Andrew Leith Adams

“ Note on Chelonian Remains from the Rock-fissures of Gibraltar.
As far as yet ascertained, the mammalian and avian remains from the rock-cavities of Malta and Gibraltar belong to different faunas, the Maltese being the more ancient.
In the collections made by Captain Luard, R.E., in the Gibraltar caverns are two bones of Chelonians which Mr. Busk has kindly permitted me to inspect.
The larger is a much mutilated humerus or femur; which of the two it is difficult to say, from injuries, it having lost the proximal and a portion of the distal extremity. ”

“ There is the usual expansion of the articulation as seen in the other large bones with prominent rugosities. The shaft is flat below, becoming rounded towards the middle. In T. ephippium the shaft is rounded posteriorly and flat, with a concavity close to the articulation on its tibial aspect. The circumference at midshaft is 60 millimetres in the fossil, and only 45 millims. in T. ephippium. A prominent rugosity for muscular attachment occupies the anterior border near the distal extremity, whilst a well-defined ridge runs up the posterior border and is lost about midshaft. ”

“ No judgment could be formed from Sicilian deposits, as there seemed to have been no connexion between the islands; and with regard to the Maltese deposits, he stated that remains of Hippopotamus were found in breccia and in conglomerates in rock-cavities which appeared to have been caves, and also in fissures with red soil like that of the surface, containing angular fragments of the parent rock. In one cavity he found whole carcasses of Elephants, just as if they had been carried in suddenly, and filled in with earth by a wave. ”

“ The breadth of the condyles in the last is 78 millimetres, whereas it is only 56 in the fossil. In the latter there is a shallow depression above the condyles superiorly, and a deep pit at the same point on the opposite or inferior side. The condyles are stouter relatively and more confluent than in T. ephipphium, and more like what obtains in T. vicina; the specimen, however, is too fragmentary for precise determination.
The small right femur from Zebbug (Plate VI. figs. 5, 5a, 5b) has lost its distal extremity. ”

“ Considering that the affinities with Lutremys europæa are also confirmed by the femur (fig. 5) , I do not, in the absence of further data, deem it necessary to separate the fossil from this recent freshwater species, an adult specimen of which in the British Museum has a humerus of 44 millimetres and a carapace of 210 millimetres. This tortoise is still found in the lakes and muddy waters of Sardinia, Italy, and elsewhere in Southern and South-eastern Europe,
Radius. ”

“ The bone has the slender character of the thigh-bone of the Mammoth, agreeing, moreover, with it in the longer neck and wider interspace between the condyles as compared with the African elephant. The former character is shown in a drawing taken by Mr. O'Reilly on the spot where the remains were discovered, and from other femora from the same cavern and not now in his possession; they are of the left side, and represent a youthful and a full-grown elephant. ”

“ The largest diameter of the head is 12 millimetres, and the least girth of the shaft is 18 millimetres. In T. græca there is no notch, the shaft is less bent, and the trochanters are more convergent. Although somewhat larger than a femur of Lutremys europæa (46 millimetres in length) , it agrees with it in every respect, in common with the humerus (fig. 6) , both of which therefore may be accepted provisionally as belonging to that species.
Tibia.
The two tibiæ, right and left (Plate V. figs. 3, 3a, and Plate VI. figs. 4, 4a) are from Zebbug. ”

“ The superior surface of the body is also rounded, and thins out internally. The lower aspect (fig. 2) presents a triangular-shaped depression (d) at the distal extremity, bounded by an cuter ridge (e) and an inner ridge (f) . The latter forms also the boundary to the concavity (g) on the inner aspect of the bone. This excavation, although not seemingly apparent in T. elephantopus, is present to a small extent in the other Galapagos tortoise (T. vicina) . Concerning the relations with Mascarene tortoises I am unable to say any thing.
The dimensions of fig. ”

“ These bovine remains appear for the most part to have belonged to one individual; and, as in the case of the elephant, bones of young and immature individuals predominated, from which it might be inferred that from inexperience they would have been more likely than the adult animal to fall into gaping rents. ”

“ There is, moreover, a greater roughening of the outer surface of the enamel, which on the worn disk produces a faint crimping not generally observed in northern specimens; otherwise the tooth is un distinguishable from the same molar of the mammoth.
3. Two fragments of germ molars:—
a. A fragment of an upper tooth, holding 8–9 posterior ridges, including a broad, flat, digitated talon. The plates are of precisely the same character as in the preceding tooth, but longer and broader. ”

“ Several dorsal and lumbar vertebrae of an individual about the same dimensions as the owner of the preceding bones.
6. a. An entire left femur, recently broken. Length 19 inches; width of head 3 inches. ”