Horváth Géza (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 16. (Budapest 1918)
Fejérváry, G.J.: Contributions to a Monography on fossil Varanidae and on Megalanidae 16
846 G. J. DB FEJÉKVÁKY regarded by him as posterior, assumes the appearance of an anterior one,, much resemblance may be traced between it and the second sacral vertebra of a Crocodilian; the fact of the proc. trans v. projecting more from the upper arches than from the centre of the vertebra is the only character withholding PORTIS from the supposition of the vertebra in question being truly that of Crocodilia. In his determination of these remains he ranges them with the Lizards, yet expressing a not too unfounded doubt as to their agreement with the «Famiglia dei Varanidi%. In spite of this uncertainty, expressed at the end of his paper as to the systematic position of the fossils : «possiamo già constatare che il Saurio volterrano non puô entrare direttamente in alcuna delle famiglie e tanto meno dei generi stabiliti per Saudi viventi», he nevertheless classes them, although adjoining a query, among the Varanidae, remarking (p. 28) that: «la famiglia a cui il Saurio volterrano apparteneva, doveva essere molto vicina a quella dei Varanidi . . .». PORTIS does not tell us why this fossil reptile should have to be in close connexion with just the Varanidae in part icular? According to him its ancestral character consists in the fact of the vertebras being amphicoelous («il Saurio volterrano avendo probabilmente tutte le sue restanti vertebre proceli, presentava la prima vertebra sacrale amficela») contrarily to the lizards of present days (p. 27) which, the «Ascalabote» group excepting, all have proccelous vertebra?. From the above we may, I think, safely conclude that PORTIS' description and figures will hardly enable any herpetologist to form a correct idea as to the systematic position of this fossil, whose definition is made more difficult yet by its damaged state. However the drawings in natural size give us almost absolute certainty that no sort of connexion can be proved between the Progonosaurns pertinax PORT, and the Varanidae presenting a totally different structure of the vertebras and showing already in the lower Oligocène a différenciation corresponding to their present form. NOPCSA (op. cit.) likewise with some hesitation, also ranges the Progonosaurns with the Varanidae. I for my part think it best for the present to treat the former genus as «In cert as Or dinig* and eliminate it a 1 1 o g e t h e r f r o m the system of the Varanidae, I shall therefore no more refer to it in the course of this study. On base of what has been said above, the genera and specie* of European Varanidae would be limited to the following: Palaeovaranus CayluxL FILH. Palaeovaranus Fillioli DE STEP. Varanus Hofnianni POOER Varanus maratlionensis WEITH. (= Varanus atticus NOPCSA)'
