The SKULL (cf. Fig. 54, H, I, K, p. 280) agrees fundamentally with that of _Sphenodon_ and of the _Crocodilia_, but it is characterised by several special features. There are no ectopterygoids or ossa transversa; no lacrymal bones, no interparietal or pineal foramen; the vomer is unpaired and the nasal bones are mostly absent, unless they are fused with the prefrontals. The premaxillae are very small. The single vomer forms a septum between the choanae; and these are, except in _Sphargis_, ventrally roofed over by wings sent out by the palatines. The latter form a continuous bony roof to the mouth with the pterygoids, and these diverge posteriorly, being connected suturally with the quadrates, lateral and basi-occipital bones, and with the unpaired basi-sphenoid, which appears between the basi-occipital and the diverging pterygoids, but is in most cases to a great extent overlapped by the latter. The occipital condyle is distinctly triple; the basi-occipital sometimes helps to border the foramen magnum. The supra-occipital sends out a long vertical blade, directed backwards and generally projecting far over the neck, for the attachment of the powerful cranio-cervical muscles. The quadrate is very peculiar. Firmly attached, and hemmed in on nearly all sides by the neighbouring bones, it stands nearly vertically and forms a broad articulating surface for the mandible. Its posterior side shows either a transverse, horizontal groove, in which lies the columella auris, or the groove is transformed into a more or less closed canal. Moreover, the hinder lateral margin of the quadrate forms most of the tympanic frame; its margins being curved backwards, leaving in the Cryptodira, however, a {318}wide notch behind; in the Pleurodira this part of the quadrate is transformed into a trumpet, the wide rim of which, forming a complete ring, carries the tympanic membrane. The tympanic cavity thus formed often leads into a deep recess which extends beneath the squamosal towards the opisthotic and bears some resemblance to the intricate tympanic recesses which pervade that region of the Crocodilian skull.