Notices of Memoirs — Brief Notices. 23 



originated in situ from the Dolerite. This view, however, is not 

 shared by all observers. Some eminent geologists consider the 

 high-level Laterite of the Western Ghats as a derived, viz. trans- 

 ported, rock. If such were really the case we should only be brought 

 face to face with another difficulty almost as great as the former. 

 We should have to explain why and how in particular regions such 

 vast quantities of ferric oxide and alumina were extracted from the 

 igneous rocks, and both bases redeposited together without any 

 admixture of other substances except mere traces of silica and 

 titanium dioxide. 



ITOTIOIEiS OIP nvCZEHVCOIZeS, lETO. 



Brief Notices. 



1, Eecent Discoveries in Madagascar. — The first trimestrial 

 number of this year of the Bulletin Economique of Madagascar 

 and Dependencies contains a preliminary notice by Mr. Standing 

 on the discovery of sub-fossil bones at Ampasambazimba (west of 

 Lake Itasy). 



A great number of bones, which were found embedded partly 

 in a travertine and partly in a black "basaltic or peaty" soil, have 

 already been received by the Academie Malgache of Tananarive. 

 Besides fragmentary remains of iZ«^poj)oiam?(s, Crocodiles, Ghelonians, 

 and j^pyornis, there are several beautifully preserved skulls and 

 fragments of jaws and limb-bones of extinct Lemuroids, a descrip- 

 tion of which will be given in the Bulletin of the Academie. All 

 the known groups of sub-fossil Lemurs are represented in th© 

 collection. 



The Megaladapis ' group ' is represented by the anterior part of 

 a skull of M. madagascariensis and by several fragmentary jaws. 



The remains of Palceopropitheci are numerous, comprising two 

 fine skulls of a new species, together with other less complete 

 skulls, lower jaws, and a femur. 



The Arch(Solemur or Nesopithecus group is likewise well repre- 

 sented. 



Of the Lemurs sensii stricto, two skulls deserve particular 

 mention, the one resembling the recent Lemur variiis, the other the 

 extinct Z. insignis. 



Last, but not least, a fragmentary lower jaw is said to be of 

 particular interest, as throwing light on the origin of the Aye-Aye 

 (Chiromys). 



2. — L. DoLLO. Les ancetresdesMosasauriens. (Extr. from Bull. 

 Scientif. de la France et de la Belgique, 1903, vol. xxxviii, pp. 1-3.) 



In his memoir " Uber die Varanus-artigen Lacerten Istriens" 

 (Beitr. zur Pal, und Greol. Oesterreich-Ungarns und des Orients, 

 1903, vol. XV, p. 41)^ Baron Franz Nopcsa, jun., arrives at the 

 following conclusions : — 



a. The Pythonomorpha are derived from the Aigialosaurid^. 



1 See Geol. Mag., 1903, pp. 119-121. 



