Remews—Fritseh's Permian Amphibia. 277 



fine granular structure, so that if any scales existed they are not 

 preserved. 



The eyes are placed rather behind the middle line of tbe skull, 

 and are separated by an interspace of two-thirds their diameter. 

 Tbe parietal foramen lies far behind the orbits. The anterior nares 

 cannot be distinguished. The nasal bones (N.) are anchylosed 

 together, and forked behind. The premaxillaries (^m) resemble those 

 of Siren lacertina. The maxillary (ins) is a strong bone extending 

 to the anterior extremity of the snout, and to the middle of the orbit ; 

 it carries about 15 smooth teeth, which are curved backward : there 

 may have been two rows. The frontal and parietal bones are 

 blended into one mass. The frontal terminates in front in three 

 processes. The epiotic terminates at its outer angle in a knob-like 

 swelling. The teeth of the lower jaw, 20 in number, were smaller 

 than those in the upper jaw. There are indications of a branchial 

 skeleton extending to the sixteenth vertebra. One hundred and 

 fifty vertebrae are preserved, but there may well have been fifty 

 more. In the neck the ribs are simple, in the body they are com- 

 plicated, and in the tail they are absent. The dorsal vertebras have 

 a depressed elongated quadrate form, with a ridge in the position of 

 the neural spine ; the neural arch is constricted in the middle, and 

 terminates at its four corners in zygapophyses. The transverse 

 processes are compressed, directed downward and outward, and 

 given off from the lower margin of the front of the centrum. The 

 centrum has a circular cup at each end, and the cones unite, so that 

 the notochord was persistent. The form of this vertebra may be com- 

 pared with that of Epicrium glutinosum. Each vertebra has a 

 slightly different shape. The tail vertebras are smaller and shorter, 

 and have weak zygapophyses, and are perforated in the middle of 

 the side as thougla for the passage of an intervertebral nerve. The 

 ribs of the neck at the sixteenth vertebra are twice as long as the 

 centrum. The dorsal ribs show towards the proximal end two 

 peculiar processes. The proximal end is bent at nearly a right 

 angle to the body of the rib ; the processes occur at the flexure, one 

 is dorsal, and the other has a ventral direction. These processes 

 present some analogy to the uncinate processes on the ribs of birds. 



The author next describes Dolichasoma ( OpJiiderpeton ?) angustatum 

 (Fr.). The parieto-frontal region of the skull is very similar to that 

 of Dolichosoma longissimum. There is some uncertainty felt as to its 

 exact generic relations. The next genus in this family is Opliider- 

 peton, of which five species are described. 



Ophiderpeton granidosiim (Fv.) is covered on the back with horny 

 shagreen-like scales, while the ventral surface is covered with small 

 scutes pointed at both ends, half as long as the vertebras, and arranged 

 in a V pattern. The ventral scutes are parallel to each other, 

 half as long as the vertebra. The body in form resembles Dolicho- 

 soiita. It is impossible to estimate its length, for the sixty vertebras 

 preserved show no variation in size. The skull is badly preserved. 



The neural arch of the vertebra is deeply notched posteriorly («). 

 From the posterior zygapophyses deep grooves (r) run forward and 



