126 DR. J. E. GRAY ON THE GENUS DERMATEMYs. [Mar. 8, 
M. Bibron, when in England, named the specimen in the MS. 
Catalogue of the Zoological Society Emys mawii, a name which I 
adopted when I originally described it. 
More lately the Museum at Paris appears to have received a spe- 
cimen with the animal, for I find it shortly noticed in M. A. Du- 
méril’s ‘ Catalogue of the Paris Museum’ under the name of Emys 
berrardi, with the following account of the animal :—‘‘ Head uni- 
form brown, flat, broad, rather large ; jaws toothed; toes broadly 
webbed ; tail strong, rather long.’ It was sent from M. Berrard 
from Vera Cruz. mys berrardi is also described and figured by 
A. Duméril in the sixth volume of the ‘Archives du Muséum,’ 
p. 231, t. 15. 
It is to be observed that in the short notice of the species in the 
‘Catalogue of the Paris Museum’ the series of large shields on the 
external symphysis, which is a peculiarity of Dermatemys mawit, is 
not mentioned ; and they are to be looked for in vain in the longer 
description in the ‘ Archives du Muséum,’ or in the plate which ac- 
companies that paper. Yet there can be no doubt that both the 
descriptions and figure are intended for the animal under discussion, 
as M. Duméril admits that they received one specimen from Lieut. 
Mawe, or “‘ Maw,” as it is printed, which no doubt they obtained 
from the Zoological Society when M. Bibron was in London. How- 
ever, the figure is more beautiful as a work of art than accurate as 
a natural-history drawing ; but then herpetologists must by this time 
have become accustomed to M. Auguste Duméril’s want of attention 
to such details. 
Professor Agassiz, probably deceived by these inaccuracies, ob- 
served :—‘‘ F. berrardi seems to belong to the genus Ptychemys, 
judging from the description and figure of the jaws.” (Contrib. 
p- 432.) 
In Mr. Salvin’s collection there is a specimen of this Tortoise, with 
the animal ; but, unfortunately, the specimen is not well preserved : 
it seems to have been allowed to get dry from evaporation of the 
spirit, and then to have been placed in spirit again. However, it is 
in a sufficiently good condition to allow of a description of the more 
prominent characters of the animal; and it shows that the peculiar 
disposition of the sternal plate, on which the genus was described 
(though overlooked by M. Duméril), belongs to the normal characters 
of the animal. The head is rather large, flat above, and covered with 
a soft, thin, continuous skin; the nose shelving upward, conical; 
nostril terminal ; mouth inferior, considerably behnd the end of the 
nose; beak horny, rather sinuated at the sides; chin not bearded ; 
the limbs strong, well developed ; the legs covered with small scales ; 
the front of the fore legs with numerous, unequal, very slender, 
band-like cross shields; feet large, broad ; the toes very long, rather 
slender, with a wide web to the base of the claws ; the outer edge of 
the fore leg and foot, and the hinder edge of the hind leg and foot, 
with a broad thin fringe, covered with large smooth plates; the 
claws 4—5, elongated, acute; tail short, thick, angular, the upper 
surface flat, granular, with a ridge on each side of the base con- 
