Reginald W. Sooley — A neio Tortoise from Hordicell. 67 



-extends on to the fifth costal. The entoplastral bone is rounded 

 posteriorly and intersected by the humero-pectoral sulcus, which 

 traverses the plastron in a sinuous line. The pectoral-abdominal 

 sulcus touches the posterior hyoplastral suture at the right angle, 

 formed with the median suture: from' here it gradually curves 

 upwards to the height of about a quarter the length of the hyoplastral, 

 when it rapidly falls, passing from that plate at the point of union 

 of the outer and lateral posterior suture ; this sulcus becomes 

 remarkably deep in the central region of the plastron, forming 

 a very marked feature. 



Shell of Nicoria headonensis, sp. nov. 



1, shell (carapace) ; 2, plastron ; 3, part of the inguinal buttress. 

 From Lower Headon Beds, Hordwell, Hants. 



This specimen comes within the family Testudinidse by the 

 complete ossification of the shell, the union of the plastron with 

 the carapace by suture, the ovoid character of the carapace, and its 

 covering of epidermal shields. Further, from the neural plates 

 being short-sided behind, and the entoplastron intersected by the 

 humero-pectoral sulcus, it may be referred to the genus Nicoria, as 

 arranged by Mr. Boulenger in his synopsis of the genera of this 

 family in the British Museum Catalogue of Chelonians. The second 

 neural bone and the general form of the vertebral and costal shields 

 show a strong resemblance to the recent Nicoria trijuga ; but it 

 differs in not having its fifth neural bone octagonal, and its sixth 

 short-sided in front. It also differs from Nicoria tricarinata (from 

 the Pliocene of the Siwalik Hills) in the carapace not being so 

 elongately oval, in exhibiting no carination, and in the form of the 

 vertebral and costal shields. It is also distinguished from its variety 



