CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES. 



T. planiceps. T. Indica. 



Length from condyle to fi'ont of li]) 5^ 5| 



„ from occipital crest to nose-cavity . . 5f 5J 



„ of palate concavity 2f 3^ 



„ of nasal opening ItV 2 



Width at condyles 4^ 4 



„ at end of temporal bones 3^ 4^ 



„ of palate concavity in middle 1 If 



Height fi-om back of upper lip to top of head If 2f 



,, from front of lower jaw 1 Of 



Testudo planiceps. — Skull much depressed, flat ; fore- 

 head flat, with a rapid declivity towards the nose-cavity, 

 narrow between the eyes ; temples produced, bent in be- 

 hind ; cheeks large, subtrigonal ; edge of the jaws between 

 the nose-cavity and the moutli high and erect. Nose-cavity 

 nearly square, scarcely higher than broad, and very little 

 contracted above. Palate narrow, nearly lozenge-shaped, 

 truncated behind, rather deeply concave, with straiglit con- 

 verging sides in front. Sphenoid bone flat beneath under 

 the condyle ; lower jaw convex, erect in front and as high 

 as beliind. 



After an examination of the specimens of the large Black 

 Tortoise {T. Indica) in the various English and continental 

 collections, including the specimens which had served 

 Schweigger, Schlegel, Fitzinger, Dtimeril and Bibron, and 

 others as the tvpe of the species, in the Catalogue of the 

 Tortoises, &c. in the Collection of the British iNIuseum, I 

 regarded them all as varieties of a single, very variable 

 species, which had been scattered by man in different tropical 

 parts of tlie globe. I see no cause to change this opinion 

 with respect to the head above described and figured, even 

 should it prove to be that of a black species, which is possible, 

 as the black species is the only one known which has any 

 affinity to it in point of size, and it is said to be from a shell 

 of that colour. This skidl was sent to Haslar Hospital, and 

 was said to have been taken from a specimen brought from 

 the Galapagos Islands. 



The Black Tortoise of those Islands has been described 

 by Dr. Harlan under the name of Testudo Elephantopus, 

 but his figure and description so exactly agree with the 

 adult Testudo Indica, and the specimen in the Gardens of 

 the Zoological Society, brought from the Galapagos Islands, 

 is so exactly similar to the specimens of Testudo Indica 

 from the Mauritius, that I cannot think the usual black 

 Galapagos Tortoise is difi'erent from that species, or like the 

 skull here described under the name of T. planiceps. 



5. Testudo Horsfleldii. Horsfield's Tortoise. Tab. I. 



Shell oblong, rather depressed, pale, varied with blackish, 



especially upon the lower side ; the areola of the costal plates 



near their upper edge ; the gular plates elongate, triangular, 



longer than broad ; the anal plates broader than long, the 

 hinder notch broad, triangular, the hinder marginal plates 

 broad, with the nucleus on the centre of their margin ; the 

 front edge of the fore arms with smaller scales than the 

 hiuder ; the vent with two blunt spines on each side. 



Testudo Horsfleldii (Dr. Horsfield's Tortoise), Grai/, Cat. 

 Rept. B.M. 7. 



Hah. India ; Afighanistan. 



a. Young. India ; Affghanistan. Presented by the Hon. 

 East India Company. 



This species is very like Testudo sulcata, but the shell is 

 more depressed, the margin rather more produced and 

 toothed, and the scales of the fore feet are small and un- 

 equal, and those on the side of the vent are shorter and 

 broader than in that species. The nuclei of the hinder 

 marginal shields are central, while in T. sulcata they are on 

 the hinder edge of the scales. 



It resembles T. grceca, but the three pairs of sternal plates 

 are longer in comparison to their width than any specimens 

 we have, and the nuclei of all the hinder marginal plates 

 are on the hinder edge, and not in the centre. 



6. Testudo stellata. The Starred Tortoise. 



Shell ovate, convex ; shields convex, grooved, black, 

 yellow-rayed ; areola large, placed near the hinder edge ; 

 nuchal shield none ; head and feet black, yellow-spotted ; 

 tail short. 



Testudo stellata, Schweiyyer, Prod. i. 325. 



Gray, Syn. 12. t. 313 ; Cat. Rept. B. M. 7. 



Seba, Thes. t. 79. f. 3, t. 80. f. 3. 

 T. actinoides. Bell, Zool. Journ. iii. 419. t. 14; Test. t. 1, 2. 



Dutn. ^- Bib. Erp. Gin. ii. 66 ; Cat. Meth. R. .5. 

 T. elegaus, Schoepff. t. 25. f. 1. 



T. geoinetrica, Shaw, Zool. v. t. 2. f. 1 ; Indian Rev. 1838, t. 

 Le Geometrique, Lacep. Q. O. 155. t. 9. 



Young. Yellow ; black-rayed. 



Testudo stellata, Sckweiyger, Prod. 

 T. elegans, Schoepff. Test. t. 26. 



Baud. Rept. t. 25. f. 1. 



Gray, Syn. t. 3. f. 1, 2. 

 Geochelone stellata, Fitz. Syst. Schildk. 1 22 ; Syst. Rept. 29 . 



Very young. Shell yellow ; commissures of the shields 



black, forming together a lanceolate spot. 



Testudo elegans, Schoejiff. Test. t. 26, copied Shaw, Zool. 

 ii. t. 6. 



Hab. India ; Ceylon. 



a. Adult (stuffed) ; 6 inches. Shields few-rayed. Ceylon. 

 Presented by J. E. Gray, Esq. 



f, g, h, i. Adult (stuff'ed). Dorsal shields many-rayed. 

 India. Capt. Boys' Collection. 



j, k. Animal (unstuffed). India. 



