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bones and bone fragments. The largest known species are the P. Sedgwickii and P. Fittoni, from the upper greensand of Cambridgeshire. Finally, the Pterodac tyles of the middle chalk of Kent, almost as remarkable for their great size constitute the last forms of flying reptile known in the history of the crust of this earth,

Order VII. Thecodontia.--Vertebral bodies biconcave: ribs of the trunk long and bent, the anterior ones with a bifurcate head: sacrum of three vertebræ: limbs ambulatory, femur with a third trochanter. Teeth with the crown more or less compressed, pointed, with trenchant and finely serrate margins: implanted in distinct sockets. This order is represented by the extinct genera Thecodontosaurus and Palæosaurus of Riley and Stutehbury, from probably triassic strata, near Bristol by the Cladyodon of the New Red Sandstone of Warwickshire, with which, probably, the Belodon of the Keuper Sandstone of Wirtemberg is generi. cally synonymous. The Bathygnathus, Leidy, from New Red Sandstone of Prince Edward's Island, North America, is probably, a member of the present order: which seems to have been the forerunner of the next.

Order VIII. Dinosauria.--Cervical and anterior dorsal vertebræ, with par- and di-apophyses, articulating with bifurcate ribs: dorsal vertebræ with a neural platform; sacral vertebræ from four to six in number. Articular ends of the free vertebræ, more or less flat; but in the cervical becoming convex in front and concave behind, in some species. Limbs ambulatory, strong, long and unguiculate. Femur with a third trochanter in some. The species of this order were of large bulk, and were eminently adapted for terrestrial life; some, e. g., Iguanodon and, probably, Hylæosaurus, were more or less vegetable feeders; others, e. g., Megalosar, were carnivorous. The Dinosauria ranged, in time, from the lias (Scelidosaurus Ow., from Charmouth) to the upper greensand (Iguanodon). The Megalosaurus occurs in the lower oolite to the Wealden inclusive. The latter formation is that in which the Dinosauria appear to have flourished in greatest numbers and of hugest dimensions.

Order IX. Crocodilia.-Teeth in a single row, implanted in distinct sockets, external nostril single and terminal or subterminal. Anterior trunk; vertebræ with par- and di-apophyses, and bifurcate ribs; sacral vertebræ two, each supporting its own neural arch. Skin protected by bony, usually pitted, plates.

Sub-Order Amphicœlia (aμpı, both; Koλos, hollow; the vertebræ being hollow ed at both ends).-Crocodiles, closely resembling in general form the long and slender-jawed kind of the Ganges, called Gavial, existed from the time of the deposition of the lower lias. The teeth of the liassic forms were similarly long slender, and sharp, adapted for the prehension of fishes, and their skeleton was modified for more efficient progress in water, by both the terminal vertebral sur faces being slightly concave, by the hind limbs being relatively larger and stronger, and by the orbits forming no prominent obstruction to progress through water. From the nature of the deposits containing the remains of the so-modified crocodiles they were marine. The fossil crocodile from the Whitby lias, describ ed and figured in the Philosophical Transactions, 1758, p. 638, is the type of these Amphicœlian species. They have been grouped under the following generic heads: Teleosaurus, Mystriosaurus, Macrospondylus, Massospondylus, Pelagosau

rus, Acolodon, Suchosaurus, Goniopholis, Poecilopleuron, Stagonolepis, (?) &c.* Species of the above genera range from the lias to the chalk inclusive.

Sub-Order Opisthocælia (ombos, behind, кotλos, hollow: vertebræ concave behind, convex in front). The small group of Crocodilia, so-called, is an artificial one based upon more or less of the anterior trunk vertebræ being united by ball and-socket joints, but having the ball in front, instead of, as in modern crocodiles, behind. Cuvier first pointed out this peculiarity in a crocodilian from the Oxfordian beds at Harfleur and the Kimmeridgian at Havre. Prof. Owen had described similar Opisthocœlian vertebræ from the Great Oolite at Chipping Norton, from the Upper Lias of Whitby, and, but of much larger size, from the Wealden formations of Sussex and the Isle of Wight. These specimens probably belonged, as suggested by him in 1841, to the fore part of the same vertebral column as the vertebræ, flat at the fore part, and slightly hollow behind, on which he founded the genus Cetiosaurus. The smaller Opisthocolian vertebræ described by Cuvier have been referred by Von Meyer to a genus called Streptospondylus. In one species from the Wealden, dorsal vertebræ, measuring eight inches across, are only four inches in length, and caudal vertebræ nearly seven inches across are less than four inches in length. These characterize the species called Cetiosaurus brevis. Caudal vertebræ, measuring seven inches deep and five and a half inches in length, from the Lower Oolite at Chipping Norton, and the Great Oolițe at Enstone, represent the species called Cetiosaurus medius. Caudal vertebræ from the Portland Stone at Garsington, Oxfordshire, measuring seven inches nine lines across and seven inches in length, were referred by the author to the Cetiosaurus longus. The latter, he remarked, must have been the most gigantic of crocodilians.

Sub-Order Prælia (πрos, front, кoλos, hollow: vertebræ with the cup at the fore part and the ball behind). Crocodilians with cup-and-ball vertebræ, like those of living species, first make their appearance in the greensand of N. America (Croc. basifissus and C. basitruncatus, Ow.)| In Europe their remains are first found in the tertiary strata. Such remains from the plastic clay of Meudon have been referred to Crocodilus isorhynchus, C. cœlorhyncus, C. Becquereli. In the 'Calcaire Grossier' of Argenton and Castelnaudry have been found the C. Rallinati, and C. Dodanii. In the coeval eocene London clay, at Sheppy Island, the entire skull and characteristic parts of the skeleton of C. toliapicus and C. champsoides occur. In the somewhat later eocene beds at Bracklesham occur the remains of the Gavial-like C. Dixoni. In the Hordle beds have been found the C.

This was referred to the present order by the author, after inspection of the specimens brought to the British Association Meeting, at Leeds, by Sir R. Murchison, but with a note on the greater relative breadth of the coracoid, as shown by the part of the bone then exposed. (Encyclo. Brit. Art. Paleontology'). Prof. Huxley, to whom the specimens were subsequently consigned for description, together with others directly transmitted to him, confirms the general crocodilian character of Stagonolepis. I regard the modifications of the limb-bones as indications of affinity with the Thecodontia; but the structure of the cranium must be ascertained to determine this point. The associated fossils, especially those allied to Rynchosaurus, in the Elgin saudstones, have a triassic character. t'Annales du Muséum,' tom. xii, p. 83, pl. x. xi.

'Report on British Fossil Reptiles,' Trans. British Association, for 1841, p. 96. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society.

Hastingsiæ, with short and broad jaws; and also a true alligator (C. Hantoniensis). It is remarkable that forms of procœlian Crocodilia, now geographically restricted, the gavial to Asia and the alligator to America, should have been associated with true crocodiles, and represented by species which lived, during nearly the same geological period, in rivers flowing over what now forms the south coast of Eng land. Many species of procœlian Crocodilia have been founded on fossils from miocene and pliocene tertiaries. One of these, of the gavial sub-genus (C.

crassidens), from the Sewalik tertiary, was of gigantic dimensions.

Order X. Lacertilia.-Vertebræ, in most, procœlian, with a single transverse process on each side, and with single-headed ribs; sacral vertebræ, not exceeding two. Small vertebræ of this type have been found in the Wealden of Sussex. They are more abundant, and are associated with other and more characteristic parts of the species in the cretaceous strata. On such evidence have been based the Rhapiosaurus subulidens, the Coniasaurus crassidens, and the Dolichosaurus longicollis. But the most remarkable and extreme modifications of the lacertian type, in the cretaceous period, is that manifested by the huge species of which a cranium, five feet long, was discovered in the upper chalk of St. Peter's Mount. near Maestricht, in 1780. This species, under the name Mosasaurus, is well known by the descriptions of Cuvier. Allied species have been found in the cretaceous strata of England and North America. The Leiodon anceps of the Norfolk chalk was a nearly-allied marine Lacertian. The structure of the limbs is not yet wellunderstood; it may lead to a sub-ordinal separation of the Mosasauroids from the land lizards, most of which are represented by existing species, in which a close transition is manifested to the next order.

Order XI. Ophidia.-Vertebræ very numerous, procœlian, with a single transverse process on each side; no sacrum; no visible limbs. The earliest evidence, at present, of this order is given by the fossil vertebræ of the large serpent (Palæophis, Ow.) from the London clay of Sheppy and Bracklesham. Remains of a poisonous serpent, apparently a Vipera, have been found in miocene deposits at Sansans, south of France. Ophidiolites, from Eningen, have been referred to the genus Coluber.

Order XII. Chelonia.-The characters of this order, including the extremely and peculiarly modified forms of tortoises, terrapenes and turtles, are sufficiently well known. The chief modifications in oolitic Chelonia known to Prof. Owen were the additional pair of bones, interposed between the hyosternals and hypos ternals of the plastron, in the genus Pleurosternon from the Upper Oolite at Purbeck. It would be very hazardous to infer the existence of reptiles, with the characteristic structure of the restricted genus Testudo, from the foot-prints in the triassic sandstone of Dumfries-shire. But Prof. Owen concurred in the general conclusions based upon the admirable figures and descriptions in the splendid monograph by Sir Wm. Jardine, Bart., F.R.S., that some of those foot-prints most probably belonged to species of the Chelonian order. As enormous species of true turtle (chelone gigas), the skull of which measured one foot across the back part, had left its remains in the eocene clay at Sheppy. The terrestrial type of the order had been exemplified on a still more gigantic scale by the Colossochelys of the Sewalik tertiaries,

Order XIII. Batrachia.-Vertebræ biconcave (Siren), procœlian (Rana), or opisthocœlian (Pipa): pleurapophyses short, straight. Two occipital condyles and two vomerine bones, in most dentigerous: no scales or scutes. Larvae with gills, in most deciduous. Representatives of existing families or genera of true Batrachia have been found fossil, chiefly in tertiary and post-tertiary strata. Indications of a perennibranchiate batrachian had recently been detected by Prof. Owen, in a collection of minute Purbeck fossils. Anourous genera (Palæophrynus), allied to the toad, occurred in the Eningen tertiaries, and here also the remains of the gigantic Salamander (Andrias Schewzeri) were discovered.

Summary of the above defined Orders.

Province-VERTEBRATA.

Class-HEMATOCRYA.

Sub-Class-Reptilia.

Orders.

I. Ganocephala.
II. Labyrinthodontia.
III. Ichthyopterygia.
IV. Sauropterygia.
V. Anomodontia.
VI. Pterosauria.
VII. Thecodontia.
VIII. Dinosauria.
IX. Crocodilia.
X. Lacertilia.
XI. Ophidia.
XII. Chelonia.

XIII. Batrachia.

NOTES ON JAPAN. BY LAWRENCE OLIPHANT, F.R.G.S.

The following Notes are the results of personal observation during the recent mission of Lord Elgin to the Empire of Japan.

The three ports of the Empire visited by the mission, and which fell more immediately under our observation, were Nagasaki, situated in the Island of Kinsin; Simioda, a port opened by Commodore Perry on the Promontory of Idsa; and Yeddo, the capital city of the Empire. Of these Nagasaki is the one with which we have been for the longest period familiar. In former times it was a fishing village situated in the Principality of Omura. It is now an imperial demesne, and the most flourishing port in the Empire. It owes its origin to the establishment, at this advantageous point, of a Portuguese settlement in the year 1569; and its prosperity, to the enlightened policy pursued by the Christian Prince of Omura, in whose territory it was situated. Its transference to the Crown property was the result of political intrigues on the part of the Portuguese settlers, in consequence of which the celebrated Tageo Sama included it among the lands apper

taining to the Crown. Situated almost at the westernmost extremity of the Empire, at the head of a deep land-locked harbour, and in convenient proximity to some of the wealthiest and most productive Principalities, Nagasaki possesses great local advantages, and will doubtless continue an important commercial emporium, even when the trade of the Empire at large is more fully developed, and has found an outlet through other ports. The town is pleasantly situated on a belt of level ground which intervenes between the water and the swelling hills. These, with their slopes terraced with rice fields; their wooded valleys and gushing streams; and their projecting points crowned with temples or frowning with batteries, form an amphitheatre of great scenic beauty; and the whole aspect of the place produces a most favourable impression on the mind of the stranger visiting Japan for the first time.

The Empire of Japan is stated, according to native authority, to consist of upwards of three thousand islands. The majority of these, however, are uninhabited rocks. The principal island is known to the natives as Dai Nipon. The word Nipon is, doubtless, the origin of the term Japan, now applied to the whole group. The Chinese have called Nipon, "Jipun, the Empire proceeding from the sun." Marco Polo calls it Jypanger, but all these words have clearly a common origin. Yesso, Kinsin, and Sikok complete the group of larger islands, which contain a territorial superficies, roughly estimated at 160,000 square miles. To these must be added the Japanese settlements in the neighbouring island of Tarakai, where the boundary which divides them from Russia, and marks the limit of that spreading Empire in this direction, remains yet undecided.

The city itself contains a population of about fifty thousand, and consists of between eighty and ninety streets, running at right angles to each other-broad enough to admit of the passage of wheeled vehicles, were any to be seen in them -and kept scrupulously clean. A canal intersects the city, spanned by thirty-five bridges, of which fifteen are handsomely constructed of stone. The Dutch factory is placed upon a small fan-shaped island about two hundred yards in length, and connected with the mainland by a bridge. Until recently, the members of the factory were confined exclusively to this limited area, and kept under a strict and rigid surveillance. The old regime is now however, rapidly passing away; and the his tery of their imprisonment, of the indignities to which they were exposed, and the insults they suffered, has already become a matter of tradition.

Kinsin, or "the Island of Nine," in which Nagasaki is situated, is so called because it is divided into nine provinces. It contains an area of about sixteen thousand miles, being in extent nearly equal to Sardinia. The provinces of which it is composed are-Fizen, Tsikuzen, Tsikugo, Buzen, Bungo, Figo, Oosom, Fingo, and Satsuma. I have enumerated these by name, not so much for the purpose of information as to convey some idea of the words and names in the Japanese language. All these provinces are divided among many princes, who are vassals of the empire. The supremacy, however, in each is generally vested in a single family, whose hereditary position among the aristocracy of the country confers upon it a recognized ascendancy.

In Kinsin, the most important of these Principalities, are Fizen and Satsuma. The largest city in the island, Saga, is the capital of Fizen and residence of its

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