28 NEW REPTILES AND STEGOCEPHALIANS FROM 



The general shape, with the exception of the anterior end of the nose, is shown in 

 figure 7 and plate 5. The small size relative to the body is a striking difference from 

 the condition found in the Phytosauria. It is, of course, uncertain just what length 

 was attained by the nose, but from the position of the nares, the shape ol_ the nose, 

 and the approximation of the maxillaries, it is apparent that not a great deal is missing. 

 The lack of a second temporal fenestra is the most striking character of the skull. This 

 might be considered as a primitive character were it not for the associated characters 

 of the lack of a pineal foramen and the small size of the post-temporal openings, which 

 amount to no more than foramina. The nearly complete closure of the posterior 

 surface of the skull, with the single temporal opening and the prolongation of the jugal 

 forward and downward, led the author to repeated attempts to trace some resemblance 

 between this form and those from South Africa, especially the Deinocephalia — attempts 

 that were just as repeatedly demonstrated to be useless; but superficial suggestions 

 recalled the South African forms many times. The presence of the deep notch below 

 the orbit, with the projecting edges of the jugal and the maxillary, led to the suggestion 

 that the temporal opening was the upper one and that the lower part of the temporal 

 region was broken away and lost. This suggestion was also made to the author 

 independently, by both Doctor von Huene and Doctor Watson, after their consideration 

 of the figures published in the preliminary description of Desmatosuchus. The ideas 

 of these friends are indicated in figure 8. This is, however, impossible, as the lower 

 edges of the bones in this region are paper-thin and complete ; moreover, the position, 

 character, and form of the bones on the two sides' are practically identical, a condition 

 that is almost inconceivable if part had been accidentally lost. 



The lateral aspect oj the skull (fig. 7 a and plate 5 b). — As mentioned above, the 

 anterior end is missing, from about the anterior third of the narial opening forward. 

 The maxillaries are elongate, with only a limited exposure on the sides of the skull; 

 the alveolar edge is slightly convex antero-posteriorly. At the anterior end, below the 

 anterior half of the nares, there is the appearance, on both sides, of a wedge-like insertion 

 of a posterior prong of some bone in front. If this is a distinct element it can only be 

 a part of the premaxillary. Between the narial and the antorbital openings the upper 

 edge of the maxillary rises in a process which is reflected at its upper end and joins the 

 lachrymals and the nasals; the suture is here clear and distinct. The line of juncture 

 between the maxillary and the lachrymal can not be made out on either side, but a 

 break on the left side of the skull, which possibly may be along the line of the suture, 

 indicates that the suture was perhaps convex downward, permitting the maxillary to 

 form the posterio-inferior border of the antorbital opening. The upper edge of the 

 maxillary forms the anterior half of the lower border of the orbit; the suture between 

 it and the jugal is inclined backward and downward. From a point at the posterior 

 edge of the dental series the lower edgfe of the maxillary is incUned somewhat abruptly 

 backward and downward, terminating in a blunt point of thin bone. The posterior 

 edge of this process is neariy straight and forms the anterior edge of a nearly rectangular 

 notch which lies below the orbit and bfetween the maxillary and the jugal. A posterior 

 narrow prong of the maxillary which articulates with the jugal above forms the upper 

 border of the notch. The complete edges of the bones outlining this notch and the 

 almost exact similarity of the two sides show that this is a notch and not the upper part 

 of a second temporal opening. It is a structure which has not previously been noted, 

 so far as the author knows, in any fossil skull. There are 12 cleariy defined sockets 

 on the alveolar edge of the maxillary of the left side and 13 on the right; these indicate 

 teeth of moderate size with neariy cylindrical roots. There is no indication of enlarged 

 teeth at the anterior end and there is no suggestion of antero-posteriorly elongate teeth 



