1899,] MR. W. L. SCLATEB, 0>' THE ' FAITN'A OF SOUTH AFRICA.' 9.-^9 



founded on the anterior part of a cranium, are one and the same 

 and it furtlier shows that the skull of Nesopithecus is provided \vith 

 several features characteristic of the Malagasy Lemurs, amongst 

 them being the character of the bulla before described, in which 

 it completely agrees with them. The bullae are very spacious, and 

 the outer opening of the meatus auditorius being very large, the 

 free tympanic ring can be seen through it without difficulty. 



Other features of this remarkable skull are the following : — 



The orbits are open behind. The number and notation of the 

 teeth are the same as in N. roberti. In the number of the upper 

 series the latter agrees with American monkeys, but at the same 

 time with the Lemuriuae. In the lower series the number of pre- 

 molars is as in the latter ; the number of incisiform teeth is two, as 

 in the Indrisinse. On the other hand, several features presented 

 by N. roberti, and in a minor degree by the present species, are 

 decidedly those of the Anthropoidea, and scarcely a single one of 

 the characters considered to distinguish the Lemuroidea from the 

 Anthropoidea holds good in the case before us. In both the species 

 of Nesopithecus the upper incisors are not separated in the median 

 line ; in their shape they decidedly resemble the incisors of the 

 Cercopithecidse, the lower incisiform teeth being inserted nearly 

 vertically. The true molars, as previously stated (cf. Geol. Mag. 

 1896, p. 435), present the pattern of the Cercopithecidse. The facial 

 profile is steep in both species ; very steep in N. roberti, in which 

 the orbits are directed straight forward and the lachrymal foramen 

 is situated inside the orbit. These resemblances to the Monkeys 

 are not limited to the skull, but extend to almost every oue of 

 the bones of the skeleton, most of which are at hand. 



As the question at present stands, we have then to inquire 

 whether Nesopithecus is the most highly evolved of the Lemuroidea 

 or the lowest of the Anthropoidea — that is to say, are its Simian 

 characters independently acquired or not? I do not intend to enter 

 into this difficult question this evening, as an attempt to answer it 

 can only be made after a fuller description and discussion of all the 

 characters. 



The beautifully preserved upper molar teeth of Megaladapis now 

 exhibited form part of a complete set of teeth recently received 

 from Madagascar, and agree in all particulars almost exactly with 

 the correspondinhg ';eet of Megaladapis madagascariensis, but they 

 are at least one-third larger, and thus indicate a huge Lemurid, the 

 skull of which must have had the approximate length of 330 mm. 

 I propose to call this new species Megaladapis insignis. 



Mr. W. L. Sclater, F.Z.S., Director of the South African 

 Museum, Cape Town, explained the nature of a series of volumes, 

 contributed by various authors, which be proposed to issue under 

 the title of the ' Fauna of South Africa.' The first volume, which 

 he hoped would be ready in a few days' time, would deal with the 

 first portion of the Passerine birds ; it had been prepared by the 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1899, ]S'o. LXIV. 64 



