| OCR Text |
Show 180 DR. J. E. GRAY ON THE TORTOISES. [Mar. 11, Tribe II. STAUROTYPINA. Sternum cross-like, middle portion narrow, covered by the abdominal plates, and extended to the thorax; the front and hinder lobes often moveable on the central fixed one. Axillary and inguinal plates large; sternal plates 7 ; the gular, humeral, and pectoral plates of each side united ; the femoral and anal small, united into one large ventral shield. 3. STAUROTYPUS, Wagler; Gray, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 127. STAUROTYPUS SALVINII. (Fig. 5, p. 179.) 4. STAUREMYS, Gray, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 127. Tribe III. AROMOCHELYINA. Sternum truncated in front, nicked behind; sternal shields 11 ; gular pair united into a narrow linear shield. Head large ; zygomatic arch very broad, strong, arched. 5. AROMOCHELYS, Gray, P.Z.S. 1855, p. 199, = Goniochelys and Omotheca, Agassiz, 1857. Section II. KINOSTERNA or Double-flapped Box-Tortoises. Sternum broad ; sternal shields 8 or 11; the short process that unites the sternum to the thorax covered with the elongated axillary and inguinal plates ; front and hinder lobes of the sternum generally moveable on the fixed central portion. Internal nostrils anterior. Alveolar plate flat. Tribe IV. KINOSTERNINA. 7. SWANKA, Gray, Cat. Shield Reptiles. 8. KINOSTERNON, Fitzinger; Gray, P.Z.S. 1855, p. 398, =Thy-rosternon and Platythyra, Agassiz, 1857. CHELYDRA SERPENTINA, Gray, Cat. Shield Reptiles, t. 40. f. 2. B.M. Skull depressed, very broad behind, crown rhombic, sides of the face shelving outwards; orbit very large, anterior, subsuperior on the shelving side of the face; the cavity for the temporal muscle very wide ; the zygomatic arch very broad, broader than the orbit and much broader than the oblong erect tympanic cavity. The palate flat, internal nostrils in the front of the palate, the outer edge sharp, with a central anterior bony hook, and with a broad, flat, smooth alveolar plate parallel to the outer edges. The lower jaw moderately strong, narrow in front, with a conical central bony process, and with a smooth, shelving, rather concave band inside the sharp margin. A young specimen in spirits, which was brought from North America, and presented by Mr. Arthur Russell, F.Z.S., is very beautifully painted on the sternum and underside of the margin of the |
