DR. A. GUNTHER ON GIGANTIC LAND-TORTOISES. 
275 
T. elephant opus, the astragalus and calcaneum are coalesced, but, owing to the less 
advanced age, the line of separation is still visible. 
Length of the femur 
T. elephcmtopus, 
790 millims. long, 
millims. 
. . 169 
T. ephippium, 
840 millims. long, 
millims. 
186 
Least circumference of the femur . . 
. . 80 
90 
Longest diameter of head of femur . . 
. . 55 
43 
Width of the condyles 
. . 66 
67 
Length of the tibia 
. . 136 
150 
Least circumference of the tibia .... 
. . 60 
72 
Length of. the fibula 
. . 123 
138 
Least circumference of the fibula . . . 
. . 45 
45 
4. Testudo microphyes. 
This is the smallest of the Galapagos Tortoises, a fully adult male being only 22% 
inches long. As Porter states that “ the Tortoises of Hood’s Island were small, similar 
to those of Charles Island,” I suppose that the specimen which I propose to describe 
under the above name has come from Hood’s Island. It is a fully adult male, stuffed, 
with a carapace 22% inches long, and belongs to the Royal Institution of Liverpool. 
I am indebted to the Museum-Committee of the Institution not only for having sent to 
me the specimen on loan, but also for having permitted the skull to be extracted for 
comparison with the other species. 
The carapace (Plate 36) is very regularly shaped, its outline being a regular oval, 
with scarcely a trace of notches between the marginal plates ; it is depressed. There 
is no, or only a very slight, nuchal excision, and the fore part of the shell is declivous 
from the centre of the second dorsal plate. The caudal and the two adjoining marginals 
are slightly concave, this part of the shell being somewhat arched outwards. The plates 
of the back, as well as sternum, are perfectly smooth, without a trace of concentric 
striae*; the sternum is deeply concave, truncated in front and behind. As an (probably) 
individual peculiarity, must be noticed the confluence of the two anterior marginals into 
one plate on each side. The tail, as in the other Galapagos Tortoises, is short, without 
terminal claw. Although it is impossible in these stuffed specimens to state in precise 
terms the length of the neck, yet, from the manner in which the skin had been stretched 
by the taxidermist in our specimen, it is evident that the neck must have been con- 
spicuously shorter in this species than in the others. 
The measurements are as follows : — 
Length of 
carapace. 
"Width of carapace. 
Depth 
Sternum. 
Caudal plate. 
In str. line. 
Oyer curv. 
In str. line. Over curv. 
of carap. 
Length. 
Width. 
Length. 
Width. 
inches. 
inches. 
inches. 
inches. 
inches. 
inches. 
inches. 
inches. 
inches. 
. . 221 
26 
15i 
29 
10 
18 
14 
2 
03 
°8 
* Also Dum£bil and Bebrox (l. c. p. 117) describe an entirely smooth specimen, which they refer to T. nigra 
(Q. & G.) ; hut they mention that the sternum of that specimen had a triangular excision behind. 
