SOUTH AFRICAN THEROCEPHALIAN REPTILES. 347 



inside of the palatine, meets the prevomer ; an outer descending 

 process which forms the posterior border of the suborbital vacuity 

 and has a long articulation with the ectopterygoid ; and a long- 

 posterior process, the inner part of whicli a.pparently articulates 

 with the basisphenoid, and the outer branch of whicli doubtless 

 passes back to meet the quadrate. Though the posterior process 

 is almost perfectly preserved, as the quadrate is lost the mode of 

 articulation is not seen. An interesting point about the ptery- 

 goid is that there are no teeth on it. Near the posterior part of 

 the anterior palatine process there is in the middle line a 

 prominent median spur formed by the two bones meeting, and 

 immediately behind this is a moderately large median vacuity. 

 At the inner end of the outer process is a, well-marked descending 

 spur, the exact length of wliich is unknown as it is broken off 

 near the base. 



Above the outer branch of the posterior process is seen the 

 well-developed epipterygoid. This difiers from that figured by 

 me in Scylacosaurus (Phil. Trans. 1915) in having a shorter and 

 broader upper portion and a difierentlv shaped basal, which lies in 

 the ptei-ygoid as seen in tlie figure given. 



Tlie basicranifvl legion is too much weatliered to be worth 

 describing in detail. 



Alopecopsts atavus, gen. et sp. nov. 



This new genns and species is founded on a nearly complete 

 skull discovered by me at New Bethesda, and it is of much 

 importance as revealing another new type of Therocephalian. 



Text-figure 4. 



Side view of skull of Alopeeopsis atavus Broom. 



The specimen is in ratlier indurated shale, and as the bone is 

 more friable than the matrix, complete development is difficult, 

 and it has been considered advisable to leave a fair amount of 

 matrix on the specimen. Enough has, however, been undertaken 

 to show most details of the structure. The whole of the right 

 side of the skull is preserved except a part of the quadrate and 

 squamosal regions, and the right mandible is in position. The 

 left side has lost the greater part of the jngal and squamosal, 



