ART. 17 EAST AFRICAN VERTEBRATES LOVERIDGE 51 



extra vertebral. Similar aberrations are found in the present series 

 from Dodoma of which two tortoises had 4 costals on one side and 5 

 on the other; two tortoises had 6 vertebrals; five had 12 marginals 

 on either side instead of 11; in another the lateral marginals are 

 narrow and upturned, having exactly the appearance of roofing 

 gutters. In several the supracaudals are undivided. Some have 

 very strongly embossed plates. 



The largest individual, a female, measures 177 mm. in length, 131 

 mm. in breadth, and 40 mm. in depth, being 17 mm. longer but only 

 1 mm. broader than the largest previously known specimen, which 

 was also a female. The Kondoa Irangi male measures 152 mm. long 

 by 115 mm. broad. 



Two females which died in July were presumably egg-bound, for 

 each was found to contain a single large egg. Just as we were load- 

 ing the crate of tortoises into the train on September 2, 1 found a 

 fresh egg had been laid. As there were no other species of tortoises 

 in this crate, it can not but have been that of a soft-shelled tortoise. 

 Unfortunately it was placed for safety under a near-by bush and 

 never recovered. It is quite certain, however, that this species lays 

 but one very large egg. 



PELUSIOS NIGRICANS CASTANEU3 (Schweigger) 

 BLACK WATER TORTOISE 



Native name. — Malfuti (Chigogo). 



Some 50 of these tortoises were purchased from natives. Fourteen 

 came from Mukwese, others from Mtita's near Dodoma. 



The largest of this fine series, a male (?),only measured 175 mm. 

 in length by 122 mm. in breadth. 



I questioned many natives as to whether they attained a greater 

 size in the Dodoma district, but all were quite definite that they had 

 never seen larger. Compared with a specimen in the Museum of 

 Comparative Zoology (M. C. Z. No. 18163) from the Ruaha, Tan- 

 ganyika Territory, which measures 368 by 248 mm., these Dodoma 

 examples are only dwarfs. Is it possible that the arid nature of the 

 country and the small and scattered water holes are responsible for this 

 state of affairs? Yet there are large sheets of water such as at Nzingi 

 and Bahi where one would expect them to reach larger dimensions. 



PELOMEDUSA GALEATA (Schoepff) 



COMMON AFRICAN WATER TORTOISE 



Natives name. — Malwala (Chigogo). 



Over a hundred of these fresh-water tortoises were purchased. Most 

 of them came from the immediate vicinity of Dodoma township where 

 they are very common. I have seen one sunning itself on the edge 



