Vol. 63.J SKELETON OF GONIOPHOLIS CBASSIDENS. 53 



The external nares are subterminal. Traces of bony prominences 

 occur on the lateral borders of the nares. There are five alveoli on 

 each premaxilla, twelve on the imperfect right maxilla, and fifteen 

 on the left. Many of the teeth are preserved, and they all show 

 the lateral carinas and the serrations characteristic of Goniopholis. 

 Owen gives the difference in breadth to length of crown, as less in 

 Goniopholis simus than in G. crassidens ; nevertheless, it is question- 

 able whether the teeth are alone sufficient to distinguish one from 

 the other, so similar are they. The sculpturing of the skull is 

 similar to that seen in G. simus. 



The skull, from the articular end of the quadrate to the tip of the 

 snout, measures 578 mm. (23 inches), which is a greater length 

 than that of the type-skull of G. simus. The other measure- 

 ments are in corresponding ratio. It was, therefore, an older or 

 a more robust individual than the type, to which, considering the 

 shape of the supratemporal fossae, the anterior nares and their 

 subterminal character, the teeth, and the sculpture of the cranium, 

 I have no hesitation in referring it. 



As is well known, the osteology of this species was made familiar 

 by Prof. Louis Dollo in 1883, 1 by means of the magnificent speci- 

 mens obtained from the "Wealden of Bernissart. 



III. Description op the Athereield Specimen. 



The skull and bones discovered at Atherfield are remarkable for 

 their well-preserved condition and lack of distortion. The skull 

 is much as it was in life, and, if found in situ, would have been 

 entire. The cranial roof is nearly square to the orbits, the snout 

 moderately elongate, and the skull very depressed. Another prominent 

 feature is its wedge-shape, there being a gentle rise from the nares 

 to the posterior margin of the parietal. Laterally it gradually 

 widens ; while the under margins of the mandibles sustain a 

 nearly-horizontal line to the angle of the angular bone. Viewed 

 from above, the general form is that of the broad-faced Procoelians, 

 although, owing to the wide expansion of the cranial roof, the 

 tapering appears more acute than it really is. The width between 

 the upper temporal arches is much less than that of the lower. 

 The upper and lower temporal arches and the parieto-squamosal 

 bars are strong, but narrow. 



The interorbital space is wide. The posterior border of the 

 skull, as it leaves the outer point of the squamosals, forms a deep 

 crescent, the inner horn of which is on the parietal, a third of the 

 distance from the parieto-squamosal suture. This is followed by a 

 shorter and shallower crescent, with a corresponding larger crescent, 

 to the opposite squamosal. 



The whole surface of the skull is magnificently sculptured with 

 deep, more or less circular pits, without a free space or any bony 



1 ' Premiere Note sur les Crocodiliens de Bernissart ' Bull. Mus. Boy. Hist. 

 Nat. Belg. vol. ii 1883) p. 309. 



