OCR Text |
Show 1905.] OSTEOLOGY OF THE MASTIGURE LIZARD. 3 he emphasise certain of the following points in the structure of the palate of Uromastix spinipes. In the latter species (see text-fig. 1) the anatomy of the bony palate is somewhat different from that of Uromastix hardwickii. As Dr. Busch has mentioned in the case of the latter species, the pterygoids and palatines nowhere meet their fellows in the middle line ; the palate is so far completely schizognathous. But while in Uromastix hardwickii the palatines might, so to speak, meet each other in the middle line in the way that occurs in many Lacertilia, this is rendered impossible in Uromastix spinipes by the forward growth of the pterygoids to reach, or very nearly reach, Ventral view of skull of Uromasti.v spinipes. A .P l .} anterior bar of palatine; PL, palatine; F t., pterygoid; Tr., transverse; V., vomer. the vomers. These bones (the pterygoids) are at first divided from the palatines by an oblique suture ; this suture later becomes parallel with the long axis of the pterygoid itself, and only dies away anteriorly, close to, if not in actual contact with, the vomers. If the vomers of that lizard happened to be rather larger than they actually are in this species, and as they undoubtedly are in some lizards, there would be a prolongation forward of the pterygoids to the vomers. As it is, their forward growth results in the complete severance from each other of the palatines, except possibly for a very minute space anteriorly. These facts are to be noted in the accompanying figure (text-fig. 1). Text fig. 1 1* |