in cross rings divided into two sets by a
slight longitudinal groove on each side. Tail continuous,
short, blunt. Tongue not sheathed, flat, enlarged and
nicked at the end, ending in two smooth threads ; the rest
covered with large flat papUloe or scales. Eyes small, under
the skin ; eyelid none. Ears hidden under the skin. Mouth
small ; jaws not extensile. Feet none, or rarely in front.
Vent rather transversely plaited. Claspers one on each
side. Skull very solid, orbits incomplete ; tympanic bone
enclosed in the skuU, oblique. Parietal bone simple. Tem-
poral and mastoid bones scarcely separate.

Amphisbsenians (Amphisboenia), Gray, Cat. Tort. S^c. 1844,

p. 68.
Lacertilia, Amphisbaenoidea, Stannius.
Giiiither, Phil. Trans. 1872.

Stannius and Giinther arrange these animals with the
Lizards.

Sir Andrew Smith kindly presented to the British Mu-
seum, along with a number of other EeptUes which he has
described, the types of his genus Monotrophis, which I had
not before seen ; and having received from Mr. Welwitsch
and from the collection of my late excellent and lamented
friend Dr. Balfour Baikie two Amphisbajnians from Africa,
and from Mr. Bates a species from the Amazons which I

believed had not hitherto been recorded in the Catalogue,
I proceeded to examine them ; and for the purpose of making
the comparison more complete, I was led to study all the
specimens of this tribe we have in the Museum.

Examination of the species in the British Museum
dissatisfied me with the manner in which the species had
hitherto been arranged and described ; and after repeated
examination, I have reduced my observations to the fol-
lowing results : —

The determination of the species themselves, and the
means which a paper resulting from the reexamination
and comparison of all the species in a large collection affords
to a student, are much more certain than any isolated de-
scription of the species regarded as new, however detailed
and particular the description may be ; and in a compara-
tive review of the species of a group or order the distinc-
tions may be stated in a more condensed form.

The Amphisbfcnians are very rarely collected ; hence
few species are found in museums and noticed in systematic
catalogues. This is explained by their living almost ex-
clusively in the nests of ants, and being seldom seen by
the casual observer. There is reason to believe that every
country which has ants has some form of Amphisba;nians.
Until lately they were thought to be confined to Tropical
America, though one was described by Vandeli as occurring
in Spain as long ago as 1780 ; but his essay and the animal
itself were alike so little known to naturalists, that Pro-
fessors Hemprich (in 1820) and Wagler each described
Vandeli's species as new, the latter as a South-American
species. Professor Kaup described a species from North
Africa in 1830, and M. Gervais redescribed it as new in
1835. MM. Dumeril and Bibron have described a speci-
men in the Leyden Museum from Guinea ; Dr. Andrew
Smith one as occurring at the Cape ; and Dr. Peters has
added another from the east coast of Africa. The number of
African species is in this Catalogue raised to seven. As yet
none have been received from Asia proper ; but Sir Charles
Fellows brought from Xauthus the same species that is
found in Spain, Portugal, and North Africa.

The following table shows the geographical distribution
of the species here recorded : —

Eastern Hemisphere.

Fam. Tkogoxophu)^.

1. Trofjonophis Wiec/manni. N. Africa.

Fam. Amphisbjenidjj.

2. Blanus cuureus. Spain, N. Africa, Asia Minor.

;52

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD KEi'TILES.

3. Amphis/xnta^ fiolacM. East Afriou.

4. Cifnism Uucura. (iiiinen.

5. JiiiUiu <i/Vi»ii<ui. W. -U'rica.

Fam. Lkpidostkruid^

TrJbo Cejifialopflttna.

(5. AtimotroiAi\caj)tnsis. S. Africa.
7. IMtloj>hia Wdivitschii. W. Africa.

jytstem Hfmhphere.
Fam. CmROTrD^.
1, ChiroUs himhricoides, Mexico.

2_
:?.
4.
5.

Fam. Amphisb^nid^.

Amphlshima alba. liraziL
A. amt-ricana. British Guiana.
A. Pttiei. Brazil.
A. vermieiilaris. BraziL
0. A. DartvlnH. Monte Video, Buenos Ajros.

7. Bronia hrasiliana. Brazil.

8. Sarea c;w«. W. Indies.

9. Cafha 2^'"i(t<ita. Cuba.

10. Ano2is Kiityii. Buenos Ayrcs.

Fam. LEPIDOSTEKSIDiE.

11. Ltpidostemon microcephahtm. Brazil.

12. L. Graifi. Tropical America.

13. L. phocana. Buenos Ayres.

Tribe Cephahpeltina.

14. Cepludopeltis lepidosUma. Brazil.

The rings of oblong scuteUa on the skin are in most
species interrupted on the sides, and in some species also
on the vertebral line ; these interruptions form a more or
less \ride depressed groove on the surface of the body, and
are called the lateral and dorsal lines.

The skin at this interruption is usually marked at each
transverse ring -with two oblique grooves, which form a
cross and divide the space into four minute triangular
shields; in some cases, where the line is wider and less
sunken, the transverse ring of shields is only divided at the
sunken line by a single oblique groove caused by the
tapering end of one of the oblong shields going before the
end of the other. Sometimes this is the case with the
dorsal line, and not with the lateral one. In some of the
species, instead of only the four triangular shields in the
lateral line, the shield between the cross groove is divided
into several minute scale-like shields.

In some of the larger species, as AmphisJxrnn nlha, some
of the rings of shields are marked with an oblique groove
crossing several shields, dividing each of them into two
parts ; but these seem to bo mere indi\idual variations
occurring on several parts of tho back of some specimens,
and not present in others.

Dumeril and Bibron give the number of tho teeth as one
of tho specific characters. I have not been able to verify
theii' observations ; they give the following as the number.
There seems to be always an odd number of intermaxillary
teeth, the middle one being usually large.

Trogonophis Wiegmanni
Chirotes caniculattis . . . .

4.fi.4 _13

9.« 18

3.7.3 13

6.6 12

Amphisbcena americana and A. alba. . '^ g' =^g

Petrei . .
• Danuinii

.5.7.5 17

8.8 16
4. 7. 4 _ 15

7.7 ~ 14
5.5.5 15

7.7 ~14
4.7.4_15

8.8 ~16

Anops Kingii "j 4

Blamis cinereus

Sarea cmca
Cadea punctata

1 •*-7.4 _15
J 7.7 ~ 14

Synopsis of the Families and Genera.

I. Teeth conical, on the edge of the maxilla.
I. TR0GONOPHID5:.
1. Trogonophis.

II. Teeth on inner side of maxilla.

n. CHlROTlD.ff;. Body coveredwith uniform, four-sided shields.
Legs two, anterior.

1. Chirotes.

m. AMPHlSB.ffanDJE. Body covered ■ndth uniform squai-e scales.
Legs none.

Tribe I. AMPHiSBaiNiNA. Head depressed, rounded on the
sides in front ; nostrils on the upper part of the sides of the
head.

A. Lateral and dorsal lines distinct.

1. Blanus.

B. Lateral lines distinct. Bcrrsal none, or very indistinct.

a. Nasal plates larye, extending across the muzzle.

2. Amphisbaena. Head broad, depressed.

3. Cynisca. Head narrow ; nose conical.

b. Nasal shields small, separate above on the sick of a large sivollen

rostral shield.
i, Bronia.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

C. Lateral and dorsal lines not defined, or the lateral line only
visible on the hinder pari of the bod;/.

5. Sarea, Eostral rounded in front, placed behind the trian-

gular nasal.

6. Cadea. Rosti'al ti'uncated at the tip, convex in fi'ont ; nasals

oval, lateral.

Tribe II. Anopina. Head compressed, keeled on the sides in
front ; the nostrils lateral, on the underside of the keels.

7. Anops.

A. Lateral line distinct and impressed.

B. Lateral line none or only very slightly visible on the hinder

])art of the body.
8. Baikia.

IV. LEPIDOSTERNID.E. Body with a sternal disk formed of
very differently shaped shields.

Tribe I. Lepibostf.rnina. Head conical, covered vriih sym-
metrical polygonal shields.

1. Lepidostemon.

Tribe 11. Cephalopeltina. Head depressed, covered above
■with a flat, horny, nail-like shield, either simple or trans-
versely divided.

A. Pectoral disk formed of large, diverging, unequal, polygonal
shiehls. Crown-shield divided across.

2. Cephalopeltis.

B. Pectoral disk formed of si.r or eight ehmgate Imigitndinal
j>arallel 'shields. Head-shield single.

3. Monotrophis. Ilead-shield without any slit on the hinder

part of its side edge.

4. Dalophia. Head-shield vaih a linear slit on the hinder part

of its side edges.

I. Teeth on the ede/e of the jaw.

Eam. I. TROGONOPHIDJE.

Head oblong, depressed, rounded below ; nostrils lateral,
in large nasal shields ; teeth conical, on the edge of the
maxiUa. Body cylindrical, covered with rings of uniform,
elongate, oblong, four-sided shields, without any sternal
disk ; lateral line sunken, narrow, covered with a few
minute scales ; preanal pores none ; tail conical, acute.

Glyphodermes acrodontes. Bum. ^ Bibr. Erp. Gen. v. p. 467.
Trogonophidffi, Gray, Cat. Tort. ^r. 1844, p. (18 ; P. Z. S.
1865, p. 445.

1. TROGONOPHIS.

Head oblong, depressed ; nasul shields large, united by a
short straight edge, behind the large triangular convex
rostral. Crown with two pairs of shields ; temple with

many small shields. Upper labial plate moderate ; lower
labial shield larger, with a series of large chin-shields on
each side, and a central gular one. Tail conical, acute.
Preanal pores none.

SkuU something like that of Acontias.

Trogonophis, Kaup, Isis, 1830, p. 880.

Gray, Cat. Tort. Sfc. 1844 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 445.
Gervais, Ann. Sci. Nat. 1854, xx. 1. 15. f. 3 & 4, p. 6.

1. Trogonophis Wiegmanni.

Trogonophis Wiegmanni, Katip, his, 1830, p. 880, t. 861.
Feruss. Ball. Scl. Nat. xxv. p. 203, 1831.
Bam. <f" Bihr. Erp. Om. v. p. 470.
Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 445.
Amphisbffiiia elegans, Gemais, Btdl. Sci. Nat. de France,
1855, p. 135; May. Zool. 1835, class 3. t. 11 (details
not good).

Hah. Tangiers (Frascr, B. M. 1848) ; N. Africa (B. M.
1846) ; Algeria {Bumeril, B. M.).

This animal was first described by Dr. Kaup, who showed
that the teeth of it were placed on the edge of the jaw, as
in the genera of the family Ayaniidce, which are all con-
fined to the eastern hemisphere and Australia, while all
the other genera of the order that have been examined
have the teeth on the inner side of the jaw, as in the
family lyuanidce, which is restricted to the New World.

It was afterwards described by M. Gervais ; and even
when Dr. Kaup had informed him, after inspecting the
specimens, that it was the same as ho had previously
described, he still regarded it as new, because he said the
skull did not agree with Dr. Kaup"s figure : but this was a
mistake. Dr. Kaup figured the skuU of TroyonopMs and
of an AmpMsbeena for the sake of showing the difierence
between them ; and M. Gervais must have compared his
animal with the wrong figure.

II. Teeth on the inner side of the edye ofthejaiu.

Eam. IL CHIEOTIDiE.

Head depressed, rounded on the sides ; nostrils on sides ;
teeth on the inner side of the maxilla. Body cylindrical,
covered with rings of uniform, oblong, four-sided shields,
and possessing two short weak front limbs provided with
five subequal clawless toes ; lateral fine sunken, covered
with scales ; preanal pores distinct. Tail cylindrical.

Chirotidoe, Gray, Cat. Tort. ^r. B. M. 1844, p. 74 ; P. Z. S.
1865, p. 445.

Hermann, in ' Obs. Zool.," thought this genus might be a
larva.

CATAr.OGUE OF SHIELD IIEITILES.

1. CHIROTES.

litlH>8, I^itr.
I'hiiloitli'S, IXiuili It.
RiiUiUiU!!, (>j>i><-l, p. 4G.
Chiumi'SJiunis, SclmciiUr, Schliu.
Chirutos, Ctii'iVc, Vi'. A.

Graij, Ann. Phil. 1825, S. p. 204.
(Skolotou) MiilUr in Tiedem. ZciUch. Phis. ii. 27;i, t. 21.
f. S, I), 10.

1. Cliirotes lumbricoides. B.M.

Licorta lumbricoides, Shaw, Xat. Misc. vi.
Liwrta inexioana, Donnd. Zool. Beit. iii. p. 135.
L;u'orta suU-ata. Siuk-ow. Thin: iii. p. 147.
Chirotos lumbriooiiU-s, FUm. Ph. Zool. ii. p. 278.

Gnui, Cut. Toi-I. 1844, p. 74.
Chirotos Kinaliculatus, Ciiv. It. A.

Mfrmii, Tint. p. 181.

Gmti, P. Z. S. 1805, p. 440.
Chirotos moxicain, lion/.
Ix- Cannolo. Lic'p. Q. b. i. p. 013.
BijK^s caualiciilatus, Bonnat. Erp. p. 08, t. 12. f. 0.
Chamivsaurus iiiopiis, l:<(hinz.

Chaloidos propiis, Daud. liqit. iv. p. 372, t. 58. f. 4.
Bimanus propus, Opjpel, p. 46.

Hab. Tropical America, Mexico.

Fam. ni. AMPHISB^NID^.

Head oblong, rounded below ; nostrils lateral, in nasal
shields ; teeth conical, on the inner edge of the maxillae.
Body cylindrical, covered with rings of uniform, elongate,
four-sided shields, without any sternal disk ; preanal pores
distinct; lateral line linear, sunken, with a few small
scales. Legs none. Tail cylindrical, rounded at the end.

Amphisbfenidse. Grai/, Ann. Phil. 1825, x. p. 203 ; Cat.
Tort. 4-e. 1844, p. '69 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 446.
Gervais, Ann. Sci. Nat. 1854, xx.

Tribe I. AlIPHISB^NINA.

The head depressed, rounded on the sides in front. Nos-
trils on the upper part of the sides of the head.

A. Lateral and dorsal lines distinct, sunken, covered with
small triangular scales. Xasal shields large, square,
lateral, formimj a part of the edrje of the upper lip,
and separated in front by a broad, square, convex
rostral shield.

1. BLANUS.
The rostral square, convex. The nasal shields large,
forming part of the edge of the upper lip. The crown with

a largo pontiigonal frontal sliiold and two pairs of square
shiolds bchiiul it. Kyo-shiold triangular, between the upper
edge of the front labial shield and the frontal. Temples
covered with a series of scjuarish shields ; labial shields
largo, Iho hinder smallest; the lower shiolds without any
chin-shield between them and tho gular one. Tail rather
tapering, blunt ; i)reanal pores distinct.

SkiiU, Gervais, Ann. Sci. Nat. 1854, xx. t. 14. f. 5, 6, 7.

Blauus, IFf/'/?. Am ph.

Gray, Cat. Tort. SfC. p. 72, 1844; P. Z. S. 1865,
p. 446; P. Z.S. 1865, p. 447.

1. Blanus cinereus.

Blanus cinereus. Gray, I. e. p. 72 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 446.
Amphisbsena cinerea, Vandeli, Mem. Acad. Lisbon, i.
1780.

Gervais, May. Zool. 1836, t. 10.
Bum. ^ Bihr. E. G. V. p. 505.
Amphisbajna osyura, Wayler in Spix, Brasil. p. 72, t. 35.

f. 1.
Amphisba:na rufa, ITempr. Berl. Gcsellsch. 1829, p. 130.
Blanus rufus, IVieym. Arch. 1836, p. 157.

Hub. North Africa, Tangiers {Eraser, B. M.) ; South-
west Europe, Spain ( Vandeli, 1780) ; Oporto (Allen) ;
Constantinople ; Asia Minor.

M. Gervais (Mag. Zool. 1837, class 3. t. 10) gives a
figui'e of A. cinerea ; but the details of the head do not
perfectly agree with our specimens ; perhaps this may be
from want of care in tho artist. The number of -pairs of
plates on the occiput varies from two to four.

B. Lateral lines linear, distinct, sunken. Dorsal none, or
very indistinct. Nasal shields not forming part of the
upper lip.

a. Nasal plates large, extending across the muzzle, united by
a long straight suture, or united into one cross band ;
the rostral triangular, under front edge of 7iasals.
Crown ivith two pairs of broad shields.

2. AMPHISBiENA.
Head depressed, broad, and rounded in front. Frontal
plates with one or two pairs of rather smaller similar plates
Ijehind them. Preanal pores eight.

Amphisboena, Gray, Ann. Phil. 1825, x. p. 203; Cat.
Tort. 6fc. 1844, p. 70 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 447.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

* Head depressed, broad; occiput covered ivith sqiuire
shields like the body ; preanal plates numerous.

]. Amphisbaena alba. B.M.

Body thick, one-coloured, with only one pair of plates
behind the frontal plates. Occiput shielded like the body.

AmphisbiBna alba, Linn. Mus. AdoJpJi. p. 20, t. 4. f. 2.

Dum. 4- Bibr. E. O. v. p. 48-1.

Gray, Cat. Tort. tf-c. 1844, p. 70 ; P. Z. S. 18G5,
p. 447.
Amphisbaena rosea, Shav, Nat. Misc. iii. t.
AmphisbiEua pachyura. Wolf, Ahbild. ii. p. 61, t. 17.
Amphisbaena ilavescens, Neuwied, Abild. t.

Waqler, Icon. t. 16. f. 1.

Sch'inz. Aniph. p. 129, t. 46.
Le Blanch et, Laecp. Q. 0. ii. t. 21. f.

Bab. Brazil.

Preanal pores vary from six to eight, and the plates in
front of the cloaca varj" in size.

Varies in the size and form of the hinder pair of frontal
plates ; preanal pores eight, often seven.

There is a specimen in the British Museum sent by Mr.
Brandt under the name of A. Barwinii.

2. Amphisbaena ainericana. B.M.

Body rather thick, black, and varied. Two or more
pairs of plates behind the frontal plates.

Amphisba;na amerieana, Scheucli. P. S. iv. p. 1179, t. 1129.
f. D, t. 1249. f. 10.

Seba, Thes. i. t. IS. f. 3, t. 22. f. 2, 3, t. 73. f. 4,

t. 100. f. 3.
Gray, Cat. 1844, p. 70 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 447.
Gervais, Ann. Sci. Nat. 18-54, xx. t. 14. f. 1-4 (skuU).
Amphisbaena ftiliginosa, Linn. L. S. i. p. 392.
Daud.RejU. t. 91. f. 2.
Dmn. 4- Bibr. E. G. v. p. 480.
Amphisbaena vulgaris, A. varia, A. magnifica, et A. flava.
Law. Syn. pp. 119-122.
Giterin, Icon. t. 18. f. 1.
La Enfumce, Lacepi. Q. 0. ii. p. 459.

Ilab. Tropical America : British Guiana, Berbice, De-
merara (B. M.).

The labial shields vary in number and shape ; the shields
behind the frontal vary in number and size, but they are
generally in pairs and subsymmetrical.

Gervais figures the skull of the species (Ann. Sci. Nat.
1854, XX. t. 14. f. 4).

3. Amphisbaena camura.

Body thick, short. Tail short, obtuse, with sixteen rings.
Preanal plates ten, longer than broad; preanal pores four.

Muzzle abruptly contracted, short, higher than broad-
swollen, arched in profile. Eostral plate five-sided. Naso-
rostrals nearly transversely parallelogrammic ; fronto-naso-
rostrals nearly as broad as long. Occipitals rounded an-
teriorly and posteriorly. Labials four, three high. Eye
in the superior angle of the ocular, which is acute anteriorly
and bounded behind by three segments of the first annulus.
Mental plate nearly as broad as long. Length of head and
body 15 inches, of tail 2 inches 6 lines. Head and upper
parts of body and tail brown, below and a broad collar
ycUow.

Amphisba;na camura. Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad.
1865, p. 350.

Ilab. Paraguay.

Nearly allied to A. angustifrons, Buenos Ayres. The
head and plates arc relatively much shorter and more ob-
tuse ; there is one more labial ; the yellow collar is not
seen in the latter.

4. Amphisbaena heterozonata.

Each lateral scuteUum finely punctulated with black.
Verticilli 170-180 ; 18 on the tail.

Amphisba;na heterozonata. Barm. Beise d. La Plata, ii.
p. 527, 1861 ; Zool. Bee. 1865, p. 149.

Ilab. Mendoza and Tucuman.

** Head rounded, narroiu ; preamd pores and preanal
shields ten or twelve.

5. Amphisbaena petrsei.

Amphisbaena petraei, Dum. cf' Bihr. Erp>. Gen. v. p. 487.
Gray, I. c. p. 80 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 447.

Eab. Brazil (Mus. Paris).

*** Head rounrlcd, narrow, rather p)roduced in front ;
crown-shields large; occipital shields polygonal. Body
slender, one-coloured ; preancd piores two or four ; pre-
anal plates si.v, middle ones elongate.

6. Amphisbaena vermiciilaris.

B.M.

Amphisbaena vermicularis, Wagl. in Spi.v, Bras. p. 73,
t. 25. f. 2.

Bum. Sf Bibr. Erp. Gen. v. p. 489.
Grai/, I. c. p. 71 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 448.
Hensel, Wiegm. Archiv, 1868, p. 339.

Hab. Brazil(Z>c. Gardner, 'B.M., Mus. Paris) ; Porto Bello
{Capt. Austin, B.N., B.M. : head in a very bad state).

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD llEPTILES.

7. AiuphisbiBua ? Daiwiuii.

Amphisbwna Darwnnii, Dum. 4' Bibr. Eq>. Gin. v. p. 1S)1.
tfniy, /. f. i>. 71 : 1'. '/'. S. 1SG5, p. 448.

Hah. Mouto Video (Mr. Darwin, Mus. Puris).

8. Ainphisbaena plumbea.
"Hoad 9ubi\inio;il : frontul plates with one pair of
smaller similar plates beliiiKl thoni ; pivanal pores four.

•• .VmphislxDnu plumbea, sp. n.," Philij'pi ?

Hab. Mendoza (B.M.).

•• Eyes distinct. Scutella longer Ihau broad ; vorticiUi
270 + 21. Six preaual shields. Uniform reddish grey
above, whitish below."

3. CYNISCA.

Head flat, narrow ; nose conical, four-sided, rounded at
the end; rostral triangular: nasal plates very large, sol-
dered together, covering the front of the head ; crowii with
a small frontal and a pair of parietal shields. Eyes di-
stinct ; temples and occiput with large shields. Body very
slender; lateral line distinct. Tail cylindrical, elongate,
truncated. Preanal pores numerous.

Cvnisca, Grai/, Cat. Tort. 4-c. D. M. p. 71, 1844; Proc.
' ZooL Soc. 1865, p. 44S.

1. Cynisca leucxu'a.

B.M.

Cynisca Icucura, Gniij, Cat. Tort. ^'c. B. M. p. 71 ; Proc.

ZooL Soc. 1805, p. 448.
Amphisbseua leucura, Dum. 4" Bihr. ErpJ Gin. v. p. 498.
.\mphisba;na macrura, Schlegel, Mus. Leyden.

Brown ; end of tail white.

Hab. Guinea (Miis. Leijdeii) (not Guiana, as stated by
mistake in the Catalogue).

2. Cynisca ? violacea.

Amphisbaena violacea, Peters, Berlin Monatsh. 1854, p. 620 ;
Wiegnmnn, Arch. 1855, j). 49.

Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 448.

Hab. East Africa, Inhambane (Peters).

This species is unknown to me; it is without a single
frontal shield, and has four preanal pores and visible eyes.

3. Cyiiisca quadi'ifrons.

Head small, convex ; muzzle elongato, rounded ; eyes
distinct, llostral triangular, with its outer extremity bent
upwards. Two quadrangular naso-rostrals, which are con-
tiguous along their inner edges ; after these follow four
fronti-naso-rostrals, of which the inner larger ones are
long, quadrangular, and somewhat broader in front, and
havo an inner obtuse und an outer acute angle. The outer
fronti-naso-rostrals are narrower but longer than the pre-
ceding, with their exterior longer edges bordering upon
the ocular and the second supralabial, or even upon a
small part of the first supralabial, and their posterior short
edges contiguous with the frontal; they also have an inner
obtuse and an outer acute angle. Erontals two, which
taken together are broader than long, their front edge
being convex towards the fronti-naso-rostrals, on the
outer side with the apes of their exterior right angle on
the ocular; with a long outer posteriorly straight edge,
bordering on the anterior upper temporals, and their pos-
terior short straight edges united with a pair of small scales,
which in size and shape are like those on the segments
of the body. The ocular is irregularly quadrangular, has
an anterior acute and an interior obtuse angle, is united
by the longest anterior upper edge with the outer fronti-
uaso-rostral, by the posterior upper edge with the anterior
upper temporal, by the posterior lower edge with the third
supralabial, and by the anterior lower edge with the second
supralabial. Separate ante-, post-, and supraorbitals do not
exist. Supralabials three, of which the middle- is the
smallest, the hinder the largest. Temporal plates, espe-
cially the two anterior overlapping ones, very large. Beside
the mental, which is longer than broad, and has parallel
sides, three infralabials cover the under lip on each side, of
which the first is acutely triangular, with its point inserted
between the submental and the second infralabial. This
last is very long, four-sided, broader in front than behind.
To the straight hinder edge of the mental is appended a
very cordate posteriorly acute submental, the end of which
is bordered by a pair of smaller submentals. Preaual pores
four, and anal Up with four rather long segments.

AmphisboBua quadrifrons, Peters, Berlin Monatsher. 1862,
p. 25.

By the small size of the body and the whole habit, as
well as by the large temporal plates, this species is allied
to both the hitherto known African Amphisbsenians A.
leucura and A. violacea, from which they nevertheless are
very easily distinguished.

A. leucura, D. & B., is distinguished by the union of the

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD EEPTILES.

naso-rostrals with the fronti-naso-rostrals, hy the prcseuce
of an odd frontal, a supraoi-bital, and an anteorbital, by
the unusually large first infralabial, and the much larger
number (ten) of the preanal pores.

A. violaceu, Ptrs. (ilonatsb. Ib54, p. (520) which agrees
in the position and proportion of the rest of the scutella, in
the number of the anal pores; and the segments of the anal
lip, is distinguished by its single pair of fronti-naso-
rostrals, by the extraordinary length of the frontals, which
are quite three times as long as broad, and of both tem-
poral plates, which by themselves cover the whole of the
temporal region.

b. Nasal shields small, separate above, on the side of a large
swollen rostra] shield.

4. BEONIA.

Head ovate, rather convex ; rostral shield very large,
hemispherical, with the small nasal shields inserted in
notches on its hinder edge, which is placed over the front
labial; crown convex, rounded on the sides, covered with
two pairs of shields ; the front pair square, the hinder
smaller, triangular, with a small triangular occipital shield
on its outer side ; eye-shield triangular ; labial shields ^,
the second upper and front lower large ; gular shield single,
square, with a cross series of shields behind it. Eody
cylindrical ; lateral line well marked ; the dorsal shields
elongate, narrow ; the ventral ones rather broader, smooth ;
preanal pores four ; the preanal shields six or eight, the
central pair the largest, the lateral ones very small. Tail
blunt.

Brouia, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 448.

Fig. 19.

Fig. 18.

Bronia hrasiiiana.

1. Bronia brasiUana. B.M.

Pale brown ; dorsal shields with a dark central spot.

Bronia brasiUana, Gray, P. Z. S. 1805, p. 448, f. 1, 2.

Hab. Tropical America; Santarem, on the Amazons.
(Bate^, B. M.)

C. Lateral ami dorsal liius not defined, or the lateral line
only visible on the hinder part of the body ; rostral
shield small ; nasal shields small, far apart, placed on
the side of the hijh rostral.

5. SAREA.
Head conical ; rostral narrow, higher than broad, rounded

in front, placed behind the triangular nasal ; crown with
two pairs of shields ; the front largest, elongate, the hinder
trigonal ; eye-shield triangular ; the labial shields 2^, the
second upper and lower labial shields very large, the others
smaller, with one large gular plate. Body slender, the
dorsal scuteUa square, as long as broad, with a dark cen-
tral dot ; two central longitudinal series of ventral scutella
broader than long, smooth, white ; the lateral line very
indistinct, scarcely visible except on the hinder part of the
body. Preanal pores four ; preanal shields six, square.
The eyes are sUghtly visible through the shields.

Sarea, Gray, Cat. Tort. SjX. 1844, p. 71; P. Z. S. 1865,
p. 449.

1. Sarea caeca. B.M .

Amphisbtcna cteca, Cnvier, li. A. p. 773.

Diim. S; Bibr. Erp. Gen. v. p. 492.
Sarea ca;ca. Gray, Cat. Tort. iS,x. B. M. p. 71, 1844;
P. Z. S. 1865, p. 449.

Hah. West Indies; Porto Bello {Capt. Austin, B.N.,
B. M.) ; St. Thomas's {A. H. Riise, B. M.).

The specific name is not characteristic, as the eyes are
as much seen through the shield as in many Amphisbte-
nians.

2. Sarea? iamocens.

Eyes not visible ; rostral shield triangular, not quadran-
gular (as in A. punctata) ; two fronti-uaso-rostral shields ;
rostral shield low and smooth, not keeled (as in A. Kinyii).

Amphisba^na innocens, Weinland, Abhundl. Senckenbery.
GescTlsch. 1863, iv. p. 137, pi. 5. f. 2.

Hab. San Domingo.

Understood to have been previously described (Zool. Rec.
1865, p. 149). Dr. D. F. Weinland does not characterize,
but gives a long description, with the following observa-
tions.

The species is allied to A. cetca, but differs in the fol-
lo\ving points: — 1, there are 212 verticiUi between the
corner of the mouth and vent (226-229 in A. cmca) ; 2,
the scuteUa are oblong, and not square as in A. ceeca ;
3, there is no trace of a median dorsal groove as in A.
cceca.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

3. Sareal feuestrata.

Diplmlu-i foMOstratiis. Co/ic, I'lW. Amti: Phil. Soc. ISliO,

j>. lt:4.
Ampliisl'ipim nntilloiisis, Zool. iiVr. ISO;"), p. ll'J.
lidnhanh ij- Liitltn. Zool. li(C. 18(50, p. 111.

Hah. Tropical Ancrica.

6. CADEA.

Head conical; rostral narrow. l\i_trlu'r than broad, trun-
cated at tlio tij), convex in front : nasals ovate, lateral ;
crown with two larjre, triangular shields; frontal with a
snuUl linear shield on each side of it ; and two pairs of
siiuaro occipitivl shields, the liinder pair smaller ; e^e-
shicld rhombic : eyes hidden ; labial shields ^^, subcqual,

middle one in each lip largest ; temples covered with square
shields : giilar plate single, elongate. Hody cylindrical ;
lateral line very indistinct, scarcely to be distinguished,
except on the hinder part of the body ; shields of the back
square, of the under surface rather wider, but scarcely
wider than long ; preanal pores four ; the preanal shields
six, central ones elongate.

Cadea, Gray, Cat. Tort. ^r. B.M. p. 71, 1S44; Proc. Zool.
Soc. 1S65, p. 450.

1. Cadea punctata.

Cndea punctata, Gray, Cat. Tort, tjc- p. 71 ; Proc. Zool. Soc.

1865, p. 450.
Amphisbxna punctata, Bell, Zool. Journ. n. p. 236, t. 20.
f. 2.

Dvm. S)- Bihr. Erp. Gen. v. p. 494.
J. Vilhrs. Bep. Fis. Nat. de Cula, ii. 1867, pp. 69, 72.
Amphisbxna cajca. La Sai/ra, Cuha, p. 195, t. 21.

Pale brown, dotted and varied with deeper brown.

Hah. Cuba (TT. ,S'. MacLeatj, B.JI.) : the specimen de-
scribed by Mr. BeR.

Tribe II. A^^OPINA.

Head compressed, keeled on the sides in front ; the nos-
trils lateral, on the underside of the keels.

A. Lateral line distinct and impressed.

7. ANOPS.

Lateral line distinct, sunken; preanal pores "none"
{Bell), "four" {Dum. ^- Bihr.).

Anops, Bill, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1833, p. 99; Zool. Jown. v.
p. 391, t. 16. f. 1.

Grail, Cat. Tort. ^o. B. M. p. 72, 1844 ; Proc. Zool.
Soc. 1865, p. 450.

1. Auops Kingii.

B.M.

Anops Kingii, Rell, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1833. p. 99; Zool.
Journ. V. p. 391, t. 16. f. 1.

Graij, Cat. Tortoisci cj"c B. 2L p. 72 ; Proc. Zool. Soc.
1865, p. 450.
Aniphisba;na Kingii, J)iim. ct Bihr. Erp. Gen. v. p. 497.
Jlcmel, Wieytn. Arcliiv, 1868, p. 343.

J/ah. S. America (P. P. King, C. Barivin) ; Buenos Ayres
(B'Orhi(/ii)/, Mus. Paris).

I have not been able to examine this genus, which was
described by Mr. Bell from a specimen brought from South
America by Capt. P. P. King, R.N. ; it is described in
more detail by Messrs. Dumoril and Bibron from specimens
obtained by Mr. Charles Darwin.

The existence of the lateral line, which, according to
Mr. Bell, " is more distinct than in AmpJiishfvna, though
less so than in Chirotes," and the account of the plates of
the head as described by MM. Dumeril et Bibron, show
that it must be distinct from the following, which comes
from Africa.

B. Lateral line none, or only very slightly visible on the
hinder part of the hody.

8. BAIKIA.

The head compressed, elevated ; rostral plate very large,
compressed, forming an arched crest from the mouth to
the forehead, with a groove on the hinder part over the
nostrils ; crown with two pairs of band-like shields behind
the upper edge of the rostral, the front pair narrow ; eye-
shield very minute ; eye invisible ; temples with two small
shields ; the upper labial shields 3 — 3 ; the second upper
large, produced, keeled on the side ; the hinder, under the
temporal shield, larger, square ; lower lip covered with a
single large shield on each side, separated by a square in-
ferior rostral shield, and by two small gular plates placed
one behind the other ; nostrils large, lateral, under the edge
of the keel of the frontals. Body and chest covered with
rings of similar oblong sipiare shields ; preanal pores 2 — 2,
separated by a central shield. Tail cylindrical, rather
conical at the tip.

Baikia, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 450.

In spirits the skin is loose and inclined to form a tin-

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

like fold, sometimes on one and sometimes on another part
of the body, with a central longitudinal ventral groove,
without any appearance of a lateral line.

Fig. 21.

Fig. 20.

Baikia tifriciina.

1. Baiiia africana. B.M.

Baikia africana, Gran, F. Z. S. ISijo, p. 451, f. 3, 4.
Hab. West Africa (Dr. Balfour BailAe, B.M.).

Fam. IV. LEPIDOSTERNID.a;.

Head oblong, depressed, with a short horizontal keel in
front. Nostrils in shields, under the keel of the rostral
shield. Teeth conical, on the inner side of the raaxiUa.
Body cylindrical, covered with rings of oblong, four-sided
shields; the sternum with a disk formed of differently
shaped shields ; preanal pores distinct.

Lepidosternidse, Gray, Cat. Tortoises tj-c. B. M. p. 73, 1844 ;
P. Z. S. 1865, p. 4'51.

Tribe I. LEPIDOSTERNINA.

Head conical, covered with symmetrical polygonal shields ;
the pectoral disk covered with many polygonal shields
placed in oblique lines ; the dorsal and lateral lines well
marked, broad, smooth, formed by the overlapping of the
narrow ends of the sections of the rings. America.

Lepidosternina, Grai/, P. Z. S. 1805, p. 451 .

1. LEPIDOSTERNON.

Head conical, covered with three pairs of symmetrical
and a vertebral shield ; rostral shield large, broad, rounded
in front; the pectoral shield formed of regular, nearly
equal, symmetrical, rhombic or six-sided shields, sometimes
united into long shields which are not symmetrical.

Lepidosternon, IVagler in Sjrix, Serp. Bras. p. 70.
Graij, Cat. Tori. cJt. p. 73; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 451.

* Sternal plates of central series united into elongated bands.
Lepidosternon .

1. Lepidosternon microcephalum. B.M.

Head short, broad, the vertebral plate broader than long,
six-sided ; frontal short, broad, band-like ; parietal small,
square ; ocular higher than broad.

Lepidosternon microcephalum, Wayler, Serp. Bras. p. 70,
t. 26 ; Icon. t. 16. f. 1.

MiiUer, Ticdem. Zeiisch. 1832, iv. t. 22. f. 4.
Dum. ^ Bibr. Erp. Gen. v. p. 505.
Gray, Cat. Tort. ^c. B. M. p. 73 ; P. Z. S. 1865, p. 451.
Gervais, Ann. Sci. Nat. 1854, f. 8-11 (skull).
" Lepidosternon macrocephalum, Midler," A. Smith, Z. S. A.

note, t. .5.
AmphisbKna punctata, Nemvied, Abh.
Lepidosternon MaximiHanus, Wieymann.

Hab. BrazU, llio (Dr. Gardner, B. il.).

The specimen in the British Museum has the shields on
each side of the central line of the sternal disk united into
an elongate shield, which is not symmetrical on the two
sides, and appears like an accidental peculiarity.

In the Free Museum at Liverpool there are two speci-
mens of this species, obtained by Mr. Jobert in Brazil.
They are similar, but show that the sternal plates are liable
to coalesce and form larger plates in an unsymmctrical
manner.

In the larger specimens the iirst series of sternal plates
on each side of the central line are united into longitudinal
shields, which are not of equal length. The series of plates
on the outer side of them are separate, but not quite sym-
metrical.

In the other specimen, which is rather smaller, the first
series of sternal plates on the sides of the central line, and
the second series on the outside of it on the right side, and
second and third scries on the left side, are united into
longitudinal parallel plates, which are of unequal length,
the two central ones being the longest, and the two outer
plates on the left side much longer than the outer one on
the right side.

The head-shields in both these specimens are exactly
alike, the central crown-shield being much broader than
long ; the hinder pair of frontal shields rather shorter than
the front pair, and narrower on the central edge by the
angular front edge of the crown-shield ; the two pairs of
occipital shields are shorter than broad, the hinder pair
being the smaller, and in one instance have coalesced on
one side with the plate of the front pair.

They all liave a brown spot on the centre of each of the
dorsal scuteUa.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES.

*• Srt»"wa?j)7n<« «?? sfjiaraie, symmelnnil SjiIkmio-
cepluilus.

2. Lepidosternou Grayii. li.M.

Head ratlier short, brond : the vcrtt-bral plate hexagonal,
elongate, as long as broad ; the frontal plate verj- short
and broad : the parietal shields oblique : the occipital
much longer than broad; temjioral shields larger on the
sides of the occipital ; plates of the sternal disk symme-
trical, in oblique diverging lines.

Lepidostcrnon Grayii. A. Smith. MS. Brit. Mus.
Gniy, P. Z.S. 18(>o, p. 4r)2, f. 5, (i.

Hah. South America? (Brit. Mxis.).

Fig. 23. Eig. 22.

Lepidosternon Grayii.

Sternal disk formed of four diverging lines of uniform,
similar-sized, symmetrical shields : the shields on the cen-
tral line smaller, being divided down the centre by a
straight suture.

In 1848, Dr. (now Sir Andrew) Smith sent to the British
Museum this specimen, with the name of LejiidosterrMi
Grayii, informing me that he had described (or intended
to describe) it in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society '
under that name. I cannot find that it has been so de-
scribed, nor can I iind any notice of it in any other work,
though it is very like, but evidently distinct from, the Lepi-
dosternon pTiocceiia of Dumeril and Bibron, figured by M.
d'Orbigny (Toy. Amer. ilerid.).

3. Lepidosternon phocsena. B.il.

Head broad ; the vertebral plate elongate, small, larger
than broad, acute at each end ; the frontal and occipital
plates large, shorter than broad, the frontal the largest ;
the parietal plates short, broad, band-like ; the plates of the
sternal disk uniform, symmetrical, oblique.

Lepidosternon phocoena, Diim. ^- Bihr. Erji. Gen. v. p. 507.
Gray, Cut. Tort. (|r. B. M. p. 73 : P. 'A. S. 1865, p. 453.
D'Orbif/ny, Toy. Amer. Merid. Eq)t. t. 6. f. 7-10.

Hah. Buenos Ayres {Bridyes, B. M. : stuffed).

M. d"Orbigny"s figure is very like the preceding species ;

but the head is represented shorter, the frontal plates are
rather larger. The long occipital shield of that species is
here represented by two pairs of square shields, as if the
large ])late of the form(^r species wore divided across ; it
also appears to bo a shorter, thicker species.

The stuffed specimen which wo received from Mr. Bridges
agrees with the figure in all these particidars ; but the head
appears rather larger, perhaps from its being rather dis-
torted in the preparation.

Both the figure and the specimen belong to a species
evidently very distinct from L. Grayii, and much thicker.

4. Lepidosternon octostegum.

Lcpidostemum octostegum, A. Dumiril.

Stcindacliner, Novara liept. p. 53 ; Zool. Record, 1867,
p. 134.

Tribe II. CEPHALOPELTINA.

The head depressed, covered above with a single, simple,
or transversel}' divided, flat, horny, nail-like shield ; pec-
toral disk formed of elongated, symmetrical shields ; the
dorsal and lateral lines very narrow, indistinct, except
near the hinder part of the body.

Cephalopeltina, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 453.

A. The pectoral disk formed of large, diverging, unequal,
polygonal, symmetrical shields; tlie crown-shield di-
vided into two by a trayisverse suture. America.

2. CEPHALOPELTIS.

Head covered with two large shields, the front one
smaller : the sternal disk of eight or ten large shields ; the
two central pairs parallel, one in front of the other ; the
lateral pairs diverging.

Cephalopeltis, J. Midler, Tied. Zeitsch. fiir Phi/s. 1831, iv.
p. 269.

Gray, Cat. Tort. 4x. 1844, p. 73; P. Z. S. 1865,
p. 454.

1. Cephalopeltis scutigera.

B.M.

Ceph.ilopeltis scutigera, Grat/, Cat. Tort. ^y. B.M. p. 73

P.Z.<S. 1S65, p. 454.
Cephalopeltis lepidosternou, Midler, I. e. t. 21. f. 6 (skuU),

t. 22. f. 5 (head).
Amphisbsena scutigera, Hempr. Naturf. Freund. zu Berlin

1820, p. 127.
Lepidosternon seutigerum, Dum. cyBibr.Erp. Gin. v. p. 509
Cephalopeltis Cuvieri, MiiUir, Zeitsch. Physiol. 1832, iv

p. 253, t. 20. f. 5, t. 21. f. 6 & 7.

CATALOGUE OF SHIELD KEPTILES.

Coleopeltis Cuviori, J. Muller (fide A. Smith).
Lcpidostornon Hcmpriohii, Wicgm.

Hah. Brazil {M'dller).

B. The 2'xctoral disk formed of si.v or eirjht elomjaie longi-
tudinal parallel shields ; head-shield single. Africa.

3. MONOTROPHIS.

The head covered with a single nail-like shield, without
any slits on the hinder part of its side edge ; the rostral
plate between the nasal plates transverse, four-sided,
broader than high ; the shields of the sternal disk regular,
broad and truncated in front ; the rings of shields in front
of the sternal disk formed of regular square shields, like
those on the rest of the body.

Monotrophis, A. Smith, Zool. S. Africa, Rept. t. 47.
Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 454.

1. Monotrophis capensis. B.M.

Monotrophis capensis, A. Smith, Zool.S. Africa, Rept. t. 47
(white ; pink when alive).
Gray, P. Z. S. 1805, p. 454.

Hah. S. Africa (B. M.). The typo specimen of Sir An-
drew Smith.

Dr. Peters records Monotrophis capensis as found in
Mozambique ; but on comparison it may prove a distinct
species. In my notes I have a reference to Lepidosternon
sphenorhynchum, Peters, MS., as an East- African species;
but I cannot find it described or noticed anywhere. Can

it be the name Dr. Peters gave to his Monotrophis befare
he discovered that it had been described by Sir Andrew
Smith ?

4. DALOPHIA.

The head covered with a single nail-like shield, with a
Fig. 25. Fig. 24.

Dalophia WehvitscMi.

linear slit on the hinder part of its side edges ; the rostr; •
plate small, triangular, with the point upwo'-ds betwee.i
the nasal plates ; the shields of the sternal disk rather
irregular, but symmetrical, each with an acute front edge ;
the rings of shields in front of the sternal disk formed of
unequal but symmetrical polygonal shields.

Dalophia, Gray, P. Z. S. 1SG5, p. 454.

1. Dalophia Welwitschii.

B.M.

Dalophia Welwitschii, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 455, f. 7, 8.
Monotrophis capensis, Giinther, MS. B.M. (not A. Smith).

Pale brown.

Hab. Angola ; Pungo Andongo ( Welwitsch, B.M.).

QL
666
C5B3
pt.2

;3ritish liase t.ursl

Dept. of Zoology

Oatilo- - -^' - '.eld r

BioMed

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