608 



PROF. H. G. SEELEY ON THE ARMOUR 



[May 26, 



The smallest is 1^ inch long, 1 inch wide, and half an inch thick. 

 Its inferior surface is slightly convex, and the external margin is 

 a sharp edge. The central part of the plate being occupied by 

 the boss, the radiating ornament is very short and is a marginal 

 fimbriation. 



The second plate, slightly broken in front, is 21 inches long as 

 preserved, and just over an inch wide in front of the boss, but is 

 narrower posteriorly, though the lateral margins are weathered. 

 The boss, -^ inch in diameter, is shield-shaped, its hinder border 

 being concave, with the excavation of the pit behind it. The 

 substance of the plate is fully 1 inch thick, both in front and 

 behind the boss. The radiating ornament is chiefly seen 

 anteriorly, and is iiu^egularly pitted and corrugated. The con- 

 vexity of the base made the lateral margin sharp, but the edge is 

 almost removed by weathering. 



The third plate is an elongated irregular pentagon with the 

 base in front, about as long as the second plate, but wider. It is 

 an inch and a half wide as preserved, but the margin appears to 

 be worn. The boss is somewhat smaller but not less elevated, 

 and the excavation of the pit behind it gives the aspect of a 

 posterior position. The radiating ornament is similarly irregular, 

 and like that on the second plate ; but the base also develops 

 in a less degree some short-ribs, especially towards ^the hinder 

 margin. 



Text-fig. 126. 



Dorsal scute of Pareiasaurus steenkampensis. 



The fourth and fifth median plates are both imperfect. The 

 central boss is rather less elevated, but the posterior pit continues 

 to be a marked characteristic. 



Of the remaining plates, three are wider than long on the 

 hypothesis that the pit below the central boss is always posterior 

 in position ; and these ossifications are regarded as being placed 

 laterally. They are rather large plates, like the lateral plates in 



