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

of view to that of zoologists and palaeontologists, which appears to me as systematically absolutely wrong, as I came to the conclusion that Megalania presents no character whatever justifying its systematical reference to the family Vamnidae. On the contrary, the

. struc«ture of the vertebras shows some resemblances to that of some Ageanidae, for which reason it might as well be ranged in this family as in the former one. Nevertheless considering the morphological peculiarities of reptilian vertebrae, to which I shall yet refer in a more detailed manner, and from a comparative point of view, I do not find Megalania referable to anyone of the families known • up to now and shall thus establish for it the Megalanidae fam.nov., which shall be examined in the II

D Part of this work. Megalania therefore cannot be alluded to as a representative of Australian fossil Varanidae. On the other hand in 1888 LYDEKKER (op. cit. p. 282) 'mentions as «Varanus sp.» fragments of.vertebrae (p. 283) originating from Pleistocene caye-deposits in the Wellington Valley (New South Wales) about which he writes as probably belonging to some living species, as perhaps to V. giganteus GRAY. It is this fact which made NOPCSA (op. cit. p. 47) allude to these fossils — without any further examination of the remains and merely referring to LYDEKKER — under the name of V. giganteus. Later on, in 1889 DE VIS in his treatise «On Megalania and its Allies»

1 describes two fossil Monitors from Australian Pleistocene strata, under the names of V. dims and V. emeritus; whilst in 1900

2 he deals with a fragment of the former's jaw. Finally ZIETZ in his paper «Notes upon some Fossil fiept. Remains from the Warburton River, near Lake Eyre»

3 published in 1899, also establishes a new species, the V. warburionensis, obtained from Pleistocene (?) strata. With regard to the systematic position and value of the above mentioned four Varanus, I should like to point out that from LYDEKKER'S «Varanus sp.» no drawings nor descriptions being given by the author, it seems most appropriate to inscribe, these fossils provisionally under the name of Varanus ct.? giganteus GRAY foss., and corsidering the necessity for closer investigation in the matter, the simple denomination of this form as «Varanus giganteu&), appears to be somewhat prematura on Baron NOPCSA'S part. . . ire 1 Proc. Roy. Soc. of Queensland, Vol. VI, Brisbane, p. 93-99, five figs, on Pl. IV. 2 A further trace of an extinct Lizard, Ann. Queen si. Mus., Brisbane, No. 5 (Occas. Notes), p. 6, Pl. III. 3 Trans. Proc. Rep. Roy. Soc. of South Australia, Vol. XXIII, Adelaide, p. 208-210. >; , . ; ' : 1