502 Arthur Smith Woodward — British Fossil Crocodilia. 



named genus, and he incidentally refers to the occurrence of M. 

 superciliosns, de Blainv. sp., in the Oxford Clay near Oxford,^ and 

 of M. hastifer, Desl., in the Kimmeridgian.^ He further adds an 

 interesting statement " regarding the large mandible from Kirameridge 

 Bay, described by Sir Richard Owen'* under the name of Pliosaiirus 

 trochanter ius, and expresses his opinion that it certainly belongs to 

 the present Crocodilian form. 



To Metriorhynchus, also, we may safely refer several fossils from 

 the neighbourhood of Oxford, described by Professor Phillips as 

 Steneosaurian. 



Among its many important characters,^ this genus is especially 

 remarkable for the great development of the pre-frontal bones which 

 overhang its laterally-placed orbits ; the elongated, oval form of the 

 upwardly directed external nostril ; the large relative size of the 

 three or four anterior teeth in each jaw ; and the general contour of 

 the hinder cranial region. Fragments of the snout may also be easily 

 distinguished by the palatal surface exhibiting two parallel longi- 

 tudinal grooves. Moreover, it seems even possible to recognize 

 detached vertebrge by the peculiarities of the neural arch, for the 

 pedicle on each side is slightly prolonged downwards, thus presenting 

 the appearance of clinging to the centrum.® 



Now, nearly all these characters are well shown in Prof. Phillips' 

 figures of " Sieneosaurus palpebrosus " and " Steneosaurits gracilis," '' 

 and these species are also confined to the Upper Oolites, like the 

 majority of the Metriorhynchs of the Continent.^ Of the first named 



1 E. E. Deslongctiainps, "Notes Paleontologiques," p. 319. ^ Op. cit. p. 353. 



3 While describing the mandible of Metrwrhynohus Moreli, M. Deslongchamps 

 writes as follows [op. cit. p. 329) : — " Cette forme de machoire inferieure, toute 

 differente de celle des autres animaux de la meme f amille, rapelle assez la meme piece 

 appartenant a un animal d'une tout autre famille, c'est-a-dire des Sauropterygiens ; 

 je veux dire celle qui est decrite par S. Eich. Owen, comme etant celle d'un Fliosaurus 

 qui, d'ailleurs, s'ecarte notablement de la forme habituelle du Fliosaurus grandis, et 

 qu'il nomme Fliosaurus trochanterius.^ II est hors de doute que la machoire decrite 

 ici appartient au genre Metriorhynche ; il serait en effet trop etrange que cette forme 

 fut venue precisement se rencontrer dans toutes les assises ou se trouvent des Metrio- 

 rhynches, et que je puisse rapporter des pieces en tout semblables par leurs caracteres 

 particuliers de taille, de force et de brievete ou d'allongement du museau, a chacune 

 de mes especes de Metriorhynches, aussi bien dans les couches calloviennes 

 qu'oxfordiennes et kimmeridgiennes ; et, en efEet, je connais des maintenant des 

 machoires inferieures se rapportant parfaitement aux Met. superciliosus, Murtli, et 

 hastifer.''^ 



* R. Owen, " Monograph of the Fossil Eeptilia of the Kimmeridge Clay " (Mon. 

 Pal. Soc, 1868), p. 7, pi. iii. figs. 3-5. 



^ E. E. Deslongchamps, op. cit. p. 132. 



^ Character mentioned by H. E. Sauvage in Bull. Soc. Geol. France, [3] vii. 

 (1879), p. 695. See also figures and descriptions of vertebrse by E. E. Deslongchamps 

 in Leunier's " Etudes geologiques et paleontologiques sur I'Embouchure de la Seine, 

 etc.," 1870, pp. 50-52, pi. x. 



' J. Phillips, " Geology of Oxford," pp. 380-388, with woodcuts. The Kim- 

 meridge specimens were previously noticed by Owen (Brit. Assoc. Reports, 1841, 

 p. 82) under the name of Steneosaurits rostro-minor, Geoffr. 



* Referring to the Continental forms, Deslongchamps remarks [op. cit. p. 134): — 

 " On les retrouve dans les diverses assises oxfordiennes, et leur maximum de developpe- 

 ment semble avoir lieu dans les assises kimmeridgiennes superieures et purt- 

 landiennes." 



