DESCRIPTION'S OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF TORTOISES 

 FROM THE TERTIARY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



By O. P. Hat. 



The species first to be described was collected by Mr. Charles Schu- 

 chert, assistant curator, division of stratigraphic paleontology, U. S. 

 National Museum. The specimen was found in the Zeuglodon beds of 

 the Jackson formation of the Eocene, in Choctaw County, Alabama, 

 near Cocoa post-office, on land belonging to Mr. James Brown. In the 

 immediate vicinity, Mr. Schuchert collected also a nearly complete 

 skeleton of Basilosaurus [Zeuglodon), some bones of Dorudon, and ver- 

 tebrae of the snake which has been described and figured by Mr. F. A. 

 Lucas ^ as Pterosphenus schucherti. 



The turtle was found lying imbedded in the rock with the plastron 

 downward. The upper portion of the carapace had been planed off by 

 denudation down to the upper borders of the marginals. It is there- 

 fore impossible to determine the character of the neural and costal 

 bones and of the various superior epidermal scutes. The remainder of 

 the shell was intact, or nearly so, when excavated; but, in spite of 

 careful packing, it suffered much in shipment to the National Museum. 

 However, notwithstanding its broken condition, it has, under the intel- 

 hgent supervision of Mr. Lucas, the Curator of the Division of Com- 

 parative Anatomy, been so skillfully restored that little is left to be 

 desired, so far as the j)lastron and most of the marginals are con- 

 cerned. To Mr. Lucas I am indebted for the opportunity to study and 

 describe this interesting relic. 



I have assigned this species provisionally to the genus Hadrianus of 

 Cope. It undoubtedly belongs there, or to Testudo, or to some closely 

 related genus. In order to determine this question definitely we need 

 to have the upper portion of the shell. An examination of the diagram 

 of the shell of Testudo ibera given by Boulenger ^ shows that the neurals 

 and costals of this genus have undergone peculiar modifications. The 

 neurals are alternately quadrate and octagonal, while the outer ends 



1 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1898, XXI, p. 637. 



2 Catalogue of Chelonians, p. 151. 



Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXII— No, 1 181. 



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