52 



CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES. 



broader than long ; two anterior marginal plates narrower 

 than the first vertebral ; sides of the hinder lobes of the 

 sternum contracted in front ; muzzle rounded. Jaws pale 

 yellowish. 



Sternotherus subniger, Gray, Syn. 38; Cat. Tort. B.M. 37. 

 La Tortue noinitre, Lacep. Q. O. i. 175. t. 13. 

 Testudo subniger, Lacep. by Bechst. i. 260. 



Latr. Rept. i. 89. f. 1. 



Baud. Rept. ii. 197. 

 Terrapene nigricans, Merrem, Tent. 28. 

 Sternotherus nigricans. Bum. ^ Bib. Erp. Gen. ii. 399 ; 



Cat. Meth. R. 19. 

 Emys Couro, var., Schlegel, Faun. Japon. 64. 

 Pelusios subnia;er, JVagler, Syst. 137. 



Fitz. Syst. Rept. 29. 

 Emys subniger, Schweig. Prod. i. 315, 438. 



Hab. Africa ; Madagascar. 



a. Adult animal (dry) ; shell worn. Africa. 



b. Adult (stuffed) ; shields slightly grooved. Madagascar. 



From the Paris Museum. 



c. Half-grown (in spirits) ; lost its dorsal shields ; shell 



short, rounded and convex. 



3. Stemothserus castaneus. The Natal Sternoth.erxjs. 



Vertebral plates broad, nearly square, nearly as long as 



broad, the fourth six-sided, longer than broad. Jaws pale 



yellow. Sides of the hinder lobes of the sternum straight. 



Sternotherus castaneus. Gray, Syn. Rept. 38 ; Cat. Tort. 

 B.M. 37. 



Bum. ^ Bib. Erp. Gen. ii. 401. t. 20. f. 1 ; Cat. Meth. 

 R. 19. 

 Emys castanea, Schweig. Prod. 324. no. 38. 

 E. Couro, var., Schlegel, Faun. Japan. 64. 

 Testudo subnigra ;S, Baud. Rept. ii. 198. 

 Sternotherus Leachianus,i?e//,Zoo/. Jrarw.ii. t. 14(young?). 

 S. sinuatus, A. Smith, Illust. Zool. S. Africa, t. 1. 

 Pelusios castaneus, TJ'agler, Syst. 137. 



Hab. South Africa; Madagascar (Qj/oy). 



a, b. Adult (stuffed). Two anterior marginal plates nar- 

 rower than the first vertebral. Sternum of {a) flat, of 

 (b) concave. Port Natal. From Dr. Krauss's Col- 

 lection. 



Osteology : — 



c. Adult shell. Vertebral jilate bluntly keeled ; two ante- 

 rior marginal plates nearly as broad as the first verte- 

 bral. Sierra Leone ? 



The figure above cited of Sternotherus sinuatus of 

 Dr. A. Smith is very like specimen " e," but the first 

 vertebral plate is broader and not so long. 



4. Stemothaerus Derbianus. Lord Derby's Sterno- 

 therus. Tab. XXII. 



Shell oblong, convex, rounded ; vertebral shields narrow, 

 six-sided, much longer than broad, the last subtriangular. 

 Head broad, the parietal and crown plates united into 

 one ; muzzle bluntly rounded ; the sternum broad, with the 

 hinder portion scarcely contracted in front, the front much 

 rounded ; the central gular plate broad ovate, angular be- 

 hind ; two anterior marginal shields as wide as the front 

 vertebral. Jaws dark-lined. 

 Sternothoerus Derbianus, Gray, Cat. Tort. B.M. 37. 



Hab. West Africa. 



a. Adult (stuffed). Vertebral plates elongate, very narrow, 



half as long again as broad. West Africa ; Gambia. 

 Presented by the Earl of Derby. 



Osteology : — 



b. Adult shell. Vertebral plates square, rather longer than 



broad. West Africa ; Sierra Leone. 



This species is separated from iS. castaneus and S. sub- 

 niger by the shape of the vertebral plates, which in these 

 species are broad, sLx-sided ; in the S. castaneus they are 

 nearly as broad as long, and in the .S'. subniger the third 

 and fourth are broader than long, and the fourth is ovate 

 and swollen behind. Perhaps they may all prove only to 

 be varieties of the same species, or dependent on age. 



5. Stemothserus Adansonii. Adanson's Sterno- 



TH-ERUS. 



Shell oval, fulvous, brown-spotted, back strongly keeled ; 

 front vertebral plates much longer than broad. Sternum 

 mobile in front, yellow, more or less varied with reddish- 

 brown. Head flat, broad ; tail short. 



Pelomedusa? Adansonii, Gray, Cat. Tort. B.M. 38. 



Emys Adamsonii, Schweig. Prod. 308. 27. 



Hvdrasi)is Adansonii, Gray, Syn. 40. 



Pe'ntonyx Adansonii, Bum. ^- Bib. Erp. Gen. ii. 394. 



Sternotherus Adamsonii, Bum. ^ Bib. Cat. Meth. R. 19. 



Hab. Cape de Verde ; White Nile. Mus. Paris. 



2. PELOMEDUSA. 

 Head much depressed, shielded with two narrow frontal 

 shields, separated by a groove, a large vertebral shield, and a 

 large cheek-shield on each side. Chin two-bearded. Beaks 

 exposed. Neck broad. Legs with strong band-hke shields 

 in front, quite retractile. Toes short, strong, shielded 

 above, webbed to the tips, mth a large rounded lobe 



