76 Geological Society : — 



rians, — tlie obliquity of the articular faces of the centra, so charac- 

 teristic of the vertebrse of Slagonolepis, being-, as the author of the 

 paper pointed out, a verj' common character of Teleosaurian, and 

 even of modern Crocodilian, vertebra. Of the sacral vertebrse, only 

 a natural cast of the posterior face of the second had been obtained ; 

 but it was sufficient to demonstrate the wholly crocodilian charac- 

 ters of this region in Stagonolepis. 



The dorsal vertebrtc present a remarkable peculiarity in the strong 

 upward, outward, and backward inclination of the transverse pro- 

 cesses, and in the size of the facet for the head of the rib. The 

 vertebra thus acquires a Dinosaurian character ; but no great weight 

 was attached to this circumstance, as the amount of upward in- 

 clination of the transverse processes of the anterior dorsal vertebrae 

 varies greatly in both CrocodiUa and Enaliosanria . 



The ribs have well-marked and distinct capitula and tubercula; 

 and the scapula is extremely like that of a crocodile. The feraur, 

 though somewhat thick in prG))ortion to its length ; and, though its 

 articular extremities present such a ])cculiarly eroded appearance as 

 to lead to the belief that they were covered with thick cartilaginous 

 epiphyses, is also completely crocodilian in its characters. 



The natural cast of the mandible is remarkable for the great 

 length and subcylindrical contour of the teeth, the apices of which 

 are slightly recurved. The surface of the tooth is marked by nu- 

 merous close-set longitudinal grooves, which all terminate at a short 

 distance from the smooth apex. It would appear that the teeth 

 contained large pulp-cavities, and that each was set in a deep and dis- 

 tinct alveolus. Notwithstanding their special peculiarities, these teeth 

 might in many respects be compared with those of the Teleosauria. 



A metatarsal or metacarpal bone reproduced from a natural cast 

 was shown to be similar to that of a crocodile, but so much shorter in 

 proportion to its thickness as to indicate an altogether shorter and 

 broader foot. The cast of an ungual phalanx, on the other hand, 

 proves that Stacjonolepis had long and taper claws. 



Thus far the resemblances with the CrocodiUa are, on the whole, 

 very close ; but the characters of a coracoid obtained from Lossie- 

 mouth separate Slagonolepis from all known recent and fossil Cro- 

 codiUa. It is, in fact, a lacertian coracoid, very similar to that of 

 HylcEOsaurus. 



In summing up the evidence thus brought forward as to the 

 affinities of Stagonolepis, the author, after comparing it with the 

 oldest known Reptilia, expressed his opinion that the peculiar 

 characters of this ancient reptile separate it as widely from the 

 mesozoic Reptilia hitherto discovered as these are separated from 

 the cainozoic members of the same group, — in fact, it widely diverges 

 from all known recent and fossil forms, and throws no clear light 

 on the age of the deposit in which it occurs. 



The footsteps from the Cummingstone quarries were next described. 

 The largest yet seen by the author are eight or nine inches long, 

 but the majority are much smaller. Prof. Huxley expressed his 



