486 MISS JOAN B. PROCTER ON THE 



Affinities. 



Testudo loveridgii is undoubtedly closely related to T. tornieri 

 Sieb. Even before the skeletal characters were known, when the 

 former was thought to be without a bony carapace, it was recog- 

 nized as being nearer to the latter species than to any other; 

 in fact, Mr. Loveridge took his first specimens to be tornieri. 

 Comparison of their skeletons show that they are similar in 

 structure. 



Briefly, they are probably both derived from the geometrica 

 group, loveridgii being one step further removed than tornieri. 



T. tornieri differs from T. loveridgii in that the cai"apace is not 

 quite so depressed. The bony plates beneath are rather more 

 developed, and slightly different in arrangement. It has a ninth 

 pair of well-developed costal plates, and the whole animal is 

 relatively much longer, being about half as broad as long instead 

 of two-thirds. 



The supracaudal shield is also entire, instead of divided as is 

 usually the case in loveridgii. It possesses, however, all the 

 special peculiarities of loverid,gii, including the deficient ribs, and 

 fenestrated carapace and plastron, which produces a soft-shelled 

 condition. It also appears, from its photographs, to have both 

 jaws regularly denticulated. 



Siebenrock's two specimens from Bussisi and Lindi are 

 described as having soft shells, but he considered the condition 

 of the carapace which he dissected away in one individual to be 

 pathological (1904). The finding of a third specimen by Lonn- 

 berg at Njoro (1911) and the recent discovery of loveridgii^ 

 however, prove that it is merely physiological. 



Habitat and habits, 



T. loveridgii is found in the arid rocky country round Dodomo 

 and Tabora in Tanganyika Territory. Its distribution seems 

 to be restricted to rocky kopjes where great boulders of grey 

 granite are scattered ; the characteristic vegetation is of the thorn- 

 bush type ; capers are also numerous. 



The tortoise is good at climbing up the face of the rock, and 

 turns over easily after falling on its back. It can only be 

 dislodged from crevices with difficulty, as it is able to inflate itself 

 to a certain degree, and thus wedge itself firmly, using its legs 

 as struts. It is also able to squeeze itself beneath stones, on 

 account of the springy structure of its carapace. 



It is probable that it lays a single oval egg (about 35 mm. long 

 and 23 mm. in diameter), as such a one was recently dug up by 

 Mr. Loveridge in the enclosure in which several females were 

 penned. The embryo exti-acted from this egg is almost at the 

 point of ^hatching, and I have little doubt that it is loveridgii ■ 

 but it is not possible to be certain, as females of T. 2oardjalis and 

 Cinixys helliana were also in the pen, and tortoise-embrj^os 

 are very similar to one another, and at this stage the more 

 striking characteristics of loveridgii are not manifest. 



