CHONDROCRANIUM OF EUMECES 141 
the ear capsule is slightly swollen to form the prominentia utric- 
ularis (prom.ut.), dorsoventrally constricted in front, where, as 
prominentia recessus utriculi (prom.r.ut.), it extends under the 
prominences of the anterior and lateral ampullae to reach the 
margin of the auditory capsule and unite with the basal plate. 
In its posterior extent the utricular prominence is separated from 
the prominence of the anterior canal by the conspicuous fossa 
subarcuata (fos.s-a.), and perforated by the long slit-shaped fora- 
men endolymphaticum (f.end.). In the line connecting the lower 
end of the endolymphatic foramen with the facialis foramen, and 
slightly nearer to the former, is the foramen acusticum posterius 
(f.n.VIII.p.), opening into the cavum vestibulare posterius 
(fig. 5, cav.vest.p.); the foramen acusticum anterius (f.n.VIIT.a.), 
again, hes midway between the posterior acusticus foramen and 
the facialis foramen, but distinctly lateral and dorsal to the line 
connecting the two. This anterior acusticus foramen opens up- 
ward and forward into the cavum vestibulare anterius (fig. 5, 
cav.vest.a.), and is arched over by a projecting lip of cartilage. 
On the ventroposterior surface of the prominentia cochlearis, and 
visible in neither lateral nor median view, is the large fenestra 
cochleae (fig. 2, fen.coch.; in figs. 7 and 8 its position is indicated 
by an arrow), opening from the cochlear cavity into the fissura 
metotica. 
In other reptiles, also, the otic capsule shows only minor varia- 
tions. An enlargement of the cochlear portion, similar to that 
of Eumeces, is described in the crocodile (Gaupp, ’05 b, with 
reproduction of figure from Parker, ’83; Shiino, 714). The 
latter author notes also a sharp bend toward the median line in 
the course of the cochlear prominence. On the other hand, the 
cochlear prominence in the turtles, according to Kunkel (’12 b) 
and Nick (712), is less developed than in Lacerta, reaching the 
minimum in Chelone (Gaupp, ’05b). In Emys (Kunkel, ’11, 
12 b) the cochlea is described as extending to the posterior; 
in all other forms it extends to the anterior. In Crocodilus 
(Shiino, 714) and the earlier stages of Vipera (Peyer, 712) the 
entire capsule is so rotated that the anterior semicircular canal lies 
