FOSSIL VARANIDAE AND MEGALANíDAE. 
357 
-of its vertebrae is entirely Varanus-l ike; the latter are considerably 
larger than in any recent Varanus species and most resemble the vertebrae 
of t V. marathonensis although thicker and a good deallarger and differing 
in the shape of the cup as well as that of the ball. This species is placed by 
Lydekker (Catal. p. 283)—together with Owen’s Australian Megalania, 
also considered by him as Varanus — in the genus Vamnus, «group it.», the 
latter accompanied by the following key: «The dorsal vertebrae short and wide, 
with narrow neural spines. Both species 1 of large size. ( Megalania Owen).» 
Only aver y superficial comparison however would allow a certain 
-conformity — of which kind, I cannot even tell — to be found bet ween V. siva¬ 
lensis and Megalania. It is true that the vertebrae of V. sivalensis are some¬ 
what shorter and, especially on account of the protruding proc. trans versi, 
wider than in other Monitors, Nevertheless V. sivalensis has no¬ 
thing in common with Megalania, which I do not regard 
as belonging to the Varans at all., whilst V. sivalensis cannot be 
distinguished from the other M onitor s as a group representing a 
special verte bra-type, as the transition between it and other Varanus- ver¬ 
tebrae shows a b s ol u t e continuit y, the type itself being iden¬ 
tical in everyone of them. As regards the other fossil Varanus 
of India mentioned by Lydekker as probably agreeing with V. benga - 
lensis Daud. (opp. ccit.), the examination of the systematic position of 
these remains has enabled me to provisionally maintain the possibility 
of their agreement with this species, for which reason I inscribe them 
under the name of V. cLP bengalensis Baud. foss. 
C) Yaraniciae of Australia. 
The first fossil Lizard known from Australia and ranged with Varanus 
is Megalania ‘prisca Owen, which has been first dealt with by Prof. Owen 
in his «Bescription of some Remains of the Gigantic Land-Lizard (Mega¬ 
lania prisca Owen) from Australia» published in I860 2 and completed by 
two masterly plates. Later on, in 1881 this same reptile is again examined 
by Owen 3 in connexion with material newly obtained, in Part II of the 
treatise already mentioned. In the first part of this paper he compares 
the particularly large vertebrae to those of the Australian Varanus gigán - 
teus Gray defining Megalania as a Varano. id genus, or eventually as a 
subgenus of Varanus (p. 47). In the second part of his work however, 
1 The other species would be Megalania prisca Owe k. 
Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, Voi. 149, Part II. p. 43 — 48, PI. 7 & 8. 
3 Op. cit., Voh 171, p. 1037-1054, PI. 34-38. 
