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2. On a New South African StegocepJialian (Phrynosuchus whaitsi). 



-By E. BROOM, M.D., D.Sc. 



THE little Stegocephalian about to be described was found by the 

 Rev. J. H. Whaits on the farm Droogvoets, in the Fraserburg 

 district. The exact horizon of the locality is not certain, as the 

 other fossil remains are either dissimilar from those known in the 

 South or are too fragmentary to be of service. Most probably 

 the zone corresponds to the upper part of Endothiodont zone of the 

 southern Karroo. 



The specimen consists of much of the skull in a very weathered 

 condition, remains of most of the vertebrae and short ribs as far as 

 the pelvic region, the most of the right front and hind limbs, and 

 considerable indications of the dermal covering. Allowing for a 

 moderate tail, the whole animal probably measured about 350 mm. 



The skull shows the impressions of most of the bones of the 

 cranium, and is so broken across as to reveal the structure of at 

 least the front half of the palate. The whole head is broad and 

 very flat. The nostrils are wide apart, and the orbits, which are 

 also far apart, are entirely in the anterior half of the skull. 



The nasal is probably very large, the prefrontal and lachrymal 

 very small. Each frontal is broad, and shut out from the orbital 

 margin by the meeting of the postfrontal with the prefrontal. 



The postfrontal is large and forms the greater part of the upper 

 orbital margin. The postorbital is much smaller. 



The parietal is a large bone, with a small pineal foramen between 

 the pair of bones. The squarnosal is rather smaller than the parietal. 

 Outside of the squamosal is a large quadrato-jugal. 



Behind the parietal is a large dermo-occipital. 



The parasphenoid (or vomer) is of large size and extends far 

 forward as a broad, flat plate. The prevomers are large and the 

 internal nares far apart. The palatines are also large. 



The teeth are not well shown but are manifestly labyrinthodont. 



The length of the skull is about 68 mm., and the width almost 

 exactly the same. 



