soil are those which always accompany the remains of the ramphorynchus in the rocks, and they show the imprints at once of the anterior and posterior feet and tail.

Extraordinary Land Reptiles.

Not less remarkable than these inhabitants of the ocean and the air were the land reptiles of the same period, the iguanodon and megalosaurus. The iguanodon had a very singular structure. Although the size and proportions of its body and limbs have been determined from numerous detached bones, and the few specimens in which several are collected in the same block of stone, yet but a vague idea of the form and appearance of the original animal can be derived from the relics hitherto discovered. We may, however, safely conclude that the body of the iguanodon was equal in magnitude to that of the elephant, and as massive in its.

THE RAMPHORYNCHUS OR CREEPING BIRD.

proportions; for being a vegetable feeder, a large development of the abdominal region may be inferred. Its limbs must have been of a proportionate size to sustain so enormous a bulk; one of the thigh bones, if covered with muscles and tissues of suitable proportions, would form a limb seven feet in circumference. The hinder extremities, in all probability presented the unwieldy shape of those of the hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and were supported by very strong, short feet, the toes of which were armed with claws, like those of certain turtles. The fore legs appear to have been less bulky, and were furnished with hooked claws. The teeth demonstrate the nature of the food required for the support of this herbivorous reptile, and the power of mastication it enjoyed; and the ferns, pines and hemlock trees, with which its remains are associated, indicate the vegetation adapted for its sustenance. But the physiognomy of this creature,

from the peculiar shape of the skull and jaws required for the attachment and support of the powerful muscles necessary for the grinding of tough vegetable substances, must have differed entirely from that of all known. reptiles.

The length of the iguanodon has been variously estimated; the difference in the computation depending chiefly on the extent assigned to the tail, which in many lizards is much longer than the body. If the tail of the fossil reptile was slender, and of the same relative proportions as in forms now existing, the largest individual would be fifty or sixty feet long.

Remains of the megalosaurus have been found in several localities. So many perfect bones and teeth have been discovered that we are nearly as well acquainted with the form and dimensions of the limbs' as if they had been found together in a single block of stone. The restoration of the animal had been accordingly effected agreeably with the proportions of the known parts of the skeleton, and in harmony with the general characters of the order of reptiles to which the megalosaurus belonged. Baron Cuvier estimated this animal to have been about fifty feet in length. Calculations founded on more complete evidence reduce its size to about thirty-five feet; but with the superior proportional height and capacity of trunk as contrasted with the largest existing crocodiles, even that length gives a very formidable character to this extinct rapacious reptile. The restoration, according to the proportions of fossil bones of the megalosaurus hitherto obtained, yields a total length of the animal, from the muzzle to the end of the tail, of thirty-seven feet, the length of the head being five feet, the length of the tail fifteen feet, and the greatest girth of the body twenty-two feet six inches. As the thigh bone and leg bone measure each nearly three feet, the entire hind leg must have attained a length of two yards, and indicated a foot, with the toes and claws entire, of at least three feet in length. The form of the teeth shows the megalosaurus to have been strictly a flesh-eating creature, and these were fearfully fitted to the destructive office for which. they were designed. They appear straight when young, but become sligtly bent backwards in the progress of growth, and the fore part of the crown, below the summit becomes thick and convex. They present a combination of contrivances similar to those which human ingenuity has adopted in the construction of the knife, the sabre, and the saw. Enormous Lizards of the Prehistoric Age.

The world-renowned naturalist, Figuier, thus describes this gigantic reptile: The megalosaurus was an enormous lizard, borne upon feet slightly raised: its length reached about forty-five feet. Cuvier consider

ed that it partook of the structure of the reptiles which haunt the banks of the Nile and tropical India. The complicated structure and marvelous arrangement of the teeth prove that it was essentially a flesh-eating animal. It fed probably on other serpents of moderate size, such as the crocodiles and turtles which are found in the fossil state in the beds. The lower jaw supports many teeth: it shows that the head terminated in a straight muzzle, thin and flat on the sides, like that of the gavial, the crocodile of India. The teeth of the megalosaurus were in perfect accord with the destructive nature of this formidable creature. They partake at once of the knife, the sabre and the saw. Vertical at their junction with the jaw, they assume with the increased age of the animal a backward curve, giving them the form of a gardener's pruning-knife. After insisting upon some other particulars respecting these teeth, Buckland says, " With teeth constructed so as to cut with the whole of their concave edge, each movement of the jaws produced the combined effect of a knife and a saw, at the same time that the point made a first incision like that made by the point of a double-cutting sword. The backward curvature taken by the teeth at their full growth renders the escape of the prey when once seized impossible. We find here, then, the same arrangements which enable mankind to put in operation many of the instruments which they employ."

The Colossal Iguanodon.

Figuier also says concerning the iguanodon that it was more gigantic than the megalosaurus: the most colossal, indeed, of all the reptiles of the ancient world which research has yet exposed to the light of day. The form and disposition of the feet, added to the existence of a horn on the upper part of the muzzle or snout, render this creature one of the marvels of the ancient world. The bone of its thigh surpasses that of the elephant, the shape of this bone and feet demonstrates that it was formed for travelling inland; and its dental system shows that it was herbivorous. The teeth which are the most important and characteristic organs of the whole animal, are not fixed in distinct sockets like the cocodiles, but fixed on the internal face of a dental bone; that is to say, in the interior of the palate, as in the lizards. The place thus occupied by the edges of the teeth, their trenchant and saw-like form, their mode of curvature, the points where they become broader or narrower which turn them into a species of nippers or scissors-are all suitable for cutting and tearing the resisting plants which are also found among the remains with the reptile.

We present an engraving in which the iguanodon and megalosaurus

struggle for the mastery in the centre of a forest, which enables us also to convey some idea of the vegetation of the period. Here we note a vegetation at once exotic and temperate-that of the tropics, and a flora resembling our own. On the left we observe a group of trees, which resemble some of the plants of our forests. An entire group of trees, composed of ferns, are in the background; in the extreme distance are some palms. We also recognize in the picture the alder, the wych-elm, the maple, and the walnut-tree, or at least species similar to these. A Marvelous Reptile.

The hylæosaurus was another enormous reptile, whose remains were found in the Tilgate Forest. This animal appears to have combined some of the features both of the crocodile and of the lizard. It was covered

A HUGE BONE-PLATED ANIMAL-THE HYLEOSAURUS.

with thick scales, and along the back was a row of long conical bones or spikes, resembling the crests. This animal is supposed to have been a terrestrial, herbivorous reptile, between twenty and thirty feet in length. Altogether it must have been of the most extraordinary reptilian organization. When the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus ceased to rule the ocean and become extinct, the mososaurus took their place, to keep the multiplication of the species of other animals within proper limits. The mososaurus derives its name from the locality, Maestricht, on the River Meuse, in Germany, where its remains have been chiefly discovered,