1889] Gigantic Land Tortoises. 1043 
think that the name T. abingdonii ought to be selected, as more 
significant.'' 
After excluding T. cphippiiim we have six species left inhabiting 
the Galapagos Islands : 
1 . T. elephantopus (Harlan) Giinther. 
2. T. jugrita, D. and B. 
3. T. vicina, Giinther. 
4. T. abingdonii, Giinther. 
5. T. microphyes, Giinther. 
6. The specimen from Charles Island in the Museum of the 
Bos. Soc. Nat. Hist., called T. elephantopus, Harlan, by Jackson. 
Through the great kindness of the Secretary of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences, in Philadelphia. I have received permission 
to examine the type specimen of Harlan. It was in a very bad 
condition. The skin of the neck was all decayed, and also dif- 
ferent parts on the limbs. The best possible thing to do was to 
save everything of the skin that could be saved and prepare a 
skeleton of the specimen. Fortunately all parts of the skeleton 
were found with the exception of the hyoid bones and both 
femora. 
The comparison of the skull of the type and the skull of the 
specimen from Charles Island showed at once that they belonged 
to two different species. A further comparison of the type of 
T. elcpJiantopus with the description of the specimens in the 
British and other English Museums (by Dr. Giinther) regarded 
as this species, led to the conclusion that Giinther's T. elephan- 
topus is a different species from the type. 
The next question is, Is it possible that any of the other species 
Goode. to examine a nearly complete specimen of T. abingdonii in the U. S. National 
Museum, which was collected by the steamer Albatross on Abingdon Island. It is an 
old male. This specimen is of great importance, since it contains the elements missmg 
, T. ephip 
