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

982 O. J. DE FEJ ÉK VÁR Y • dure in this direction on the part of geo-palaeontologists, unexpert in zoology, or zoologists limiting their interest but to the recent fauna, would fatally lead to an utter confusion on the subject and no specialist will anymore be able to gain a clear insight amidst the numberless «new» species and genera. Hab. : Stätzling (Germany). 3. Varanus marathonensis WEITH. — Lower Pliocene; Praeglacial and Neolitic period. Re p t i 1 e du Groupe des Varans, GAI'ORY, Anim. foss. et Géol de'l'Attaque, Pari?, 1862-67, p. 318, Pl. LX, Fig. 3-4. Varanus marathonensis, WEITHOFER, Beitr. z. Kenntn. d. Fauna v. Pikermi b. Athen, Beitr. z. Pal. u. Geol. Öst.-Ung., Bd. VI, Wien, 1888. p. 291-292, Taf. XIX, Fig. 8-9. Varanus spec., MORELLI. Resti organiei rinven. nella caverna délie Arène Candide, Rettiii, Atti Soc. Ligustica Sc. Nat. e Geogr., Vol. II, Genova, 1891, p. 172. Varanus at icus, NOPCSA, Beitr. z. Kenntn. d. Foss. Eid., Beitr. z. Paläont, u. Geol. Öst.-Ung., Bd. XXI, Wien und Leipzig, 1908. p. 47. Varanus deserlicolus, BOLKAY, Add. to the foss. Herp. of Hungary from the Pann a. Praegl. Period, Mitteil. a. d. Jahrb. d. kgl. ung. Geol. R-ichsanst., Bd. XXI, Budapest. 1913, p. 222-223, Pl. XXI. Fig. 2.

1 F. marathonensis, as already mentioned, has been first described from Hungary by BOLKAY^ (op. cit.) in 1913 under the name of «F. deserticolus». Since then besides the fragmentary dentale from Beremend (County of Baranya) described by BOLKAY, thanks to DR. TH. KORMOS, an indefatigable explorer in the domain of Vertebra te-fa una originating from the Tertiary and Quarterly formations of Hungary, a few comparatively well preserved vertebrae have been found lately in the Praeglacial bonebreccia of, C s a mot a (County of Baranya). GAUDRY'S (op. cit.) excellent drawings having enabled me to establish an identity beyond doubt between BOLKAY'S V. desert/icolus and the V. maratlionensis described by WEITHOFER, I have, by virtue of the rules of priority, synonymized the former with the Pikermi species. 'The good condition of the remains afforded a favourable opportunity for an exact description of the characters known up to now of this morphologically so to say as yet unknown species, which I have, amongst r e c e n t ones, c o m p a r e d with the Asiatic-African V. griseus DAUD., the African V. niloticus L., the Indian V

. salrator LAUR., V. Dumérili SCHLEO.. V, indicus DAUD., V.bengalensis DAUD., the Papuan V.prasinus 1 The same treatise appeared also in the Hungarian issue of the same Periodic.