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
$58 G. J. DE FEJ ÉR VÁR Y containing the description of dorsal sacral and caudal vertebrae and a very well preserved occipital, together with figures in natural size, the skull of a C h e 1 o n i a n — unluckily equally inscribed" : among these remains, — so far confuses the author as to lead him to completely depart from the Varan o i d character, and by reason of the existing protuberances on the C h e lőni a n's skull, seek analogy with the modern Australian Lizards, concluding that Megalania could have'borne some resemblance to Moloch horridus of nowadays. At the same occasion the author also alters his opinion formed on comparison with JAiranidae and communicated at the end of his previous treatise (p. 1048) that Megalania (similarly to the Varanidae) must probably have been a pleurodont toothed, carnivorous animal, the' unfortunate Che Ionian skull leading him to the declaration that «the reptilian Megalama, from present dental evidence, seems to have been phytophagous, . . .». After this the vertebras being also compared with Molocli, he thus attempts to connect this extinct gigantic reptile with the family Agamidae. In 1887 however OWEN himself discovers his mistake 1 and establishes for the C h e 1 o n i a n remains the genus f Meiolonia OWEN .yet subsisting in modern sj'Stem. 2 In 1888 Mr. A. SMITH WOODWARD publishes his valuable «Note on the Extinct lieft. Genera Megalania Owen and Meiolania Owen 3 » in w T hich he definitely clears the systematic position of the La cert Hi an, Chelonian and M a r s u p i a I remains confused by Sir R . OWEN under the name of Megalania. In 1888 LYDEKKER (Catal p. 284), owing to the fact of the Chelonian skull and «caudal sheath» attributed also to Megalania by OWEN in his paper of 1887 having been defined as belonging to the'. Testudinata, entirely departs from the Agamidae-theory, which in my opinion does not appear as absolutely unfounded, and synonymizes the genus Megalania with! 7 'aranus, thus inscribing the é 1 /^— 5 metres long uncommonly largesized animal in his Catalogue under the name of Varanus priscus OWEN. It is for this reason that ZITTEL 4 referring to LYDEKKER, also mentions Megalania as belonging to the genus Varanus, as well as BROILI (op. ch.. p. 211), who without giving any closer distinction or description, alludes to this important member of the LaceHüia simply as «Varanus (Megalania) priscus OWEN». Likewise NOPCSA (op. cit. p. 47—48), who also classifies this reptile with Farawus. As regards this question, after a close comparative-osteological investigation, I am obliged to confess to an entirely different point* 1 Phil. Trans., Vol. 177, p. 471-480, Pis. XXIX-XXX. 2 Family: j- Miolanidae. • .* Ann. Mag. for Nat. Hist., VI th Ser., Vol. I, London, p. 85-89. 4 Paläozool., Bd. III, München und Leipzig, 1887-90, p. 609.
