THE GALAPAGOS TORTOISES. 285 



The concavity is rather deep, deepest in the hinder halves of the abdominals. 

 The anals are shorter and broader than the gulars; they meet in a shallow 

 notch behind, below which the edge is swollen, thickened and bent downward. 



Testudo typica, sp. nov. 



Plate 22, 34. 



This species (Type M. C. Z. 11072) is one of the nearest allies of T. nigra. 

 Looking downward upon it the carapace appears subquadrangular and some- 

 what narrower across the humeral section than across the mid length or farther 

 back. In the middle of the first vertebral scute there is a prominence and from 

 it a considerable declivity forward. Behind this vertebral the dorsal arch is 

 low and regularly curved to the areolar space on the middle of the fourth verte- 

 bral, which is prominent and from which the descent is steeper to the space 

 on the fifth vertebral, which latter is yet more prominent, almost acuminate. 

 From this boss the descent to the caudal is nearly vertical. The upper margin 

 of the fifth vertebral is narrow, being less than one fourth of the width of the 

 lower edge. The convexity of the other vertebrals and of the costals is low. 

 The marginals are comparatively large; the anterior three pairs and the posterior 

 four pairs are reverted and form scallops along the margins. Marked grooves 

 occur from the humeral and the femoral notches along the inward edges of the 

 marginals. Along the flanks the costals and the marginals are sufficiently 

 convex to give a full and plump appearance to the body. The lower edge of 

 the caudal is not bent forward; it inclines straight back and downward. Axil- 

 lary and inguinal scales are single. In the femoral section the marginals aie 

 somewhat wide and pass back and upward; the lower edge of the caudal de- 

 scends sharply below the marginals. This form is distinguished from all its 

 nearest allies by the prominent subacuminate boss of the fifth vertebral. 



Sternum subtruncate in the gulars with the angles rounded off. On the 

 lower surface the concavity is deepest at the junction of the femorals with 

 abdominals; it shallows gradually forward and more rapidly outward and 

 backward. The anal scales are hardly swollen at all; between them the notch 

 is of moderate depth. In front the gulars are swollen upward. SoUdity of 

 bones and anchylosis of sutures are probably the effects of a considerable age. 

 The color was nearly a uniform black. 



