272 FOSSIL REPTILES. 



shells of different kinds, and some bones, but the latter occur 

 rarely. The second, of a regular thickness of three feet and a 

 half, furnishes, with terebratulse, oysters, &c. some debris of 

 the bones of tortoise, and certain portions of the jaws of fishes. 

 In the third, there is the greatest quantity of debris of tortoise, 

 but never in any good state of preservation. They are accom- 

 panied by teeth of crocodile, which we have already noticed, 

 and many marine shells of the genera we have just mentioned. 

 The teeth offish are found in the fourth, with some remains of 

 other bones. In the fifth, shells again appear. The sixth is a 

 small bed of marie. In this are found the bones of tortoise more 

 entire, with shells of different genera. The seventh and eighth are 

 filled with terebratulae, and contain some vertebrae of fish, but 

 rarely the remains of other bones. In the ninth are crystals of 

 pyrites, but no petrifactions. In the tenth, which is very thick 

 and of a gross and friable grain, are only found terebratulae. 

 This formation, notwithstanding its peculiarity, is nevertheless 

 marine. It is, therefore, astonishing enough to find there the 

 remains of animals whose genera exist at the present day only 

 in the fresh water, such as the emys and the crocodile. Never_ 

 theless, it is a most certain fact. 



A tolerably complete cuirass was found here with its cara- 

 pace and breast-piece, and the impression of the scales was 

 quite distinguishable. It was twenty-four inches long, and 

 twenty in its greatest breadth, which was towards the lower 

 third part. Its form was a fine oval, rounded at the two ends, 

 and moderately convex. The notches for the paddles are 

 wide. The scales of the middle of the disk appear to have 

 been as broad as those of the sides, but those of the edge were 

 very narrow. 



Two other fragments were found, apparently belonging to two 

 other species. One of them, which is a lateral portion, con- 

 taining the remains of four ribs, and the correspondent margi- 

 nal pieces, is remarkable for its size. It is very flat, and mea- 

 sures more than eleven inches from back to front. The other 



