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Show 592 DR. R. BROOM ON A SOUTH AFRICAN [May 29, fossil reptile, remains of which had been discovered by Mr. Alfred Brown near Aliwal North. As the animal somewhat resembles Sphenodon in size and general appearance and is evidently a Rhyncliocephaloid reptile, I thought it befitting to name the genus Howesia, in honour of the late Prof. G. B. Howes, who has done such brilliant work on the osteology of Sphenodon, and whose early death has left such a serious gap in the ranks of morphologists. In Mr. Brown's collection there are three specimens which I regard as belonging to Howesia. Specimen A, which I take as the type, is a very badly crushed and imperfect skull. The middle parts of both mandibles are preserved, including portions of both dentaries, the right jugal, much of both maxillaries, a large part of both pterygoids, parts of the hyoid, and a few other crushed and fragmentary bones. Specimen B, which there is little doubt belongs to the same genus and species, consists of a number of bones of the skull, crushed and much displaced, parts of most of the cervical vertebrae, the left shoulder-girdle and the left humerus. Among the cranial bones the following can be identified with some degree of certainty-frontals, parietals, postfrontal, postorbital, squamosal, jugal, maxillary, and pterygoid. Specimen C consists of the pelvis, most of the bones of the hind limbs including the tarsus, and a considerable number of caudal vertebrae of a Rhynchocephaloid reptile which may provisionally be regarded as belonging to the same genus and species as specimens A and B. In the absence of head there is of course an element of doubt, but as all the specimens are from the same horizon, and as the pelvis in specimen 0 is such as we should expect to find in Howesia from the size and characters of the skull and shoulder-girdle, I shall assume that it belongs to the same species as the others. Skull. Though both specimens of the skull are in a very unsatisfactory condition, it is nevertheless possible to make out most of the principal points in the cranial anatomy. In the main the skull resembles fairly closely that of Sphenodon, though there is a marked difference in the dentition. At the time the preliminary note was written I was unable to determine with certainty whether the rows of Hyper odapedon-like teeth were boine by the maxilla or by the palatine or by both. As the result of the further development of specimen A, it would appear that the teeth are on the maxilla, and on the maxilla only. The maxilla is shaped as in the better known Diaptosaurian reptiles Procolophon and Palceohatteria. The facial portion is flat and triangular, and probably about 25 mm. in length and 12 mm. in depth. The inferior or tooth-bearing portion is thick and rounded. In specimen A one of the maxillae measures 5 mm. in thickness; in specimen B a maxillary fragment is 5'5 mm. in thickness. In front the tootli-bearing portion is considerably thinner-at least as thin as 3 mm. In the middle portion of the maxilla there are three rows of obtusely pointed teeth, but |