On the Structure of the Plesiosauria Skull

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Abstract
The structure of the skull of the Liassic Plesiosauria has been discussed by many writers, but the various accounts that have been given of it are incomplete, and often differ one from the other in important particulars, doubtless owing to the fact that in most cases the specimens examined are much crushed, and are embedded in the matrix, so that only one aspect is visible. In the National Collection there is, however, a fine skull of Plesiosaurus macrocephalus , which has lately been almost completely cleared from the matrix, so that it exhibits both the upper and under surfaces; this specimen, though it has been subjected to a slight vertical compression which has caused some fractures and dislocations, gives a fairly clear idea of the general arrangement of the constituent bones, and, since it throws light on some obscure points, seemed worthy of the following brief notice. Certain other specimens, which are of assistance in some difficulties, will also be referred to. In 1838 Owen figured and described the upper and lateral regions of the skull of P. macrocephalus , and in 1881 Sollas described under the name P. brachycephalus some portions of the head of a specimen probably referable to the same species. Neither of these writers had an opportunity of examining the palate, and it is this region, therefore, that is more particularly considered here; while, in the structure of the rest of the skull, only such points are noticed as seem to add to, or to be at variance

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