TESTUDINATA. 
55 
terior lobe of the plastron is cut off squarely. The edge is acute, 
but on the upper surface the bone thickens backward for a distance 
of 14 mm., attaining a thickness of 10 mm. At the rear of the 
plastron there is a notch 22 mm. wide and 7 mm. deep. From 
the hinder extremities of this lobe the border thickens forward 
to the femoral notch, attaining there a thickness of 10 mm. 
The gular scutes form a strip across the front of the anterior 
lobe their hinder borders being nearly parallel with the front. They 
measure along the midline 7.5 mm. Along the midline the hu¬ 
meral scutes measure 19 mm.; the pectorals, 6 mm.; the abdom¬ 
inals, 37 mm.; the femorals, 15 mm.; the anals, 5 mm. 
GOPHERUS PRAECEDENS, NEW SPECIES. 
Plate 4, figs. 1-2. 
Type-specimen —A left xiphiplastral bone, No. 5463, of the 
Florida Geological Survey. 
Type-locality and formation. —Vero, St. Lucie county. Pleis¬ 
tocene. 
Diagnosis. —Resembling Gopherus polyphemus, but having a 
relatively broader xiphiplastron, which is also more deeply notched 
on the lateral borders. 
In the collection of fossil remains made near Vero, by Dr. Sel- 
lards, is a left xiphiplastral bone which appears to belong to an un¬ 
described species. It belonged evidently to a broad and heavy- 
shelled animal which had a somewhat greater size than the Florida 
‘‘gopher,” Gopherus polyphemus. Upper and lower views of the 
bone are here given (pi. 4, figs. 1, 2). 
The bone lacks only a small fragment lost from the upper sur¬ 
face of the outer anterior angle. The width of the bone in front is 
79 mm., making the width of the whole hinder lobe at this part 
158 mm. The length of the suture between this bone and its fel¬ 
low is 58 mm. It will be seen that the outer border is deeply 
notched at the crossing of the femoro-anal sulcus. The distance 
from the bottom of this notch to the median suture is 48 mm. At 
the rear of the hinder lobe there was a notch about 80 mm. wide 
and 20 mm. deep. The parts of the right and left bones included 
between this notch and the lateral notches stand forth like a pair 
of ears. 
The close resemblance to Gopherus polyphemus makes it nec¬ 
essary to refer the new species to Gopherus. For the same reason 
