22 A CEOCODILIAF TEOM THE MIOCENE OE THE MALTESE ISLANDS. 



affords one more instance of the survival of Middle and Upper 

 Tertiary European genera in the oriental region. 



P.S. (Jan. 20, 1886). — Since the preceding was in type I have 

 seen the full description and figures * of the so-called Gavicdo- 

 suchus eggenlurgensis. This fully confirms my opinion that this 

 form is not generically distinct from Tomistoma ; the anterior 

 extremity of the premaxillsg of the Austrian specimen is unfortu- 

 nately imperfect, but from the characters of the remaining portion 

 it is not improbable that this form is specifically distinct from T. 

 champsoides. 



EXPLAJS^ATION OF PLATE II. Figs. 1, 2. 



Tomistoma champ&oides (Owen) ; fig. 1. Anterior portion of the rostrum, 

 viewed from the facial aspect ; fig. 2. Anterior part of the left ramus 

 of the mandible, viewed from the outer aspect. One half natural size. 



Discussion. 



Prof, BoTD Dawkins remarked on the interest attaching to the 

 occurrence of oriental forms in Miocene beds in the European region, 

 such as Eastern deer of Rusa type, muntjac, tapir, &c. 



Mr. Blaneoed pointed out that the particular interest in this case 

 was due to a genus once spread through several parts of Europe 

 being now confined to one oriental island, in the purely tropical 

 Malay subregion of the oriental region. Some other European 

 Miocene forms are also now peculiar to the same Malay subregion. 



* Toula and Kail, Denkschr. k. Ak. Wiss. Wien, vol. 1. pt. 2, pp. 229-356, 

 pis. i.-iii. (1885). 



