292 THE GALAPAGOS TORTOISES. 



No. 11063, M. C. Z., an exchange from the Boston Society of Natural His- 

 tory of which nothing more of the history is now known. It is suggested that 

 it may have served as Harlan's type for description or Morton's for drawing. 



The direct length of the type would be somewhat near seventeen inches. 

 As for the drawings Dr. Morton drew them from a living individual which 

 probably made accurate measurements difficult. The outlines on Plate 37, 

 fig. 2, 3, are from the original illustration. The vertebral series of plates was 

 about twice as wide as it should be; only half the width could be seen from the 

 artist's point of view. The scales nearest the feet also bore evidence of much 

 uncertainty. On the same Plate 37, fig. 1, are the outlines of a carapace making 

 the nearest approach of those in the collection to what Harlan's type may have 

 been. Plate 38, fig. 1, 2 show this carapace, with a sternum, fig. 3, that was 

 fastened to it, by mistake no doubt as it belongs to a different species. In 

 direct length this carapace is more than sixteen inches. Compared with T. 

 vicina it lacks the dome-shape, is more elongate, is less broadly curved on the 

 back and is narrower and higher in front. Placing this figure side by side with 

 that of Plate 39, from a specimen of thirty-three inches, of the same species, 

 brings out the close correspondence of the two. Seen from above the main 

 difference in outline is due to wear of the reverted marginals on the older indi- 

 viduals. On the smaller one the small areolar spaces are yet indicated and the 

 striae are yet present, but have begun to show signs of wear. 



In connection with Harlan's paper another series of measurements is given 

 on page 292 of the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, 

 and on page 196 of the Med. Phys. Researches, in a note by DeKay: these are: 



These dimensions may have been taken from specimens of either of several 

 species; they were not taken from Harlan's type and have no importance in the 

 history of the species. Evidently the length and the width were taken directly 

 instead of over the curvature. 



As seen from above, the carapace of a specimen of about two feet in length, 

 Plate 41, has an outline that is oblong with rounded ends. It has a width of 

 about three fourths of the length; in front of the mid length the shape is nar- 

 rower, and more rounded; behind the middle it widens somewhat and above 

 the tail it becomes subtruncate. The greatest height is nearly one half of the 

 length and the outline curves with some regularity from the third vertebral 



