40» MISS JOAN B. PROCTER ON THE 



The young are as broad as long and about one-third deep as 

 long, and the carapace is uniformly convex and cordiform in 

 outline. With growth these proportions change, the tortoise 

 becoming narrower and more depressed. In order to show 

 the pi-ecise nature of this change in form, the specimens in 

 the appended table are graded according to age ; the regular fall 

 of the pei-centage values for breadth and depth are thus obvious, 

 and could be well expressed by graphs. 



In both adults and young the dimension of depth does not 

 properly apply to the carapace s. sir., but to the thickness of the 

 entire animal. 



The plastron is large and projects beyond the carapace in front 

 and falls short of it behind ; fore-lobe truncate, hind -lobe deeply 

 cleft, the two about equal in length and nicely shaped around 

 the limbs ; bridge very variable in width, usually about once and 

 a half the length of either lobe. In the young the breadth of the 

 entire plastron is greater in proportion. 



Colouration. 



The sj^stem of markings is similar to that met with in the 

 geovietrica grou]) ; the pattern, however, does not form regular 

 stars, on account of the excentric positions of tlie areolars. These 

 surfaces are reddish brown or rust-colour, black and pale horn- 

 coloured bands radiating from them to the shield- edge; the rays 

 are sometimes very strongly marked and regular, sometimes one 

 colour predominating and sometimes the other, according to 

 whether the black rays are broad or narrow, strongly marked 

 or indistinct (^vide PI. I.). In the young the dark pigment is 

 irregularly massed around each areolar. Each shield has its 

 characteristic design, according to its contours; in well marked 

 specimens that of the fifth vertebral resembles a rising sun, as 

 depicted in decorative art; those on the marginals, the aster- 

 pattern of old blue china. 



On the plastron the system is the same, but the yellow or horn- 

 colour greatly predominates, partlj^ owing to the lai^ger areolars 

 and partly to the fact that the black rays do not always reach to 

 the shield-edge. 



The head and limbs are brownish or yellowash, sometimes 

 indistinctly mottled. 



Owing to the burrowing proclivities of these tortoises, the live 

 specimens usually have their beautiful markings entirely obscured 

 by dirt, which lodges in the deep concentric striations of the 

 shields. 



Mr. Loveridge notes that the specimens from Tabora are 

 lighter in colour than those from Dodoma. 



Head. 

 Head moderate; tympanum as large as or larger than eye: 

 frontal usually broken up into four shields ; praefrontal large, 

 subcordiform, divided in one specimen ; a pair of large supra- 



