640 Notices and Descriptions of various Reptiles. [No. 7. 



slightly reverted. Caudal broader than the last vertebral. Nuchal 

 twice or thrice as long as broad, and even with the borders of the 

 anterior marginals. Gulars not notched, or but very slightly so. 

 Caudals divergent from base, and transversely elongate-triangular, 

 broader than long, forming a slight lateral notch with the ventrals. 

 Beak laterally notched or distinctly three-pointed. Scales of the 

 limbs rather small, contrasting much with those of the preceding 

 species. Colour of half grown specimen orange-yellow, each plate 

 having a large black centre, which mostly disappears with age, 

 leaving a few more or less radiating black spots on those of the 

 carapax, and often a black spot on only the large medial plates of 

 the plastron. Head and limbs brown, much tinged with yellow. 

 Length of an adult 13 in. in a straight line, by 8 in. across, or rather 

 more towards the hinder part of the body. Height 5i in. Head 

 to occiput 2f in. Hab. Arakan. Specimens presented by Capt. 

 Phayre. According to Dr. Heifer, Tortoises abound in the Tenasserim 

 Provinces, and are much eaten by the Peguers and Karens, who 

 train dogs to search for them. 



In India proper and also in Ceylon, only one species of land 

 Tortoise occurs, the T. stellata, Schweigger, a figure and interest- 

 ing notice of which are given by Capt. Hutton in J. A. S. VI, 689, 

 under the supposition of its being T. geometrica. The latter is a 

 S. African species, very similar to T. stellata, but having a distinct 

 nuchal plate, which T. stellata does not possess, and exhibiting 

 certain other distinctions. Among some Tortoises, however, pre- 

 sented to the Society by Capt. Sherwill from S. Africa, are two 

 small specimens of geometrica, and one full grown example which 

 can in no way be distinguished from the Indian stellata. The 

 latter does not inhabit Lower Bengal, and is rarely brought alive to 

 Calcutta. One much more commonly brought here is the T. radi- 

 ata, Shaw, a larger species remarkable for its very hemispherical 

 form, and which is said to be indigenous to Madagascar, in which 

 case it is probably brought to India from the Mauritius. The very 

 large specimen referred by me to stellata (v. actinodes) in a 

 note to p. 462 ante, I now think, after much consideration, to be 

 distinct, and shall indicate as 



T. megalopus, nobis, n. s. Similar to T. stellata, but attaining 



