DR. A. GUNTHER ON GIGANTIC LAND-TORTOISES. 
271 
cally bent downwards to form the truncated beak. The suture between the intermax- 
illary and vomer is immediately behind the inner angle of the alveolar edges of the 
maxillaries. 12. Palatal region much less concave than in the Mascarene Tortoises, 
and provided with a rather high median longitudinal crest ; posteriorly it is bordered 
on each side by the raised pterygoid edge, which is obtuse in its anterior, and trenchant 
in its posterior half. The distance between the foramina palatina is much less than 
their distance from the anterior extremity of the vomer. 13. Anterior surface of the 
tympanic pedicle deeply excavated. 14. Lower jaw with a double alveolar ridge, the 
symphyseal portion being simply vertical, without a backward dilatation of the lower 
margin of the bone. The opposite surfaces of the angular and coronoid are closely 
approximate, leaving only a narrow cleft between them. Upper margin of the angular 
moderately excised. 
The skull of our young example is o'nly 2^- inches long ; it shows some of the charac- 
teristics described in the adult skull, viz. the greater depth and the less width of the 
palatal region, the deep hollow in front of the tympanic pedicle, and the conformation 
of the anterior half of the tympanic cavity. The groove between the temporal tubercle 
and zygomatic arch, as well as the hollow in front of the occipital condyle, are clearly 
indicated. On the other hand, the tympanic pedicles are less distant from each other 
than in the adult, the mastoido-tympanic process is only slightly produced backwards, 
and the occipital crest is short and much less prominent — points of difference which can 
be accounted for by the young age of the individual. 
The description of the skeleton of so young an individual could hardly be accom- 
panied by important results as regards the object of this paper, and is therefore 
omitted. 
Caudal vertebras 24. 
3. Testudo ephippium. 
I propose this name for a species equally well characterized by the peculiar form of 
its carapace and of its skull. Porter’s remarks on the Tortoises of Charles Island 
(see ante, p. 256) apply so well to this species that I have no doubt that the specimen 
from which the following description is taken came from that island. If this is really 
the case, this species is extinct. The specimen is an adult male, 33 inches long, stuffed, 
and belongs to the Museum of Science and Arts, Edinburgh. It was lent to me by 
T. C. Archer, Esq., Director of the Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh, who most 
kindly allowed the skull and limb-bones to be extracted, which could be effected with- 
out the least injury to the outward appearance of the specimen. Nothing is known of 
its history. 
A very young stuffed example, 7 inches long, in the British Museum is referred to 
this species on account of its oblong shape and large smooth areolse. 
The carapace (Plates 34 Sc 35. fig. B) is narrow, oblong, and deep ; from the middle 
of the central dorsal plate to the front margin of the shell the upper profile is nearly 
2 o 2 
