﻿138 
  Mr. 
  G. 
  A. 
  Boulenger 
  on 
  the 
  

  

  XV. 
  — 
  Remarks 
  in 
  reply 
  to 
  Dr. 
  Baur's 
  Article 
  on 
  the 
  Syste- 
  

   matic 
  Position 
  of 
  Miolania*. 
  By 
  G. 
  A. 
  Boulenger. 
  

  

  After 
  having 
  thought 
  Miolania 
  to 
  be 
  allied 
  to 
  Staurotypus, 
  

   Dr. 
  Baur 
  now 
  regards 
  this 
  Chelonian 
  as 
  representing 
  " 
  a 
  

   highly 
  specialized 
  branch 
  of 
  the 
  true 
  land-tortoises, 
  the 
  Testu- 
  

   dinida?, 
  the 
  true 
  Testitdinid 
  characters 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  only 
  

   obscured 
  by 
  the 
  enormous 
  development 
  of 
  dermal 
  ossifications, 
  

   especially 
  on 
  the 
  skull, 
  which 
  gave 
  to 
  it 
  quite 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  

   appearance" 
  Dr. 
  Baur's 
  argumentation, 
  based 
  to 
  a 
  great 
  

   extent 
  upon 
  extremely 
  doubtful 
  data, 
  has 
  not 
  in 
  any 
  way 
  

   modified 
  the 
  view 
  I 
  arrived 
  at, 
  viz. 
  that 
  Miolania 
  was 
  a 
  

   Pleurodiran 
  — 
  not 
  of 
  course 
  a 
  member 
  of 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  existing 
  

   groups, 
  but 
  the 
  representative 
  of 
  a 
  distinct 
  very 
  specialized 
  

   family 
  of 
  terrestrial 
  habits. 
  The 
  idea 
  that 
  a 
  Reptile 
  with 
  a 
  

   long 
  tail, 
  with 
  opisthocoelous 
  vertebras 
  and 
  large 
  chevron- 
  

   bones, 
  can 
  be 
  descended 
  from 
  the 
  short-tailed 
  forms 
  which 
  con- 
  

   stitute 
  the 
  Pleurodira 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  is 
  inadmissible 
  ; 
  

   and 
  so 
  is 
  Dr. 
  Baur's 
  theory 
  of 
  the 
  specialization 
  from 
  a 
  land- 
  

   Testuclinoid, 
  viz. 
  a 
  type 
  with 
  extremely 
  reduced 
  tail, 
  with 
  

   proccelous 
  vertebra? 
  and 
  no 
  chevrons. 
  

  

  For 
  the 
  reason 
  that 
  Miolania 
  constitutes 
  a 
  family 
  different 
  

   from 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  known 
  Pleurodira, 
  and 
  led 
  a 
  terrestrial 
  

   instead 
  of 
  an 
  aquatic 
  life, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  expected 
  that 
  we 
  

   should 
  obtain 
  an 
  exact 
  repetition 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  characters 
  which 
  we 
  

   observe 
  in 
  the 
  existing 
  types. 
  In 
  his 
  definition 
  and 
  enume- 
  

   ration 
  of 
  those 
  characters 
  Dr. 
  Baur 
  has 
  arrived 
  at 
  some 
  

   curious 
  misconceptions 
  from 
  not 
  examining 
  sufficient 
  material, 
  

   and, 
  what 
  is 
  still 
  less 
  excusable, 
  by 
  not 
  carefully 
  perusing 
  

   the 
  standard 
  works 
  on 
  the 
  osteology 
  of 
  Reptiles. 
  Thus, 
  for 
  

   example, 
  he 
  entirely 
  ignores 
  the 
  cranial 
  structure 
  of 
  Chelys, 
  

   the 
  type, 
  in 
  a 
  systematic 
  sense, 
  of 
  the 
  Pleurodira, 
  which 
  has 
  

   been 
  figured 
  by 
  Cuvier, 
  Wagler, 
  Briihl, 
  Hoffmann, 
  and 
  

   Mivart. 
  He 
  will 
  find, 
  by 
  referring 
  to 
  Chelys, 
  that 
  his 
  cha- 
  

   racter 
  of 
  " 
  the 
  quadrate 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  basisphenoid, 
  

   sometimes 
  with 
  the 
  basioccipital," 
  falls 
  to 
  the 
  ground. 
  That 
  

   the 
  connexion 
  between 
  the 
  vomer 
  and 
  the 
  prefrontals 
  does 
  not 
  

   exist 
  in 
  the 
  living 
  Pleurodira 
  is 
  perhaps 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  

   vomer 
  is 
  absent 
  in 
  the 
  Pelomedusidse, 
  whilst 
  in 
  the 
  ChelydidaB, 
  

   where 
  it 
  is 
  present, 
  the 
  prefrontals 
  are 
  widely 
  separated 
  from 
  

   each 
  other 
  ; 
  however, 
  in 
  Chelys 
  and 
  Chelodina 
  a 
  complete 
  

   bony 
  orbito-nasal 
  septum 
  is 
  formed 
  by 
  connexion 
  of 
  the 
  praa- 
  

  

  * 
  January 
  number 
  of 
  these 
  ' 
  Annals,' 
  p. 
  54. 
  

  

  