350 Geological Society. 



very large, covered inside and out with short reddish hairs. 

 Whiskers long and numerous. Tail long, about equal in 

 .length to the head arid body ; the proximal half having short 

 hairs of the same colour as the back ; on the distal portion the 

 fine silky hairs gradually lengthen till it may be called bushy ; 

 these longer hairs are almost liver-colour throughout. The 

 scales, which are almost entirely concealed by the hair 

 throughout the length of the tail, are exceedingly fine, about 

 twenty to the centimetre. The feet are thick in the digital 

 portion, the pads very large and rounded, entirely covering 

 the fore part of the foot. The claws of both fore and hind 

 feet are very small and curved, almost concealed by the 

 hairs. 



The actual locality of the type (B. M. no. 97. 2. 18. 1) is 

 unknown, but one of the specimens is endorsed "Otjimbinque, 

 Damaraland." 



Measurements (taken from the skin) : 



Head and body 135 millim. ; tail 135 * ; ear (relaxed) 

 20-5 ; hind foot (relaxed) 24. 



The skull is chiefly remarkable in having extremely wide 

 open infraorbital openings and very short snout. The supra- 

 orbital ridges are well developed, but not beaded. The teeth 

 are rather broad. The palate narrow and furrowed; the 

 foramina extend back about half the length of EiJ, the back 

 of the palate is even with the back of the molars. 



Measurements : Skull 31 millim. ; br. 16 ; constr. 4'5 ; 

 nasals 10'5 X 2'5 ; interpar. 4*5 X 9*5 ; hens, to back of pal. 

 13-1; pal. foram. 7'5; ^_ 3 5*3 ; diastema 7'5 ; br. outside 

 I^J 6, inside 2*5 ; mandible, length (bone only) 17 ; to tips of 

 incisors 20, height 9'2. 



PROCEEDINGS OP LEABNED SOCIETIES. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



January 6, 1897. Dr. Henry Hicks, F.E.S., 

 President, in the Chair. 



The following communication was read : 



]. 'On the Structure of the Skull of a Pliosaur.' By C. W. 

 Andrews, Esq., B.Sc., E.G.S. 



The paper deals with a specimen of the Plesiosaurian known as 

 Pliosaurus ferox, Sauvage, obtained by Mr. A. IN. Leeds from the 

 Oxford Clay near Peterborough, and now in the British Museum, 



* The tail of the type specimen "being broken, this measurement is 

 taken from another specimen (B. M. no. 81. 8. 3. 11) from the same locality 

 of about the same size. 



