Cretaceous Lizards and Rhynchoeephah'ans. 207 



sliown to differ considerably from tliat of the Varanidse and 

 to agree very closely with that of Mosasaurs. Kramber<^er 

 is therefore fully justified in rei^ardin,!^ this type as one of the 

 original stock from which the Varanoids and the Mosasaurs 

 were derived. 



There are a few points in Kramberger's description which 

 need criticism. First, as regards the number of cervical 

 vertebrae : whilst admitting that, owing to the sternum not 

 being preserved, it is difficult to decide which is the first 

 dorsal vertebra (taking as such that which bears the first 

 sternal rib), the autiior assumes that only seven vertebrai are 

 to be reckoned as cervicals, his reason being that the scapula 

 in his specimen is situated on a line with the fifth to seventh 

 vertebrae. In a specimen of Varanus niloticus which I have 

 before me I find that the scapula corresponds to the sixth and 

 seventh vertebra?, and yet nine cervicals exist ; besides, the 

 last cervical is a little shorter than the first dorsal, the differ- 

 ence between the two being about the same as represented in 

 d. 2 and (/. 3 of Kramberger's figure. I would therefore say 

 that Aigialosaurus had nine cervical vertebrae, or even ten in 

 the event of the atlas having been overlooked. 



A second criticism I have to make is with respect to the 

 importance attached by Kramberger to the great development 

 of the cervical autogenous hypapophyses of his reptile as 

 differentiating it from existing lizards ; for on the five anterior 

 vertebrae of the Agamoid Physignathus Lesueiirii I find them 

 quite as long as in Aigialosaurus, and other recent lizards 

 approach this condition. 



An interesting point in the specimen figured is the presence, 

 to which, however, no allusion is made in the text, of double 

 parapophyses to the second sacral and the first two caudal 

 vertebrse, thus representing the well-known " lymphapo- 

 physes " of snakes. On this occasion I would remark that 

 DoUo, in a recent contribution, is entirely mistaken when he 

 thinks that the lyniphapophyses of snakes and apodal lizards 

 represent tiie combined ribs and ha^mapophyses. A glance 

 at the skeleton of a vijicr, to mention no other examples, 

 shows that the lyniphapophyses may coexist with the paired 

 hypapophyses on one and the same vertebra. His statement, 

 " les lyniphapophyses ne coexistent jamais sur la merae 

 vertbbrc, soit avec les cotes, soit avec les hgemapophyses," is 

 therefore erroneous ; and his deductions, so far as this point 

 is concerned, consequently fall to the ground. 



We have so long been ignorant of any undoubted pre- 

 Tertiary Lacertilian in the restricted sense, that much 

 importance attaches to the description of the Upper Jurassic 



