592 DR. E. BROOM ON A SOUTH AFRICAN [May 29, 



fossil reptile, remains of which had been discovered by Mr. Alfred 

 Bi'own near Aliwal North. As the animal somewhat resembles 

 Sphenodon in size and genei-al appearance and is evidently a 

 Rhynchocephaloid reptile, I thought it befitting to name the genus 

 Howesia, in honour of the late Prof. G. B. Howes, who has done 

 such brilliant work on the osteology of Sphenodon, and whose early 

 death has left such a serious gap in the ranks of moi'phologists. 

 In Mr. Brown's collection there are three specimens which 

 I regard as belonging to Howesia. Specimen A, which I take 

 as the type, is a very badly crushed and imperfect skull. The 

 middle parts of both mandibles are preserved, including portions 

 of both dentaries, the right jugal, much of both maxillaries, a 

 large pai-t of both pterygoids, parts of the hyoid, and a few other 

 crushed and fragmentary bones. Specimen B, which there is 

 little doubt belongs to the same genus and species, consists of a 

 number of bones of the skull, crushed and much displaced, par'ts 

 of most of the cervical vertebrse, the left shoulder-girdle and 

 the left humerus. Among the cranial bones the following can 

 be identified with some degree of certainty — f rentals, parietals, 

 postfi'ontal, postorbital, squamosal, jugal, maxillary, and pterygoid. 

 Specimen consists of the pelvis, most of the bones of the hind 

 limbs including the tarsus, and a considerable number of caudal 

 vertebrae of a Rhynchocephaloid reptile which may provisionally 

 be regarded as belonging to the same genus and species as 

 specimens A and B. In the absence of head there is of course an 

 element of doubt, but as all the specimens are from the same 

 hoi'izon, and as the pelvis in specimen C is such as we should 

 expect to find in Hoioesia from the size and charactei's of the skull 

 and shoulder-girdle, I shall assume that it belongs to the same 

 species as the others. 



Skull. 



Though both specimens of the skull are in a vei-y unsatisfactory 

 condition, it is nevertheless possible to make out most of the 

 principal points in the cranial anatomy. In the main the skull 

 resembles fairly closely that of Sjj/ienodon, though there is a 

 marked difierence in the dentition. At the time the preliminaiy 

 note was written I was unable to determine with certainty whether 

 the rows of Ryperodapedon-like teeth were borne by the maxilla 

 or by the palatine or by both. As the result of the further develop- 

 ment of specimen A, it would appear that the teeth are on the 

 maxilla, and on the maxilla only. 



The maxilla is shaped as in the better known Diaptosaurian 

 reptiles Procolophon and Pcdceohatteria. The facial portion is flat 

 and triangular, and probably about 25 mm. in length and 12 mm. 

 in depth. The inferior or tooth-bearing portion is thick and 

 rounded. In specimen A one of the maxillfe measures 5 mm. in 

 thickness ; in specimen B a maxilla,ry fragment is 5 "5 mm. in 

 thickness. In front the tooth-beaiing poi'tion is considerably 

 thinner — at least as thin as 3 mm. In the middle portion of the 

 maxilla there are three rows of obtusely pointed teeth, but 



