The plastron is imperfectly ossified, and marginal bones may be absent, or if present are confined to the posterior portion of the carapace. The pelvis is not united to the plastron. The cranium has not a complete false roof and the head can be drawn back under the carapace. The first three digits of both manus and pes bear claws, and the fourth digit in each case has more than three phalanges. The most important genus is _Trionyx_. _Suborder (2)._ CRYPTODIRA. The carapace and plastron vary in the extent to which they are ossified, and except in _Dermochelys_[72] and its allies are covered by horny plates. Marginal bones are always present. The head can generally be drawn back under the carapace. The pelvis is not firmly united to the plastron. The cranium often has a complete false roof, and in the mandibular articulation the cup is borne by the cranium, and the knob by the mandible. Among the more important genera are _Dermochelys_, _Chelone_, and _Testudo_. _Suborder (3)._ PLEURODIRA. The carapace and plastron are strongly ossified, and firmly united to the pelvis. The head and neck can be folded laterally under the carapace, but cannot be drawn back under it. The cranium has a more or less complete false roof, and in the mandibular articulation the knob is borne by the cranium, and the cup by the mandible. _Chelys_ is a well-known genus. _Order 4._ ICHTHYOSAURIA[73]. The order includes a number of large extinct marine reptiles whose general shape is similar to that of the Cetacea. The skull is enormously large, and the neck short. The tail is very long, and is terminated by a large vertically-placed bilobed fin, the vertebral column running along the lower lobe. The very numerous vertebrae are short and deeply biconcave. The vertebral column can be divided into caudal and precaudal regions only, as the ribs which begin at the anterior part of the neck are continued to the posterior end of the trunk without being connected with any sternum or sacrum. The precaudal vertebrae bear two surfaces for the articulation of the ribs, while in the caudal vertebrae the two surfaces have coalesced. The caudal region is also distinguished by its chevron bones. The vertebrae have no transverse processes, and the neural arches are not firmly united to the centra, and have only traces of zygapophyses. The atlas and axis are similar to the other vertebrae, but there is a wedge-shaped intercentrum between the atlas and the skull, and another between the atlas and the axis. The skull is greatly elongated (fig. 32) and pointed, mainly owing to the length of the premaxillae. The orbits are enormous, and there is a ring of bones in the sclerotic (fig. 32, 15). The anterior nares are very small; and are placed far back just in front of the orbits. There is an interparietal foramen, and the supratemporal fossae (fig. 32, 9) are very large, while there are no infratemporal fossae. An epipterygoid occurs. The quadrate is firmly