DIPLOCAULUS MAGNICORNIS 37 



must have a classification for convenience why not have it consist- 

 ent at least? If we use a character to distinguish two orders of 

 Amphibia like the Branchiosauria and Microsauria, and the char- 

 acter has been accepted for nearly half a century, then why 

 not apply the same rule to another group of amphibians, and on 

 the structure of the vertebrae, ribs and hmb bones establish the 

 new order Diplocauha? It seems consistent at least if nothing 

 more. 



In pursuance of this I give here the ordinal characters of this 

 new group of Amphibia-Diplocauha : Skull proportionately very 

 large with epiotic angles drawn out into fan-shaped horns, the 

 expansion being due to the supratemporal, epiotic, parietal, 

 squamosal and supraoccipital, Frontals fused into a single 

 plate. Lachrymal probably absent. Pineal foramen absent. 

 Orbits small, circular and anteriorly placed. Sclerotic plates 

 unknown. Nostrils on or near the anterior edge of cranium. 

 Teeth borne on mandible, premaxillae, maxillae, palatines, vomers 

 and ectopterygoids. Teeth rounded, acrodont, denticles, abun- 

 dantly present and apparently fitted for crushing hard substances. 

 Palatal region restricted to the anterior portion of the skull. 

 It does not take part in the epiotic prolongation. The palatal 

 aspect of the cranium interrupted by five paired openings which 

 are: the internal nares, the palatine foramina, the infratemporal 

 foramina, the quadrate foramina for the attachment of the masse- 

 ter and temporalis muscles and the auditory slits or external 

 auditory meatus. The occipital condyles occur under the pro- 

 jecting shelf of the supraoccipital plates-. Basioccipital partly 

 cartilaginous and condyles borne by exoccipitals. Lateral line 

 grooves present on skull and mandible. 



Atlas ribless and essentially urodelous in structure. The ribs 

 bicipital and borne on large transverse processes springing from 

 the arch and centrum. The zygosphenal articulation not so 

 well developed as the zygopophysial one. Vertebral formula 

 unknown. Vertebrae elongate with low spine. Notochord but 

 partly persistent and absent in the middle portion of the centrum, 

 persisting as a double cone in the intervertebral regions. Clavic- 

 ular girdle composed of interclavicle, clavicles and coracoids (?) 



