176 



RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



Measurements in millimetres. 



Locs. : — The Australian Museum ])ossesses s[)ecimeiis from 

 Port Darwin, Northern Territory ; Cape York, Queensland ; 

 and Murray Island, Torres Strait. In the Queensland Museum 

 are three examples from Keppel Bay, Central Eastern Queens- 

 land. From Macgillivray's note quoted above (p. 163), it 

 appears that this species occurs at Prince of Wales Island near 

 Cape York ; this is certainly to be expected. Garman gives 

 the type localities as East Indies and North Australia. The 

 present known distribution may be stated as the P]ast Indies, 

 northern coast of Australia, islands of Torres Strait, and 

 eastern coast of Queensland (iig. 38). 



" Liirvid xhields " or areola' ; tlnu'r sfructure, variation, 

 and (jroirtlt : — What are here termed " larval shields " are the 

 temporary superficial scales which, during the infancy of the 

 turtle, cover more or less completely the real scutes of tlie 

 head, carapace, and y)lastron. As the underlying scute extends 

 its area peripherally the larval shield withdraws from its 

 edges, those of the carapace and plasti'on becoming situated 

 eccentrically, rather behind the centre of the scute. At this 

 stage the larval shields are comparable to the so called "aieolfe" 

 of land tortoises (particularly those of the family Testudinidae) 

 described by Agassiz-- and Ct)ker.--» The areola of tortoises 

 are stated by Gadow^^ to become added to yeai- by year b}'^ a 

 layer of horn, and, in some forms, although they are 

 periodically shed, the last formed stratum of horn serves as the 



'-- Agassiz — Nat. Hist. U.S., i., p. 259. 



•■;:' Coker— Bull. N. Carol. Geol. Surv.. It, 1!H)(5, ]>. 2(5. 



-•' Gadow— Cainbr. Nat. Hist., ReptiU«s. Htol, \^. :?2t). 



