202 ON TESTUDO EMYS 



The fact that from 1840 until 1896 never a specimen 

 was found in the many collections from Sumatra that were 

 forwarded to our Museum , indicates T. emys must be a 

 rather rare species. Still in January of this year we had 

 the good luck to receive a large specimen of T. emys, 

 which had died in the Zoological Garden at Rotterdam. 

 This specimen , which was captured at Padang in Sumatra , 

 was a female with a great many nearly full-grown eggs. 

 It has the pectorals widely separated from each other. 



This fact settles it , that in the Sumatra-form , whether 

 it may be regarded as an other species or only as a variety 

 of the continental form , the pectorals are separated in the 

 female specimens, with the flat sterna. 



In this point T. emys differs from T. Phayrei, in which 

 latter the specimens with the flat sterna (probably the 

 females) have the pectorals forming a suture together. As 

 to the males of our Sumatra-species, it is very improbable 

 that, in contradiction with what happens in the continen- 

 tal form , the pectorals would form a suture. Moreover, in 

 looking over our specimens, the fact strikes us that the 

 distance between the pectorals is not the same in all spe- 

 cimens ; it is largest in our skeleton-specimen , and as that 

 specimen is just the only one with an indication of a 

 concavity in the femoral region , I think it very probable 

 that, in accordance with T. Fhayrei, in the males of T. 

 emys the distance between the pectorals is larger than in 

 the females. I am strenghthened in this opinion by a com- 

 munication I got, through the kindness of Mr. A. A. van 

 Bemmelen , director of the Zoological Garden at Rotterdam , 

 about another specimen of T. emys, still living in the 

 Garden. In that specimen , which has also an indication 

 of a concavity in the femoral region, the relation between 

 the distance between the pectorals and the length of the 

 sternum is as 1 to 2,6, in our skeleton the relation is as 

 1 to 2,9 ; whilst in our other specimens it is resp. 1 : 3,3 , 

 1 : 3,4, 1 : 3,8 and 1:4. I think the specimen, living at 

 Rotterdam , to be a male , in which case it would be proved 



Notes from tlie Leyden ]\Xuseuiu, Vol. X.VII. 



