l66 RECORDS OK THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



The iih'iititij of Natator tesski.latus n-iili Cheldma dehk-essa. — 

 1 have little doubt that Xahitnr trssrllufuf:, McCullocli, Foundeil 

 on a juvenile specimen, is only the young- stage of thr turtle 

 described by Garman, from adult matei'ial, as ( 'lirlciiin '/(■^//•(?x,««. 

 Nevertheless, when McCulloch's desci-iption is compaied with 

 Gaiman's, numei-ous disci'ej)ancies will be noticed. 'J'o a o'reat 

 extent these ai'e accounted for by t)ne or the othei' of two 

 reasons. (1) McCulloch's type seems younger than atiy of the 

 specimens mentioned by Garman as "young" ; (2) Gafman's 

 types, according to Baur,are dried specimens, whilst McCulloch's 

 type, and indeed all the specimens known to me, ai'e spii'it oi- 

 formaline specimens. The Hrst would account for (larman's 

 statement that the plates a.re smooth in both tlie young and 

 adult. The second for the remark that the ])addles are in- 

 dented between the digits, which is easily understood, as they 

 are covei'ed by soft wriiikh'd skin instead of hard lioniy sup- 

 porting plates as in i'. nuiilii.<; this last cliai'actcr seems to 

 have escaped Garman's notice. 1 am at a loss to understand 

 his statement thai in the young the cai'a])ace lias three low 

 ridges. Tliere is cei'taiiily no trace of them in my specimen, 

 but perhaps this too can l)e accounted for hy the sliriiikaL!''' due 

 to ilrying. 



Tlic .s■^///^^• (if till' iii'iiit.< NatATiiI}, Mrl 'iillnr/i. — ({ai'manl'"' 

 described Chehuiin (li'iif('^>-(i, of which Xafntur trs.'O'lhif )!.■<, 

 McCulloch,^*^ becomes a synonym, as a new species only. On 

 examining the tvpe specimen, nine veais later, l)i\ Baur'' niaiie 

 the following I'ema-rks : — " f'liclnuiii (Jcju-co^d, Garman, wliic'n is 

 considered by lioiilenger as a synonym of i 'In'loiiln nii/iha' 



does not belong to the genus Chelonia. atall The lower 



jaw has a greatly' developed book very much like /.i y//-/ci7/c///.s 

 l-en>p{i\ Garman, but thei'e is a median ridge on the symphysis, 

 something like L-'jiiihirli, 'I i/s <il i rdceii.f, ^schach. Until the skull 

 of this species is known it is im])ossibIe to decide wlietliiM- it 

 belongs in Thala-ssocheivs, Lepidochelys, or, wlial I iliink 

 probable, to a new genus." if ( 'In'ltnn'it tlcjH-i'^.-'it i-eally represents 

 a distinct genus, therefore, Mr. McCulloch's nanH:> Xididdr must 

 be used to designate it, but as shown by the following pages, a 

 final judgment is best i-esei'ved until the adult skull has been 

 studied. 



>■' (^aniiHii— Mull. Mus. (V.iui). Zuol.. vi.. 1881, ]). 124. 

 "« McCullodi — R.JC. .\ii.str. Mas., vii., 1908, p. 126. 

 "7 Baur— Auier. Nat., xxiv., 18',»(), j). 487. 



