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UC^JB LIBRARY

EXTINCT MONSTERS AND CREATURES
OF OTHER DAYS

:«i

EXTINCT MONSTERS

AND

CREATURES OF OTHER DAYS

A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE
LARGER FORMS OF ANCIENT ANIMAL LIFE

REV. H. N. HUTCHINSON, B.A.

F.R.G.S., F.G.S., F.Z.S.

AUTHOR OF " THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE EARTH," " THE STORY OF THE HILLS,'

"PRKHISTORIC MAN AND BEAST," "MARRIAGE CUSTOMS IN MANY LANDS,"

EDITOR OF "the LIVING RACES OF MANKIND," 190O

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. SMIT, ALICE B. WOODWARD,
J. GREEN. CHARLES KNIGHT, AND OTHERS

NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION

LONDON

CHAPMAN (Sf HALL, Ltd.

1910

" The possibilities of existence run so deeply into the extravagant that
there is scarcely any conception too extraordinary for Nature to
realise." — Agassiz.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
BY DR. HENRY WOODWARD, F.R.S.

LATE KKEPKR OF GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

I HAVE been requested by my friend Mr. Hutchinson, to
express my opinion upon the series of drawings which have been
prepared by that excellent artist of animals, Mr. Smit, for this
little book entitled " Extinct Monsters."

Many of the stories told in early days, of Giants and Dragons,
may have originated in the discovery of the limb-bones of the
Mammoth, the Rhinoceros, or other large animals, in caves,
associated with heaps of broken fragments, in which latter the
ignorant peasant saw in fancy the remains of the victims devoured
at the monster's repasts.

In Louis Figuier's World before the Deluge we are favoured
with several highly sensational views of extinct monsters ; whilst
the pen of the late Dr. Kinns has furnished valuable information
as to the " slimy " nature of their blood !

The late Mr. B. Waterhouse Hawkins (formerly a lithographic
artist) was for years occupied in unauthorised restorations of
various Secondary reptiles and Tertiary mammals, and about 1853
he received encouragement from Professor Owen to undertake the
restorations of extinct animals which still adorn the lower grounds
of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham.

But the discoveries of later years have shown that the Dicyno-
don and Labyrinthodon, instead of being toadlike in form, were

vi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

lacertilian or salamander-like reptiles, with elongated bodies and
moderately long tails; that the Iguanodon did not usually stand
upon " all-fours," but more frequently sat up like some huge
kangaroo with short fore limbs ; that the horn on its snout was
really on its wrist ; that the Megalosaurus, with a more slender
form of skeleton, had a somewhat similar erect attitude, and the
habit, perhaps, of springing upon its prey, holding it with its
powerful clawed hands, and tearing it with its formidable car-
nivorous teeth.

Although the Bernissart Iguanodon has been to us a complete
revelation of what a Dinosaur really looked like, it is to America,
and chiefly to the discoveries of Marsh, that we owe the knowledge
of a whole series of new reptiles and mammals, many of which will
be found illustrated within these pages.

Of long and short-tailed Pterodactyles we now know
almost complete skeletons and details of their patagia or flying
membranes. The discovery of the long-tailed feathered bird
with teeth — the Archseopteryx, from the Oolite of Solenhofen, is
another marvellous addition to our knowledge; whilst Marsh's
great Hesperornis, a wingless diving bird with teeth, and his
flying toothed bird, the Ichthyornis dispar, are to us equally
surprising.

Certainly, both in singular forms of fossil reptilia and in early
mammals. North America carries off the palm.

Of these the most remarkable are Marsh's Stegosaurus, a huge
torpid reptile, with very small head and teeth, about twenty
feet in length, and having a series of flattened dorsal spines,
nearly a yard in height, fixed upon the median line of its back ;
and his Triceratops, another reptile bigger than Stegosaurus,
having a huge neck-shield joined to its skull, and horns on
its head and snout. Nor do the Eocene Mammals fall short

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION vii

of the marvellous, for in Dinoceras we find a beast with
six horns, and sword-bayonet tusks, joined to a skeleton like
an elephant's.

Latest amongst the marvels in modern palseontological
discovery has been that made by Professor Fraas of the out-
line of the skin and fins in Ichthyosaurus tenuirostris,
which shows it to have been a veritable shark- like reptile,
with a high dorsal fin and broad fish-tail, so that " fish-lizard "
is more than ever an appropriate term for these old Liassic
marine reptiles.

As every palaeontologist is well aware, restorations are ever
liable to emendation, and that the present and latest book of
extinct monsters will certainly prove no exception to the rule
is beyond a doubt, but the author deserves our praise for the
very boldness of his attempt, and the honesty with which he
has tried to follow nature and avoid exaggeration. Every one
will admire the simple and unaffected style in which the author
has endeavoured to tell his story, avoiding, as far as possible,
all scientific terms, so as to bring it within the intelligence of
the unlearned. He has, moreover, taken infinite pains to study
up his subject with care, and to consult all the literature bearing
upon it. He has thus been enabled to convey accurate informa-
tion in a simple and pleasing form, and to guide the artist in
his difficult task with much wisdom and intelligence. That the
excellence of the sketches is due to the artist, Mr. Smit, is a
matter of course, and so is the blame, where criticism is
legitimate ; and no one is more sensible of the difficulties of
the task than Mr. Smit himself.

Speaking for myself, I am very well pleased with the series
of sketches; and I may say so with the greater ease and
freedom from responsibility, as I have had very little to do

viii PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

with them, save in one or two trifling matters of criticism. I
may venture, however, to commend them to my friends among
the public at large as the happiest set of restorations that has
yet appeared.

H. W.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

Natural history is deservedly a popular subject. The mani-
festations of life in all its varied forms is a theme that has
never failed to attract all who are not destitute of intelligence.
From the days of the primitive cave-dwellers of Europe, who
lived with mammoths and other animals now lost to the
world ; of the ancient Egyptians, who drew and painted on
the walls of their magnificent tombs the creatures inhabiting
the delta of the Nile; of the Greeks, looking out on the world
with their bright and child-like curiosity, down to our own
times, this old, yet ever new, theme has never failed. Never
before was there such a profusion of books describing the various
forms of life inhabiting the different countries of the globe, or
the rivers, lakes, and seas that diversify its scenery. Popular
writers have done good service in making the way plain for
those who wish to acquaint themselves with the structures,
habits, and histories of living animals ; while for students a
still greater supply of excellent manuals and text-books has
been, and still continues to be, forthcoming.

But in our admiration for the present we forget the great
past. How seldom do we think of that innumerable host of
creatures that once trod this earth! How little in comparison
has been done for them! Our natural-history books deal only
with those that are alive now. Few popular writers have
attempted to depict, as on a canvas, the great earth-drama that

X AUTHOR'S PREFACE

has, from age to age, been enacted on the terrestrial stage, of
which we behold the latest, but probably not the closing scenes.

When our poet wrote " All the world's a stage," he thought
only of " men and women," whom he called " merely players,"
but the geologist sees a wider application of these words, as he
reviews the drama of past life on the globe, and finds that
animals, too, have had " their exits and their entrances ; " nay,
more, " the strange eventful history " of a human life, sketched
by the master-hand, might well be chosen to illustrate the birth
and growth of the tree of life, the development of which we
shall trace briefly from time to time, as we proceed on our
survey of the larger and more wonderful animals that flourished
in bygone times.

"We might even make out a " seven ages " of the world, in
each of which some peculiar form of life stood out prominently,
but such a scheme would be artificial.

There is a wealth of material for reconstructing the past
that is simply bewildering ; and yet little has been done to
bring before the public the strange creatures that have perished.^

To the writer it is a matter of astonishment that the
discoveries of Marsh, Cope, Leidy, and others in America, not
to mention some important European discoveries, should have
attracted so little notice in this country. In the far and wild
West a host of strange reptiles and quadrupeds have been un-
earthed from their rocky sepulchres, often of incredibly huge

^ Figuier's World be/ore the Dehige is hardly a trustworthy book, and is
often not up to date. The restorations also are misleading. Nicholson's
Life-Kistory of the Earth is a student's book. Messrs. Cassells' Our Earth
and its Story deals with the whole of geology, and so is too diffusive ; its ideal
landscapes and restorations leave much to be desired. H. R. Knipe's Nebula to
Man contains a large number of beautiful restorations and landscapes. See also
Sir E. Ray Lankester's Extinct Animals.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE xi

proportions, and, in many cases, more weird and strange than
the imagination could conceive; and yet the public have never
heard of these discoveries, by the side of which the now well-
known "lost creations" of Cuvier, Buckland, or Conybeare
sink into the shade. For once, we beg leave to suggest, the
hungry pressman, seeking " copy," has failed to see a good thing.
Descriptions of some of " Marsh's monsters " and how they
were found, might, one would think, have proved attractive to
a public ever on the look-out for something new.

Professor Huxley, comparing our present knowledge of the
mammals of the Tertiary era with that of 1859, states that
the discoveries of Gaudry, Marsh, and Filhol are " as if zoologists
were to become acquainted with a country hitherto unknown,
as rich in novel forms of life as Brazil or South America once
was to Europeans."

The object of this book is to describe some of the larger
and more monstrous forms of the past — the lost creations of
the old world ; to clothe their dry bones with flesh, and suggest
for them backgrounds such as are indicated by the discoveries
of geology : in other words, to endeavour, by means of pen and
pencil, to bring them back to life. The ordinary public cannot
learn much by merely gazing at skeletons set up in museums.
One longs to cover their nakedness with flesh and skin, and to
see them as they were when they walked this earth.

Our present imperfect knowledge renders it difficult in some
cases to construct successful restorations ; but, nevertheless, the
attempt is worth making : and if some who think geology a very
dry subject, can be converted to a different opinion on reading
these pages, we shall be well rewarded for our pains.

We venture to hope that those who will take the trouble
to peruse this book, or even to look at its pictures, on which

xii AUTHOR'S PREFACE

much labour and thought have been expended, will find pleasure
in visiting the splendid geological collection at Cromwell Eoad.
We have often watched visitors walking somewhat aimlessly
among those relics of a former world, and wished that we could
be of some service. But, if this little book should help them
the better to understand what they see there, our wish will be
accomplished.

Another object which the writer has kept in view is to
connect the past with the present. It cannot be too strongly
urged that the best commentary on the dead past is the living
present. It is unfortunate that there is still too great a tendency
to separate, as by a great gulf, the dead from the living, the
past from the present, forms of life. The result of this is seen
in our museums. Fossils have too often been left to the attention
of geologists not always well acquainted with the structures of
living animals. The more frequent introduction of fossil speci-
mens side by side with modern forms of life would not only be
a gain to the progress and spread of geological science, but
would be a great help to students of anatomy and natural history.
The tree of life is but a mutilated thing, and half its interest
is gone when the dead branches are lopped off.^

It is, perhaps, justifiable to give to the term "monster" a
somewhat extended meaning. The writer has therefore included
in his menagerie of extinct animals one or two creatures which,
though not of any great size, are nevertheless remarkable in
various ways — such, for instance, as the winged reptiles, and
anomalous birds with teeth, of later times, and others. Compared

' Of late years, since our first Edition in 1892, efiforts have been made at the
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, to carry out this idea to some extent
by placing skeletons of living and recent animals by the side of those of extinct
forms ; and vice versa fossils are sometimes introduced into the galleries devoted
to recent forms, especially in the Reptile Gallery.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE xiii

with living forms, these creatures appear to us as " monstrosities,"
and may well find a place in our collection.

The author wishes, in a few words, to thank those friends who
ha,ve rendered him assistance in his task.

Dr. Henry Woodward, F.E.S., Keeper of Geology, Natural
History Museum, has from the first taken a lively interest in
this little book. He kindly helped the author with his advice
on difficult matters, criticising some of the artist's preliminary
sketches and suggesting improvements in the restorations. With
unfailing courtesy he has ever been willing, in spite of many
demands on his time, to place his knowledge at the disposal of
both the author and artist ; and in this way certain errors have
been avoided. Besides this, he took the trouble to read through
the proof-sheets, and made suggestions and corrections which
have greatly improved the text. For all this welcome aid the
author begs to return his sincere thanks.

To Mr. Smith Woodward, of the Natural History Museum,
the author is also much indebted for his kindness in reading
through the text and giving valuable information with regard to
the latest discoveries.

The artist, Mr. J. Smit, notwithstanding the novelty of the
subject and the difficulties of the task, has thrown himself heartily
into the work of making the twenty-four restorations of extinct
animals. To him, also, the author is greatly indebted, and
considers himself fortunate in having secured the services of so
excellent an artist.

To the publishers his thanks are due for their Kberality in
the matter of illustrations, and the readiness with which they
have responded to suggestions.

With regard to minor illustrations the following acknow-
ledgments are due : —

xiv AUTHOR'S PREFACE

To the Palaeontographical Society of Great Britain for permission
to reproduce three of the illustrations in Sir Eichard Owen's great
work, British Fossil Reptiles, published in their yearly volumes,
viz. Figs. 8, 9, 14.

To Messrs. Bell and Co. for the following cuts from the late
Dr. Gideon A. Mantell's works: viz. Figs. 3, 35, 36, 42, 53,
67, 68, 73.

To Messrs. A. and C. Black for the following cuts from
Owen's Palaeontology : viz. Figs. 85, 99, 104.

Appendix III. contains a list of some of the works of which
the writer has made use; but it would be impossible within
reasonable limits to enumerate all the separate papers which have
necessarily been consulted.

Models in papier mache, about 12 to 20 inches in length, of
the following have been made under the supervision of the author,
and may be obtained from Messrs. Newman (of Newman Street,
Oxford Street, W.), viz. Tinoceras, Plesiosaurus, and Megatherium.

The numbers of the Figs, given are those in the present Edition (1910).

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

The appearance of a second edition affords the author a pleasant
opportunity of thanking the reading public, and the Press, for
the kind way in which his endeavour to popularise the results
of modem Palaeontology has been received. There seem to be
fashions in all things — even in sciences ; and perhaps the
wonderful advances we have witnessed of late years in the
physical sciences on the one hand, and in biological sciences on
the other, may have tended to throw Palseontology somewhat
into the shade. Let us hope that it will not remain there long.

A large number of illustrations have been added for the
present edition, besides additional matter here and there in the
text. Three of the plates have been redrawn. Plate IV. shows
the Ichthyosaurus as interpreted by the latest discovery from
Wiirtemberg.

Plate XXXVII., besides containing a valuable portrait of the
late Sir Eichard Owen, gives another drawing of the Dinornis
skeleton.

AjpHl, 1893.
The numbers of the Plates are those of the present Edition (1910).

n

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION

Paleontology, like all other sciences, has made many advances
since the year 1892, when the first edition of Extinct Monsters
was published. This was followed in 1894 by Creatures of
Other Days. The former is now out of print, and the latter not
far off that state. Books, monographs, and papers have been,
and still are, pouring out in a big continuous stream, in some
cases setting forth results of the highest importance to Naturalists
and Geologists. In the following pages an endeavoiir has been
made to deal with some of this mass of material in a light and
superficial way. The process may be compared to skimming
samples of cream from many bowls of milk. For it is only
the cream that the general public require. The reservoir of
milk below would be too deep, dark, and unintelligible. In
order to avoid making two volumes the greater part of Creatures
of Other Days has been incorporated in the present book, and
the two titles are therefore retained. A certain amount of
condensation has been necessary in order to keep down the
size of the book, and the chapters dealing with fossil fish,
crocodiles, and " Kelics of the Pleistocene Period " (e.g. Toxodon,
Macrauchenia, Bos primigenius) have been omitted. A few
creatures from Extinx;t Monsters are also reluctantly omitted.
Every endeavour has been made to illustrate the subject fully

xviii PREFACE TO NEW EDITION

by means of fifty-five plates and a hundred and thirteen figures in
the text. Mere descriptions without drawings would be of little
use for our present purpose. Perhaps some young people who
are fond of looking at living animals in the Zoological Gardens
or in picture-books, may care to look at some of our illustrations
of ancient monsters and compare them with the familiar living
types which have in the course of ages descended from them by
evolution.

Many of the illustrations are due to the kind co-operation
of geologists and naturalists ; and for this kind help the writer
begs to tender his very sincere thanks. It has come in many
ways, and from many lands; but especially from the United
States and Kussia, while EngUsh geologists have ever been most
willing to offer help and advice.

It may be convenient here to indicate briefly what is new
matter, and, at the same time, express our obligations to those
who have contributed new illustrations.

In Chapter VII., dealing with that strange reptilian order
the Anomodonts, the reader will see some new photographs of
skulls and skeletons. These were very kindly sent by Professor
Amalitzky, of Warsaw. They show some of the wonderful
discoveries made by him in recent years. His workshop teems
with bones of the Pareiasaurus and other remarkable beasts of
Permian age discovered by him on the banks of the Northern
Dwina, near Archangel, and only extracted from the hard nodules
containing them with very great labour and patience. They
used to be broken up for mending the roads! In the same
geological period lived the strange reptile Naosaurus, seen in
Plate XIII., which is from a photograph sent by Professor
H. F. Osborn of the American Museum of Natural History.

Passing on to the Dinosaurs, we must again offer our thanks

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION xix

to Professor H. F. Osborn, who supplied photographs reproduced
in Plates XV., XVI. and XX. Plate XXVI. shows a new and
probably better restoration of Stegosaurus, by Mr. J. Smit.

With regard to the Triceratops (the restoration of which is
unusually difficult on account of the want of any single complete
skeleton), a new attempt has been made by our friend Mr. J.
Smit, based on the recently mounted and restored skeleton in
the Natural History Museum, see Plates XXVII. and XXVIII.
It was certainly a most strange beast, and we can only hope that
in time every bone will be completely known. The now well-
known Diplodocus has also been restored by the same artist from
the cast in the Museum, see Plate XXII. Another comparatively
new Dinosaur is the remarkable Polacanthus, seen in Fig. 60,
reproduced by permission of Baron Nopcsa and Dr. Henry
Woodward, F.E.S.

Some new matter and illustrations dealing with sea-serpents
will be found in Chapter X.

The huge flying reptile or Pterodactyl Pteranodon, seen
in Plate XXXIII., is from an illustration supplied by the
Smithsonian Institution, U.S.A.

With regard to birds, some new matter has been added, and
a restoration of the great Patagonian bird Phororhacos, kindly
lent by Professor F. A. Lucas of the Brooklyn Museum, who also
lent the picture of the Mammoth seen in Plate XLIX. Mr.
W. P. Pycraft also kindly lent his own restoration of the oldest
known bird, the Archseopteryx, seen in Fig. 79, for which the
author is much obliged, as it seems to be the only reliable
restoration yet published. The truly wonderful story of the
evolution of the elephant can now be read in outline from the
record of the rocks. This is certainly a result of which geologists
may be proud. The drawings seen in Fig. 105 have been specially

XX PREFACE TO NEW EDITION

drawn for this book, and are based on the admirable restorations
by Miss Alice B. Woodward, seen in Plates XLIV., XLV., XLVI.
The latter have been kindly lent by Mr. H. E. Knipe, F.L.S., who
published them a few years ago in his beautifully illustrated
book Nebula to Man. From the same book the writer has also
borrowed Plates XXIII. and XXVL, representing respectively
Iguanodon and Stegosaurus.

As explained in the text, the fossil bones of the elephant's
ancestors have been discovered chiefly by Dr. C. W. Andrews of
the Natural History Museum, who has also been so fortunate
as to discover the skull and large portions of the skeleton of
that very strange Mammal, the Arsinoetherium, seen in Plate
XLIII. This also may be reckoned among the recent wonders
of Geology.

The evolution of the horse, quite an old story now, has been
brought up to date and further illustrated by the outline
restorations taken from Mr. H. S. Lull, and by the Figs, on p. 245,
which have been carefully drawn from casts of skulls and limb-
bones in the Natural History Museum.

In the last two chapters will be found an epitome of recent
information about the great Ground Sloth of South America, and
the Diprotodon, a huge Marsupial from Australia.

The Trustees of the British Museum have kindly lent the
following : Figs. 29, 31, 32, 37, 50, 77, 84, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103.

Dr. Henry Woodward, Editor of the Geological Magazine,
has kindly supplied Fig. 60 of the Polacanthus, as well as Plates
III., v., and LV.

In conclusion, the writer wishes to thank Dr. A. Smith
Woodward, F.E.S., of the Natural History Museum, who, besides
reading the proofs of this book, has from time to time offered
suggestions and criticisms of sketches for which the writer is

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION xxi

most grateful. Dr. C. W. Andrews and Mr. W. P. Pycraft have
also given much help of a similar nature. The kind advice of
such learned gentlemen is greatly valued by their friend the
Author, for they know practically all that goes on in the world
of Palaeontology.

H. N. HUTCHINSON.

London, March, 1910.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. How Extinct Monsters are Preserved 10

II. Footprints on the Sands of Time 27

III. Sea-Scorpions 50

IV. The Great Fish-Lizards 59

V. The Great Sea-Lizards .76

VI. Ancient Salamanders 85

VII. Anomalous Reptiles 105

Vni. The Dinosaurs 124

IX. The Dinosaurs (continued) 158

X. Sea-Serpents 187

XI. Flying Dragons 199

XII. Ancient Birds 211

XIII. Some Early Mammals : The Stoby of the Horse . . . 231

XIV. The Story of the Elephants 264

XV. Sloths and Armadillos 283

XVI. Whales and Wombats, etc 294

LIST OF PLATES

PI-ATE lO PACK FAGK

I. Footprints of Dinosaurs 44

II. Sea-scorpions 53

III. Skeleton of Ichthyosaurus tenuirostris 61

IV. Fish-lizards. Lias period 65

V. Skeleton of young Plesiosaur 79

VI. Long-necked Sea-lizard 83

VII. Amphibians of the Coal-forest and Permian periods ... 95

VIII. Ptyonius (two species) 100

IX. Reptiles and an amphibian of the New Red Sandstone period . 105
X. (1) Skull of Dicynodon, palatal aspect. (2) Skull of Dicynodon

Trautsckoeldi 108

XL (1) Skeleton of Inostransevia alexandri. (2) Skull of Inostran-

sevia alexandri . . . 112

XII. (1) Model of Pareiasaurus karpinskii (by Prof. Amalitzky).

(2) Skeleton of Pareiasaurus karpinskii 116

XIII. Model of ^aosattr«s restored. From Permian strata of Texas . 119

XIV. A large-horned Dinosaur, Ceratosaurus 133

XV. Skeleton of huge carnivorous Dinosaur, Allosaurus . . . 135

XVI. Models of Laelaps restored 140

XVII. The oldest-known Dinosaur, ^ncAisawras. (From North America) 145

XVIII. Thigh-bone of a huge Dinosaur, J fZonfosaurMs . . . .148

XIX. A gigantic Dinosaur, Bro7itosaurus excelsus .... 151

XX. B-ind-leg hones of Diplodocus 152

XXI. Plaster-cast of skeleton of i>j'p?o(?oc«s 155

xxvi LIST OF PLATES

PLATE ' TO FACE PAGE

XXII. The greatest kaowa Dinosaur, Diplodocua . . . .157

XXIII. Iguanodon bemissartensis 164

XXIV. A large herbivorous Dinosaur, Claosaurus. (From North

America) 169

XXV. A small Dinosaur, Hypsilophodon . . . . .173

XXVI. Stegosaurus ungulatus ........ 179

XXVII. (1) The late Prof. 0. C. Marsh. (2) Restored skeleton of

Triceratops prorsus .182

XXVin. Reconstructed skeleton of a great herbivorous Dinosaur,

Triceratops prorsus . . . . . . .185

XXIX. The last of the Dinosaurs, Triceratops prorsus Frontispiece

XXX. Skeletons of Mosasauroid reptiles 191

XXXI. Restoration of Tylosaurus 197

XXXII. Group of small flying dragons 205

XXXIII. Restoration of giant Pterodactyl 209

XXXIV. A gigantic diver, Hesperornis . . . . . . 217

XXXV. The Dodo, Didm ineptus 221

XXXVI. Phororhacos, a Patagonian giant 222

XXXVII. The late Sir Richard Owen and a skeleton of the Moa . . 225

XXXVm. Moas from New Zealand 227

XXXIX. Tapir-like animals. Eocene period 235

XL. Coryphodon. Eocene period 251

XLI. A large extinct mammal, Tinoceras ingens .... 255

XLII. A huge extinct mammal, Brontops robustus . . . .261

XLIII. Arsinoetherium zitteli 263

XLIV. Evolution of the elephant. An early ancestor, Moeritherium 265

XLV. Evolution of the elephant. Second stage, Falceomastodon . 267

XL VI. The evolution of the elephant. Third stage, Tetrabelodon . 269

XLVIL An ancient elephantine monster, Dinotheri%im . . .271

XLVIII. Remains of Mammoth, Jakutsk 274

XLIX. The Mammoth, Elephas primigenius 279

LIST OF PLATES xxvii

PLATE TO FACE PAGE

L, Cast of skeleton of Megatherium 285

LI. Great ground sloth of South America, Megatherium . . . 287
LII. (1) The late Sir Richard Owen. (2) Skeleton of Glyptodon

clavipes 291

LIII. A gigantic Armadillo, Olyptodon asper 293

LIV. Remains of Diprotodon, Lake Callabonna 309

LV. 'Restored skeleton of Diprotodon australis 311

LIST OF FIGURES IN TEXT

NO. PAOB

1. Tracks 35

2. Footprints of Cheirotherium 39

3. Portion of a slab of new red sandstone with tracks .... 44

4. Portion of a slab with tracks 45

5. Footprints from the Connecticut sandstone 48

6. Pterygotus anglicus 51

7. Silurian Merostomata 56

8. Ichthyosaurus intermedius ' . 64

9. Teeth of Ichthyosaurus platyodon 66

10. Skull of Ichthyosaurus latifrons 67

11. ^Q&A. oi Ichthyosaurus platyodon 70

12. Ichthyosaurus tenuirostris . 70

13. Mandibles of sea-lizards 78

14. Plesiosaurus macrocejphalus 80

15. Magni6ed section of tooth of Labyrinthodon 89

16. Skull of a Labyrinth odont, Mastodonsaurus Jaegeri .... 92

17. Part of skeleton of a Labyrinthodont, Archegosaurus (Decheni) . . 95

18. Skull of Archegosaurus 97

19. Labyrinthodonts. 1, a, b, Oricotus. 2. Head of Eryops ... 98

20. Skull of Eryops macrocephalus 99

21. Skeleton of a Labyrinthodont, Actinodon 99

22. A small Labyrinthodont, Ceraterpeton 100

23. A snake-like Labyrinthodont, Dolichosoma 101

XXX LIST OF FIGURES IN TEXT

■0. P^<**

24. Restoratdon of skeleton of Amphibamus grandiceps .... 102

25. Skull of a Labyrinthodont, Cydotosaurus (under side) . . . 103

26. Anomodont skulls, a, Skull of Dicynodon ; b, skull of Oudenodon . 108

27. Fore limb of Dicynodon 109

28. Arm-bone (humerus) of Dicynodon 109

29. Skull of Cyamodus laticeps HI

30. Skull and mandible of an Anomodont, (?o?CEsawr«s _pZantceps . .111

31. Right-side view of skull and mandible of a Theriodont (JElurosaurus

fdinus) 112

32. Skull of Tritylodon longcevus. a, palatal view ; b, upper view . .113

33. Parts of skeleton of Dimeirocfon tnctstvtfs 114

34. Skeleton of a large Anomodont reptile, Fareiasaurus Baini . .115

35. Skeleton of Tderpeion dginense, 1. Tooth 119

36. 1. Skull of Rhynchosaurus articeps. 2. Upper aspect of a dorsal

vertebra 120

37. Skull and mandible of Hyperodapedon Oordoni. a, Upper view ;

B, Side view ; c, Mandible 121

38. Front view of skull of Elginia mirahilis 122

39. Side view of skull of Elginia mirabilis 123

40. Hind limbs of (a) Bird, (b) Dinosaur, and (c) Crocodile . . . 129

41. Eggs of reptiles from the Great Oolite 130

42. Lower jaw-bone of Megcdosaurus, with teeth 133

43. Skeleton of Megdlosaurus 134

44. Limb-bones of ^?ZosawrMS. 1. Foreleg. 2. Hind leg . . . 135

45. Skull of Ceratosaurus nasicofnis. Top view 137

46. Skull of Ceratosaurus nasicomis 137

47. Skeleton of Oompsognathus longipes 138

48. Restored skeleton of the huge carnivorous Dinosaur, Tyranno-

saurtu rex 139

49. A carnivorous Dinosaur, Anchisaurus colurus 142

50. Skeleton of a Sauropodous Dinosaur (^rowtosaurus cxceZstts) . .147

LIST OF FIGURES IN TEXT

XXXI

HO.

51. Neck vertebrae of Brontosaurus. 1. Front view. 2. Back view

52. Head of Diplodocus. 1. Side view. 2. Front view

53. Tooth of Iguanodon. 1. Front aspect. 2. View of the back

a. Serrated margins, b. Apex of the crown worn by use

54. Skeleton of Iguanodon Bernissartensis ....

55. Skull and skeleton of Iguanodon Mantdli

56. Tracks of Iguanodon, much reduced ....

57. 1. Skull of Claosaurus annedens, side view. 2. The same, front view

58. Skeleton of a large herbivorous Dinosaur, Claosaurus annectens

59. Skeleton of a small Dinosaur, Hypsilophodon Foxi .

60. Reconstruction of skeleton of an armoured Dinosaur, Polacanthus foxi

61. Skeleton of Stegosaurus ungvlatus

62. Tail vertebrae of /Sfegrosawrws. 1. Side view. 2. Front view

63. Limb-bones of Stegosaurus. 1. Fore leg. 2. Hind leg .

64. 1, 2. Plates of Stegosaurus

65. Skull of Sterrohphus allied to Triceratops

66. Bony spines possibly belonging to the skin of Triceratops

67. Skull of Mosasaurus Eoffmanni

68. Teeth of Mosasaurus. 1* 2<», transverse sections of the teeth

69. Lower tooth of JjciocZora. 1. Side view. 2. Profile.

70. Superior aspect of the cranium of Platycarpus curtirostris

71. Snout of Tylosaurus

72. Skeleton of DimorpTiodon macronyx

73. Skeleton of Scaphognathus crassirostris

74. Skeleton of Pterodactylus spectahilis

75. Skeleton of Bhamphorhynchus phyllurus

76. Skull of Pteranodon. 1. Side view. 2. Top view .

77. Skeleton of a toothless flying reptile (Pteranodon occidentalis)

78. Skeleton of the great Pterodactyl Pteranodon .

79. The Berlin Archceopteryx .

80. Restoration of Archceopteryx

PAGE

149
153

159
164
165
166
168
169
172
173
177
178
179
180
182
184
191
191
193
195
196
202
203
204
206
207
207
208
213
214

xxxii LIST OF FIGURES IN TEXT

HO. PA»«

81. Skeleton of Hesperomis regalis 217

82. Skeleton of Ichthyomis victor 219

83. Restored skeleton of a large bird, Gastoj^is Edwardsii . . 221

84. Restored skull and lower jaw of Phororhacos longissimus . . 222

85. A. Skeleton of the elephant-footed Moa, Dinornis elephantopxis.

B. Leg-bones of Dinornis giganteus 226

86. Skeleton of a tapir-like animal, PaZceo<A«rt«TO magnum . . . 233

87. Skeleton, with restored outline, of ^nop?o<AeriMm commune . . 235

88. Skeleton of Hyracotherium venticolum ...... 242

89. Skulls and bones of fossil horses, showing evolution. 1. Protoro-

htppus. 2. Mesohippus. 3. Protohippus. 4. Hipparion. 5. Equus
cdballus 243

90. The evolution of the horse. 1-5, Ancestors of the horse restored . 245

91. Eight-toed Cuban horse 248

92. Skeleton of Coryphodon hamatits 250

93. Map of North America in tertiary times . . . . . . 253

94. Skeleton of Tinoceras ingens . . . ' 254

95. Skull of Dinoceras mirdbile . . 255

96. Cast of brain-cavity of Dinoceras mirabile 257

97. Skeleton of Brontops rohustus 260

98. Side and top views of skull of Titanotheriwn 261

99. Skull and lower jaw of Arsinoetherium 262

100. Skull and lower jaw of Moeritherium lyonsi 265

101. Skull and lower jaw of PaZoEOTMosfcxfoTi iecwineZZi .... 265

102. Skull and lower jaw of re^ro&eZtx^on augrus^iiens .... 266

103. Skull and lower jaw of Elephas {Stegodon) ganesa .... 267

104. Skeleton of Mastodon arvemensis 268

106. Evolution of the elephant 269

106. Skull of Dinotherium giganteum 270

107. Skeleton of Mammoth, MepAosiwtmtjrentt** 277

108. Figure of the Mammoth, engraved on Mammoth ivory . . . 281

LIST OF FIGURES IN TEXT xxxiii

NO. PAGE

109. Skeleton of Scelidotherium 289

110. Head of Squahdon 299

111. Skull of thick-toothed Grampus, Psewrforca crasstrfejis . . . 300

112. Skull of Diprotodon 302

113. Skeleton of a huge extinct marsupial, Z)iprotoc?o» atts^ra?*s . . 304

EXTINCT MONSTEES

INTRODUCTION

" The earth hath gathered to her breast again
And yet again, the millions that were born
Of her unnumbered, unremembered tribes."

Let us see if we can get some glimpses of the primaeval inhabi-
tants of the world, that lived and died while as yet there were no
men and women having authority over the fishes of the sea and
the fowls of the air.

We shall, perhaps, find this antique world quite as strange as
the fairy-land of Grimm or Lewis Carroll. True, it was not
inhabited by " slithy toves " or " jabber- wocks," but by real beasts,
of whose shapes, sizes, and habits much is already known — a
good deal more than might at first be supposed. And yet, real
as it all is, this antique world — this panorama of scenes that
have for ever passed away — is a veritable fairy-land. In those
days of which geologists tell us, the principal parts were played,
not by kings and queens, but by creatures many of which were
very unlike those we see around us now. And yet it is no fairy-
land after all, where impossible things happen, and where im-
possible dragons figure largely; but only the same old world
in which you and I were born. Everything you will see here
is quite true. All these monsters once lived. Truth is stranger
than fiction; and perhaps we shall enjoy our visit to this

B

2 EXTINCT MONSTERS

fairy-land all the more for that reason. For not even the
dragons supposed to have been slain by armed knights in old
times, when people gave ear to any tale, however extravagant,
could equal in size or strength the real dragons we shall pre-
sently meet with, whose actual bones may be seen in the Natural
History Museum at South Kensington.

Many people who visit this great museum and find their way
to the geological galleries on the right, pass hastily by the cases
of bones, teeth, and skeletons. These things, it seems, fail to
interest them. They do not know how to interpret them. They
cannot picture to themselves the kinds of creatures to which the
relics once belonged ; and so they pass them by and presently
go to the more attractive collection of stuffed birds on the other
side. There they see the feathered tribes of the air all beautifully
arranged ; some poised in the air by almost invisible wires ; some
perched on branches : but all surrounded by grass, flowers, and
natural objects, imitated with marvellous reality, so that they
see the birds as they really are in nature, and can almost fancy
they hear them singing.

Now, it has often occurred to the present writer that some-
thing more might be done for the long-neglected " lost creations "
of the world, to bring them out of their obscurity, that they
may be made to tell to the passer-by their wondrous story. We
can, however, well imagine some of our readers asking, "Can
these dry bones live?" "Yes," we would say, "they can be
made to live; reason and imagination will, if we give them
proper play, provide us eyes wherewith to see the world's lost
creations." To such men as Cuvier, Owen, Huxley, and others,
these dry bones do live. It will be our object to describe to the
reader some of the wonderful results that have rewarded the
lifelong labours of such great men. We shall take some of

INTRODUCTION 3

the largest and strangest forms of life that once lived, and try
to picture them as they really were when alive, whether walking
on land, swimming in the sea, or flying in the air ; to understand
the meanings of their more obvious structures ; and to form some
conclusions with regard to their habits, as well as to find out,
if possible, theu' relations, — as far as such questions have been
answered by those most qualified to settle these difficult
matters.

All technical details, such as the general reader is unfamiliar
with, will be as far as possible suppressed. Let us fancy a long
procession of extinct monsters passing in single file before us,
and ourselves endeavouring to pick out their " points " as they
present themselves to the eye of imagination. It is not, be it
remembered, mere imagination that guides the man of science
in such matters, for all his conclusions are carefully based on
reason; and when conclusions are given, we shall endeavour to
show how they have been arrived at.

For millions of years countless multitudes of living animals
have played their little parts on the earth and passed away, to be
buried up in the oozy beds of the seas of old time, or entombed
with the leaves that sank in the waters of primaeval lakes. The
majority of these perished beyond all recovery, leaving not a
trace behind ; yet a vast number of fossilised remains have been,
in various ways, preserved; sometimes almost as completely as
if Dame Nature had thoughtfully embalmed them for our
instruction and delight,

Down in those old seas and lakes she kept her great museum,
in order to preserve for us a selection of her treasures. In
course of time she slowly raised up sea-beds and lake-bottoms
to make them into dry land. This museum is everywhere
around us. AVe have but to enter quarries and railway cuttings,

4 EXTINCT MONSTERS

or to search in coal-mines, or under cliffs at the seaside, and we
can consult her records. As the ancient Egyptians built tombs,
pyramids, and temples, from which we may learn their manner
of life and partly read their history, so Nature has entombed, not
one race only, but many races of the children of life. Her
records are written in strange hieroglyphs, yet it is not difficult
to interpret their meaning ; and thus many an old story, many
an old scene, may be pictured in the mind of man.

Shall we call this earth-drama a tragedy or a comedy ? Doubt-
less tragic scenes occurred at times ; as, for instance, when fierce
creatures engaged in deadly combat: and probably amusing, if
not comic, incidents took place occasionally, such as might have
provoked us to laughter, had we been there to see them. But
let us simply call it a drama. Backgrounds of scenery were
not wanting. Then, as now, the surface of the earth was clothed
with vegetation, and strange cattle pastured on grassy plains.
Vegetation was at times very luxuriant. The forests of the coal
period, with their giant reeds and club-moss trees, must have
made a strange picture. Then, as now, there rose up from the
plains lofty ranges of mountains, reaching to the clouds, their
summits clothed mth the eternal snows. These, too, played
their part, feeding the streams and the rivers that meandered
over the plains, bringing life and fertility with them, as they do
now. The sun shone and the wind blew: sometimes gently,
so that the leaves just whispered in an evening breeze ; at other
times so violently that the giants of the forest swayed to and
fro, and the seas lashed themselves furiously against rocky coasts.
Nor were the underground forces of the earth less active than
they are now: volcanic eruptions often took place on a mag-
nificent scale ; volcanoes poured out fiery lava-streams for leagues
beneath their feet ; great showers of ashes and fine dust were

INTRODUCTION 5

ejected in the air, so that the sun was darkened for a time, and
the surface of the sea was covered for many miles with floating
pumice and volcanic dust, which in time sank to the bottom,
and was made into hard rock, such as we now find on the top of
Snowdon.

Earthquake shocks were quite as frequent, and no doubt the
ground swayed to and fro, or was rent open as some unusually
great earth-movement took place, and perhaps a mountain range
was raised several feet or yards higher. All this we learn from
the testimony of the rocks beneath our feet. It only requires the
use of a little imagination to conjure up scenes of the past, and
paint them as on a moving diorama.

We shall not, however, dwell at any length on the scenery, or
the vegetation that clothed the landscape at different periods ; for
these features are sufficiently indicated in the beautiful drawings
of extinct animals by our artists, Mr. J. Smit, and others.

The researches of the illustrious Baron Cuvier, at Paris, as
embodied in his great work, Ossemens Fossiles, gave a great
impetus to the study of organic remains. It was he who laid
the foundations of the science of Palaeontology,* which, though
much has already been accomplished, yet has a great future before
it. Agassiz, Owen, Huxley, Marsh, Cope, and others, following
in his footsteps, have greatly extended its boundaries ; but he
was the pioneer.

Before Cuvier's time fossil forms were very little known, and still
less understood. His researches, especially among vertebrates, or
backboned animals, revealed an altogether undreamed-of wealth
of entombed remains. It is true, the old and absurd notion that

* Palaeontology is the science which treats of the living beings, whether
animal or vegetable, which have inhabited this globe at past periods in its
history. (Greek — palaios, ancient ; onia, beings ; Zo^/os, discourse.)

6 EXTINCT MONSTERS

fossils were mere " sports of Nature," sometimes bearing more or
less resemblance to living animals, but still only an accidental (!)
resemblance, had been abandoned by Leibnitz, Buffon, and Pallas ;
and that Daubenton had actually compared the fossil bones of
quadrupeds with those of living forms ; while Camper declared
his opinion that some of these remains belonged to extinct species
of quadrupeds.

It is to Cuvier, however, that the world owes the first
systematic application of the science of comparative anatomy,
which he himself had done so much to place on a sound beisis, to
the study of the bones of fossil animals. He paid great attention
to the relative shapes of animals, and the different developments
of the same kind of bones in various animals, and especially to
the nature of their teeth. So great did his experience and know-
ledge become, that he rarely failed in naming an animal from a
part of its skeleton. He appreciated more clearly than others
before him the mutual dependence of the various parts of an
animal's organisation. "The organism," he said, "forms a con-
nected unity, in which the single parts cannot change without
modifications in the other parts."

It will hardly be necessary to give examples of this now well-
known truth ; but, just to take one case : the elephant has a
long proboscis with which it can reach the gi'ound, and conse-
quently its neck is quite short ; but take away the long proboscis,
and you would seriously interfere with the relation of various
parts of its structure to each other. How, then, could it reach
or pick up anything lying on the ground ? Other changes would
have to follow : either its legs would require to be shortened,
or its neck to be lengthened. In every animal, as in a
complex machine, there is a mutual dependence of the difl'erent
parts.

INTRODUCTION 7

As he progressed in these studies, Cuvier was able with con-
siderable success to restore extinct animals from their fossilised
remains, to discover their habits and manner of life, and to point
out their nearest living ally. To him we owe the first complete
demonstration of the possibility of restoring an extinct animal.
His "Law of Correlation" however, has been found to be not
infallible ; as Professor Huxley has shown, it has exceptions.
It expresses our experience among living animals, but, when
applied to the more ancient types of life, is liable to be mis-
leading.

To take one out of many examples of this law : Carnivorous
animals, such as cats, lions, and tigers, have claws in their feet,
very different from the hoofs of an ox, which is herbivorous :
while the teeth of the former group are very different from those
of the latter. Thus the teeth and limbs have a certain definite
relation to each other, or, in other words, are correlated. Again,
horned quadrupeds are all herbivorous (or graminivorous), and
have hoofs to their feet. The following amusing anecdote serves
to illustrate Cuvier's law. One of his students thought he would
try and frighten his master, and, having dressed up as a wild
beast, entered Cuvier's bedroom by night, and, presenting himself
by his bedside, said in hollow tones, " Cuvier, Cuvier, I've come
to eat you ! " The great naturalist, who on waking up was able
to discern something with horns and hoofs, simply remarked,
" What ! horns, hoofs — graminivorous — you can't ! " What better
lesson could the master have given the pupil to help him to
remember his " Law of Correlation " ?

Cuvier's great work, entitled Ossemens Fossiles, will long remain
an imperishable monument of the genius and industry of the
greatest pioneer in this region of investigation. This work
proved beyond a doubt to his astonished contemporaries the great

8 EXTINCT MONSTERS

antiquity of the tribes of animals now living on the surface of
the earth. It proved more than that, however; for it showed
the existence of a great philosophy in Nature which linked the
past with the present in a scheme that pointed to a continuity of
life during untold previous ages. All this was directly at variance
with the prevalent ideas of his time, and consequently his views
were regarded by many with alarm, and he received a good deal
of abuse — a fate which many other original thinkers before him
have shared.

It is somewhat difficult for people living now, and accustomed
to modern teaching, to realise how novel were the conclusions
announced by Cuvier. In his Discourse on the Revolutions of the
Surface of the Globe, translated into most European languages
under the title Tlieonj of the Earth, he lays down, among others,
the two following propositions : —

1. That all organised existences were not created at the same
time ; but at different times, probably very remote from each
other — vegetables before animals, mollusca and fishes before
reptiles, and the latter before mammals.

2. That fossil remains in the more recent strata are those which
approach nearest to the present type of corresponding living species.

Teaching such as tliis gave a new impetus to the study of
organic remains, and Palseontology, as a science, began with Cuvier.

The reader is recommended to study Chapters X. and XI. of
Darwin's Origin of Species, dealing with the imperfection of the
record, distribution, and extinction of species, etc.

One object which the writer has kept in view all through is
to show how strong is the evidence for Evolution. In fact, it
is overwhelming; consequently in these days one seldom meets
a naturalist or a geologist who does not accept the idea of
Evolution. But when people speak of " Darwinism " they do not

INTRODUCTION 9

always clearly distinguish in their minds between Evolution
and the means by which evolutionary changes have been brought
about. Darwin tried to prove that the great agency (so long
sought for in vain) was Natural Selection. Hence some people
mean Natural Selection when they speak of Darwinism. Since
Darwin's death in the year 1882 a great many naturalists and
others have pondered deeply on this great subject; new facts
and new conceptions have arisen on the question of the Origin
of Species. Some of our readers may perhaps think that
Darwin settled the question once for all. But that is not so.
True, there is a powerful school of naturalists (Neo-Darwinians)
who never weary of telling us that Natural Selection is the
great and principal cause, or agency, whereby new species arose.
On the other hand, there are many living naturalists of renown
who are unwilling to accept Darwin's explanation. Moreover,
to some minds such an explanation is far too mechanical, in-
volving a narrow view of the beauties and wonders of Creation,
as if Utility were the principal thing. Again, it is possible
that the struggle between individuals of the same or near
species is not so great as the Darwinian conception demanded.
Darwin's argument was largely based on the analogy of the sort
of selection used by breeders of plants and domestic animals.
It now appears that this analogy is not quite safe. Some
naturalists believe that the great progress Man has made in
breeding pigeons, cattle, horses, dogs, and flowers may all be
based on definite and sudden changes, now known as " Muta-
tions " (sports). Mendel's Law was unknown to Darwin, and
the striking suggestions of De Vries had not appeared in his
day. In conclusion, it only remains to say (for our space is
limited) that at present the great problem is unsolved. Perhaps
the time is hardly ripe.

CHAPTER I

HOW EXTINCT MONSTERS ARE PRESERVED

" Geology, beyond almost every other science, oflfers fields of research
adapted to all capacities and to every condition and circumstance of life in
which we may be placed. For while some of its phenomena require the
highest intellectual powei-s and the greatest attainments in abstract science for
their successful investigation, many of its problems may be solved by the most
ordinary intellect, and facts replete with the deepest interest may be gleaned
by the most casual observer." — Maxtell.

Let us suppose we are visiting a geological museum for the first
time, passing along from one department to another with ever-
increasing wonder — now admiring the beautiful polished marbles
from Devonshire, with their delicate corals, or the wonderful
fishes from the Old Eed Sandstone, with their plates of enamel ;
now the delicate shells and ammonites from the Lias or Oolites,
with their pearly lustre still preserved; now the white fresh-
looking shells from the Isle of "Wight ; now the ponderous bones
and big teeth of ancient monsters from the Wealden beds of
Sussex. The question might naturally occur, "How were all
these creatures preserved from destruction and decay, and sealed
up so securely that it is difficult to believe they are as old as the
geologists tell us they are ? " It will be worth our while to con-
sider this before we pass on to describe the creatures themselves.

Now, in the first place, " fossils " are not always " petrifactions,"
as some people seem to think; that is to say, they are not all
turned into stolie. This is true in many cases, no doubt, yet one

PRESERVATION ii

frequently comes across the remains of plants and animals that
have undergone very little change, and have, as it were, been
simply sealed up. The state of a fossil depends on several
circumstances, such as the soil, mud, or other medium in which
it may happen to be preserved. Again, the newest, or most recent,
fossils are generally the least altered. We have fossils of all
ages, and in all states of preservation. As examples of fossils
very little altered, we may take the case of the wonderful collec-
tion of bones discovered by Professor Boyd Dawkins in caves in
various parts of Great Britain. The results of many years of
research are given in his most interesting book on Cave-Hunting.
This enthusiastic explorer and geologist has discovered the remains
of a great many animals, some of which are quite extinct, while
others are still living in this country. These remains belong to
a late period, when lions, tigers, cave-bears, wolves, hyaenas, and
reindeer inhabited our country. In some cases the caves were
the dens of hyaenas, who brought their prey into caverns in
our limestone rocks, to devour them at their leisure ; for the
marks of their teeth may yet be seen on the bones. In other
cases the bones seem to have been washed into the caves by old
streams that have ceased to run ; but in all cases they are
fairly fresh, though often stained by iron-rust brought in by
water that has dissolved iron out of various rocks — for iron is a
substance met with almost everywhere in nature. Sometimes
they are buried up in a layer of soil, or "cave-earth," and at
other times in a layer of stalagmite — a deposit of carbonate of
lime gradually formed on the floors of caves by the evaporation
of water charged with carbonate of lime.

Ail' and water are great destroyers of animal and vegetable
substances from which life has departed. The autumn leaves
that fall by the wayside soon undergo change, and become at last

12 EXTINCT MONSTERS

separated or resolved into their original elements. In the same
way when any wild animal, such as a bird or rabbit, dies in an
exposed place, its flesh decays under the influence of rain and
wind, so that before long nothing but dry bones is left. Hamlet's
wish that this " too too solid flesh would melt " is soon realised
after death ; and that active chemical element in the air known as
oxygen, in breathing which we live, has a tenfold power over
dead matter, slowly causing chemical actions somewhat similar to
those that take place in a burning candle, whereby decaying flesh
is converted into water-vapour and carbonic acid gas. Thus we
see that oxygen not only supports life, but breaks up into simpler
forms the unwholesome and dangerous products of decaying
matter, thus keeping the atmosphere sweet and pure ; but in
time, even the dry bones of the bird or rabbit, though able for
a longer period to resist the attacks of the atmosphere, crumble
into dust, and serve to fertilise the soil that once supported
them.

Now, if water and air be excluded, it is wonderful how long
even the most perishable things may be preserved from this other-
wise universal decay. In the Edinburgh museum of antiquities
may be seen an old wooden cask of butter that has lain for
centuries in peat — which substance has a curiously preservative
power ; and human bodies have been dug out of Irish peat with
the flesh well preserved, which, from the nature of the costume
worn by the person, we can tell to be very ancient. Meat packed
in tins, so as to be entirely excluded from the air, may be kept a
very long time, and will be found to be quite fresh and fit for use.

But air and water have a way of penetrating into all sorts of
places, so that in nature they are almost everywhere. Water can
slowly filter through even the hardest rocks, and since it con-
tains dissolved air, it causes the decay of animal or vegetable

PRESERVATION 13

substances. Take the case of a dead leaf falling into a lake,
or some quiet pool in a river. It sinks to the bottom, and is
buried up in gravel, mud, or sand. Now, our leaf will stand a
very poor chance of preservation on a sandy or gravelly bottom,
because these materials, being porous, allow the water to pass
through them easily. But if it settles down on fine mud it may
be covered up and become a fossil. In time the soft mud will
harden into clay or shale, retaining a delicate impression of the
leaf; and even after thousands of years, the brown body of the
leaf will be there only partly changed. In the case of the plants
found in coal, the lapse of ages since they were buried up has
been so great (and the strata have been so affected by the great
pressure and by the earth's internal heat) that certain chemical
changes have converted leaves and stems into carbon and some
of its compounds, much in the same way that, if you heat
wood in a closed vessel, you convert it into charcoal, which
is mostly carbon. The coal we burn in our fires is entirely of
vegetable origin, and every seam in a coal-mine is a buried
forest of trees, ferns, reeds, and other plants.

The reader will understand how it is that rocks composed of
hardened sand or gravel, sandstones and conglomerates, contain
but few fossils ; while, on the other hand, such rocks as clay,
shale, slate, and limestone often abound in fossils, because they
are formed of what was once soft mud, that sealed up and
protected corals, shell-fish, sea-urchins, fishes, and other marine
animals. Had they been covered up in sand the chances are
that percolating water would have slowly dissolved the shells
and corals, the hard coats of the crabs, and the bones of the
fishes, all of which are composed of carbonate of lime; and we
know that is a substance easily dissolved by water.

It is in the rocks formed during the later geological periods

14 EXTINCT MONSTERS

that we find fossils least changed from their original state ;
for time works great changes, and too little time has elapsed
since those periods for any considerable alterations to have
taken place. But when we come to examine some of the earlier
rocks, which have been acted upon in various ways for long
periods of time, such as the pressure of vast piles of overlying
rocks, and the percolation of water charged with mineral sub-
stances (water sometimes warmed by the earth's internal heat),
then we may expect to find the remains of the world's lost
creations in a much more mineralised condition. Every fossil-
collector must be familiar with examples of changes of this
kind. For instance, shells originally composed of carbonate of
lime are often found to have been turned into flint or silica.
Another curious change is illustrated in the case of a stratum
found in Cambridgeshire and other counties. In this remarkable
layer, only about a foot in thickness, one frequently finds bones
and teeth of fishes and reptiles. These, however, have all
undergone a curious change, whereby they have been converted
into phosphate of lime— a compound of phosphorus and lime.
It abounds in " nodules," or lumps, of this substance, which
along with thousands of fossils, are every year ground up and
converted by a chemical process into valuable artificial manure
for the farmer.

The soft parts of animals, as we have said before, cannot be
preserved in a fossil state ; but, as if to compensate for this loss,
we sometimes meet with the most faithful and delicate impres-
sions. Thus, cuttle-fishes have, in some instances, left, on the
clays which buried them up, impressions of their soft, long arms,
or tentacles, and, as the mud hardened into solid rock, the im-
pressions are fixed imperishably. Examples of these interesting
records may be seen at the Natural History Museum at South

PRESERVATION 15

Kensington. Even soft jelly-fishes have left their mark on
certain rocks ! At a place in Bavaria, called Solenhofen, there
is a remarkably fine-grained limestone containing a multitude of
wonderful impressions. This stone is well known to lithographers,
and is largely used in printing. On it the oldest known bird has
left its skeleton and faithful impressions of its feathers.

The footprints of birds and reptiles are by no means uncommon.
Such records are most valuable, for a great deal may be learned
from even a footprint as to the nature of the animal that made it
(see p. 41).

Since the greater number of animals described in this book are
reptiles, quadrupeds, and other inhabitants of the land, and only
a few had their home in the sea, we must endeavour to try and
understand how their remains may have been preserved. Our
object in writing this book is to interpret their story, and, as it
were, to bring them to life again. Each one must be made to tell
its own story, and that story will be far from complete if we
cannot form some idea of how it found its way into a watery
grave, and so was added to Nature's museum. For this purpose
we must briefly explain to the reader how the rocks we see
around us have been deposited ; for these rocks are the tombs in
which lost creations lie.

Go into any ordinary quarry, where the men are at work,
getting out the stone in blocks to be used in building, or for use
on the roads, or for some other purpose, and you will be pretty
sure to note at the first glance that the rock is arranged as if it
had been built up in layers. Now, this is true of all rocks that
have been laid down by the agency of water — as most of them
have been. True, there are exceptions, but every rule has its
exceptions. If you went into a granite quarry at Aberdeen, or a
basalt quarry near Edinburgh, you would not see these layers ;

i6 EXTINCT MONSTERS

but such rocks as these do not contain fossils. They have been
mainly formed by the action of great heat, and were forced up to
the surface of the earth by pressure from below. As they slowly
cooled, the mineral substances of which they were formed
gradually crystallised; and it is this crystalline state, together
with the signs of movement, that tells us of their once heated
state. Such rocks are said to be of igneous origin (Lat. ignis,
fire). But nearly all the other rocks were formed by the action
of water — that is, under water, — and hence are known to
geologists as aqueous deposits (Lat. aqua, water). They may be
considered as sediments that slowly settled down in seas, lakes,
or at the mouths of rivers. Such deposits are in the course of
being formed at the present day. All round our coasts mud,
sand, and gravel are being accumulated, layer by layer. These
materials are constantly being swept off the land by the action
of rain and rivers, and carried down to the sea. Perhaps, when
staying at the seaside, you may have noticed, after rainy and
rough weather, how the sea, for some distance from the shore, is
discoloured with mud, especially at the mouth of a river. The
sand, being heavy, soon sinks down, and this is the reason why
sand-bars so frequently block the entrance to rivers. Then, again,
the waves of the sea beat against the seashore and undermine
the cliffs, bringing down great fragments, which after a time are
completely broken up and worn down into rounded pebbles, or even
fine sand and mud. It is very easy to see that in this way large
quantities of sand, gravel, and mud are continually supplied to
our seas. We can picture how they will settle down ; the sand
not far from the shore, and the fine mud further out to sea.
When the rough weather ceases, the river becomes smaller and
flows less rapidly, so that when the coarse debris of the land has
settled down to form layers, or strata, of sand and gravel, then

PRESERVATION 17

the fine mud will begin to settle down also, and will form a
layer overlying them or further out. Then we learn, from a little
observation of what is now going on, how layers of sand and mud,
such as we see in a quarry, were made thousands and thousands
of years ago.

When we think of all the big rivers and small streams con-
tinually flowing into the sea, we shall begin to realise what a
great work rain and rivers are doing in making the rocks of the
future. If, at a later period, a slight upheaval of the sea-bed
were to take place so as to bring it above water — and such is very
likely — these materials would be found neatly arranged in layers,
and more or less hardened into solid rock.

The reader may, perhaps, find it rather hard at first to realise
that in this simple way vast deposits of rock are being formed in
the seas of the present day, and that the finer material thus
derived from a continent may be carried by ocean currents to
great distances ; but so it is. Over thousands of square miles
of ocean, deposits are being gradually accumulated which will
doubtless be some day turned into hard rock. Just to take one
example: it has been found that in the Atlantic Ocean, at
a distance of over two hundred miles from the mouth of that
great river, the Amazon, the sea is discoloured by fine
sediment.

There is another kind of rock frequently met with, the building
up of which cannot be explained in the way we have pointed
out, and that is limestone. This rock has not been deposited as
a sediment, like clays and sandstones, but geologists have good
reasons for believing that it has been gradually formed in the
deeper and clearer parts of oceans by the slow accumulation of
marine shells, corals, and other creatures, whose bodies are
partly composed of carbonate of lime. This seems incredible

c

i8 EXTINCT MONSTERS

at first, but the proofs are quite convincing.' As Professor
Huxley well remarked, there is as good evidence that chalk has
been built up by the accumulation of minute shells as that the
Pyramids were built by the ancient Egyptians.

The science of geology reveals the startling fact that all the
great series of the stratified rocks, whose united thickness is over
80,000 feet, has been mainly accumulated under water, either by
the action of those powerful geological agents — rain and rivers —
or through the agency of myriads of tiny marine animals. "When
we have grasped this idea, we have learned our first, and perhaps
most useful, lesson in geology.

Now let us apply what' has been above explained to the
question immediately before us. We want to know how the
skeletons of animals living on land came to be buried up under
water, among the stratified rocks that are to be seen all over our
country, and most of which were made under the sea.

We can answer this question by going to Nature herself, in
order to find out what is actually going on at the present time,
by inquiring into the habits of land animals, their surroundings,
and the accidents to which they are liable at sundry times and
in divers manners. It is by this simple method of studying
present actions that nearly all difficult questions in geology may
be solved. The leading principle of the geologist is to interpret
the past by the light of the present ; or, in other words, to find
out what happens now, in order to learn what took place ages
ago ; for it is clear that the world has been going on in the same
way for at least as far back as geological history can take us.
There has been a ^iniformity, or sameness, in Nature's actions
ever since living things first dwelt on the earth.

Just as rivers are mainly responsible for bringing down to the
* See the writer's Autobiography of the Earth, p. 223.

PRESERVATION 19

sea the materials of ^vhich rocks are made, so these universal
carryiug agents are the means by which the bodies of many-
animals that live in the plains, over which they wander, are
brought to their last resting-place. We have only to consult the
records of great floods to see what fearful havoc they sometimes
make among living things, and how the dead bodies are swept
away.

Great floods rise rapidly, so that the herds of wild animals
pasturing on grassy plains are surprised by the rising waters, and,
being unable to withstand the force of the water, are hurried
along, and so drowned. When dead they sink to the bottom,
and may, in some cases, be buried up in the debris hurried along
by the river; but as a rule their bodies, being swollen by the
gases formed by decomposing flesh, rise again to the surface,
and consequently may be carried along for many a mile, till they
reach some lake, or perhaps right down to the mouth of a river,
and so may be taken out to sea.

One or two examples will be given to show how important is
the action of such floods. Sir Charles Lyell has given some
striking illustrations of this. There was a memorable flood in
the southern borders of Scotland on the 24th of June, 1794,
which caused great destruction in the region of the Solway Firth.
Heavy rains had fallen, so that every stream entering the firth
was greatly swollen. Not only sheep and cattle, but even herds-
men and shepherds were drowned. When the flood had subsided,
a fearful spectacle was seen on a large sandbank, called "the
beds of Esk," where the waters meet ; for on this one bank were
found collected'TOgether the bodies of 9 black cattle, 3 horses,
1840 sheep, 45 dogs, 180 hares, together with those of many
smaller animals, also the corpses of two men and one woman.

Humboldt, the celebrated traveller, says that when, at certain

20 EXTINCT MONSTERS

seasons, the large rivers of South America are swollen by heavy
rains, great numbers of quadrupeds are drowned every year.
Troops of wild horses that graze in the " savannahs," or grassy
plains, are said to be swept away in thousands.

In Java, in the year 1699, the Batavian River was flooded
during an earthquake, and drowned buffaloes, tigers, rhinoceroses,
deer, apes, crocodiles, and other wild beasts, which were brought
down to the coast by the current.

In tropical countries, where very heavy rains fall at times, and
rivers become rapidly swollen, floods are a great source of danger
to man and beast. Probably the greater number of the bodies
of animals thus drowned find their way into lakes, through
which rivers flow, and never reach the sea ; and if the growth of
sediment in such lakes goes on fairly rapidly, their remains may
be buried up, and so preserved. But in many cases the bones
fall one by one from the floating carcase, and so may in that way
be scattered at random over the bottom of the lake, or the bed
of a river at its mouth. In hot countries such bodies, on reach-
ing the sea, run a great chance ^f being instantly devoured by
sharks, alligators, and other carnivorous animals. But during
very heavy floods, the waters that reach the sea are so heavily
laden with mud, that these predaceous animals are obliged to
retire to some place where the waters are clear, so that- at such
times the dead bodies are more likely to escape their ravages ; and,
at the same time, the mud with which the waters are charged
falls so rapidly that it may quickly cover them up. We shall
find further on that this explanation probably applies to the
case of the "fish-lizards," whose remains are found in the Lias
formation (see p. 75).

But, for several reasons, sedimentary rocks formed in lakes
are much more likely to contain the remains of land animals

PRESERVATION 21

than those that were formed in seas, and they are more likely
to be in a complete state of preservation. "Within the last
century, five or six small lakes in Scotland, which had been
artificially drained, yielded the remains of several hundred
skeletons of stags, oxen, boars, horses, sheep, dogs, hares, foxes, and
wolves. There are two ways in which these animals may have
met with a watery grave. In the first place, they may have got
mired on going into the water, or in trying to land on the other
side, after swimming across. Any one who knows Scottish lakes
will be familiar with the fact that their margins are often most
treacherous ground for bathers. The writer has more than once
found it necessary to be very cautious on wading into a lake
while fishing, or in search of plants. Secondly, when such lakes
are frozen over in winter, the ice is often very treacherous in
consequence of numerous springs; and animals attempting to
cross may be easily drowned. No remains of birds were dis-
covered in these lakes, in spite of the fact that, until drained,
they were largely frequented by water-fowl. But it must be
remembered that birds are protected by their powers of flight
from perishing in such ways as other animals frequently do.
And, even should they die on the water, their bodies are not
likely to be submerged; for, being light and feathery, they do
not sink, but continue floating until the body rots away, or is
devoured by some creature such as a hungry pike. For these
reasons the remains of birds are unfortunately very rare in the
stratified rocks; and hence our knowledge of the bird life of
former asres is slight.

22 EXTINCT MONSTERS

The Imperfection of the Eecord.

A very little consideration will serve to convince us that the
record which Nature has kept in the stratified rocks is an in-
complete one. There are many reasons why it must be so. It is
not to be expected that these rocks should contain anything
like a complete collection of the remains of the various tribes of
plants and animals that from time to time have flourished in
seas, lakes, and estuaries, or on islands and continents of the
world. In endeavouring to trace the course of life on the globe
at successive periods, we are continually met by want of evidence
due to the "imperfection of the record" — to use Darwin's phrase.
The reasons are not far to seek. The preservation of organic
remains, or even of impressions thereof, in sedimentary strata is,
to some extent, a matter of chance. It is obvious that no wholly
soft creature, such as a jelly-fish, can be preserved; although on
some strata they have left impressions telling of their existence at
a very early period.

A creature, to become fossilised, must possess some hard part,
such as a shell, e.g. an oyster (fossil oysters abound in some
strata) ; or a hard chitinous covering, like that of the shrimp, or
the trilobites of Silurian times; or a skeleton, such as all the
backboned (vertebrate) animals possess.

But even creatures that had skeletons have not by any means
always been preserved. Bones, when left on the bottom of the
sea, where no sediment, or very little, is forming, will decay, and
so disappear altogether. As Darwin points out, we are in error
in supposing that over the greater part of the ocean-bed of the
present day sediment is deposited fast enough to seal up organic
remains before they can decay. Over a large part of the ocean-
bed such cannot be the case; and this conclusion has, of late

PRESERVATION 23

years, been confirmed by the observations made during the
fruitful voyage of H.M.S. ClvalleTiger in the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans.

Again, even in shallower parts of the old seas, where sand or
mud was once deposited fossilisation was somewhat accidental ;
for some materials, being porous, allow of the percolation of water,
and in this way shells, bones, etc., have been dissolved and lost.
Thus sandstone strata are nearly barren in fossils compared to
shales and limestones, which are much less pervious. To take
examples from our own country, the New Eed Sandstone of the
south-west of England, the midland counties, Cheshire, and other
parts contains very few fossils indeed, while the clays and lime-
stones of the succeeding Lias period abound in organic remains
of all sorts. Even insects have left delicate impressions of their
wings and bodies ! while shells, corals, encrinites, fish-teeth, and
bones of saurians are found in great numbers.

Again, it must be borne in mind that the series of stratified
rocks known to geologists is not complete or unbroken. They
have been well compared to the leaves of a book on history, of
which whole chapters and many separate pages have been torn
out. These gaps, or " breaks," are due to what is called " denuda-
tion;" that is to say, a great many rocks, after having been
slowly deposited in water, have been upraised to form dry land,
and then, being subjected for ages to the destroying action of
"rain and rivers," or the waves of the sea, have been largely
destroyed. Such rocks, in the language of geology, have been
" denuded ; " that is, stripped off, so that the underlying rocks are
left bare.

But the process of rock-making does not go on continuously in
any one area. Sedimentary strata have been formed in slowly
sinking areas. But, if subsidence ceases, and the downward

24 EXTINCT MONSTERS

movement becomes an upward one, then the bed of the sea is
converted into dry land, and the geological record is broken ; for
aqueous strata do not form on dry land. Blown sands and
terrestrial lava-flows are exceptions ; but such accumulations are
very small and insignificant, and may therefore be neglected,
especially as they contain no fossils.

In this way, as well as by the process of " denudation " already
alluded to, breaks occur; and these breaks often represent long
intervals of time. There are several such gaps in the British
series of stratified rocks; and it is partly by means of these
breaks, during which important geographical and other changes
took place, that sedimentary rocks have been classified and
arranged in groups representing geological periods. Thus, the
Cainozoic, or Tertiary, rocks of the Thames basin are separated
by a long " break " from those of the preceding Cretaceous period.
During that interval great changes in animal life took place,
whereby, in the course of evolution, new types appeared on the
scene. (See Table of Strata, Appendix I.)

Another cause interfering with the record is to be found in
those important internal changes that have taken place in
stratified rocks — often over large areas — which may be ascribed
to the influence of heat and pressure combined. This process of
change, whereby soft deposits have been altered or "metamor-
phosed " into hard crystalline rocks, is known as " metamoi-phism."
Metamorphic rocks have lost not only their original structure
and appearance, but also their included organic remains, or fossils.
Thus, when a soft limestone has been converted by these means
into crystalline statuary marble, any fossils it may once have
contained have been destroyed. It is true that this applies more
to older and lower deposits — for the lowest are the oldest — but
there can be no doubt that valuable records of the forms of life

PRESERVATION 25

which peopled the world in former periods have been lost by this
means.

And lastly, it must ever be borne in mind that, as yet, our
knowledge of the stratified rocks of the earth's crust is very limited.
In course of time, no doubt, this deficiency will be to a great
extent made good ; but it will take a long time. Already, within
the last thirty years, the labours of zealous geologists in the
colonies and in various countries have added largely to our know-
ledge of the geological record. Still, only a small portion of the
earth's surface has at present been explored; and doubtless one
may look forward to future discoveries of extinct forms of animal
and plant life as wonderful and strange as those that have been
of late years unearthed in the " far "West," in Africa, and India.
The Siwalik Hills of Northern India offer a rich harvest of fossils
to future explorers. Already one remarkable and large horned
quadruped has come from this region ; and it is known that other
valuable treasures are sealed up within these hills, only awaiting
the " open sesame " of some enterprising explorer to bring them .
to light.

As previously pointed out, deposits formed in lakes are the
most promising field for geologists in search of the remains of old
terrestrial quadrupeds and reptiles; but, unfortunately, such
deposits are rare.

It is very much to be regretted that the carelessness and in-
difference of ignorant workmen in quarries, clay-pits, and railway
cuttings have sometimes been the cause of valuable fossils being
broken up, and so lost for ever. Unless they are accustomed to
the visits of fossil-collectors who will pay them liberally for their
finds, the men will not take the trouble to preserve any bones
they may come across in the course of their work. (Examples of
this negligence will be found on pp. 41, 65, and 295.) But when

26 EXTINCT MONSTERS

once they realise that such finds have what political economists
call an " exchange value," or, in other words, can be turned into
money, it is astonishing what zealous guardians of Nature's
treasures they become! For this reason collectors often find
what Professor Bonney calls the "silver hammer" — in other
words, cash — more effective than the steel implement they carry
with them.

CHAPTER II

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME

" They are fraught with strange meanings, these footprints of Connecticut."
— Hugh Miller,

Theke is a great deal of truth in the saying of Emerson, that
"everything in Nature is engaged in writing its own history."
The more one studies the changes taking place every day on the
surface of the earth, in order to read the riddle of the rocks
beneath our feet, which contain Mother Earth's records of her
past history, the more one is impressed with the truth of this
saying. In fact, it is not too much to say that the whole science
of Geology is founded on this idea. The geologist is he who
interprets to his fellows the stony documents contained in
Nature's " Eecord Office," and he finds the key to the interpreta-
tion of her hieroglyphics in watching her daily actions at the
present time. One branch of this science, viz. Physical Geology,
deals with the earth's physical features, interpreting in the light
of this leading principle their history, and telling us how the
river carved out its valley ; how the volcano was built up ; how
the mighty mountains were raised up from the beds of ancient
seas, to be carved out by the agents of denudation into all their
varied and wonderful features.

Another branch of geology, namely Palaeontology, with which
we are about to deal in the present work, tells us of the long-
lost tribes of plants and animals which, ages and ages ago, found

28 EXTINCT MONSTERS

a home on the earth. To many minds this branch of geology,
which is simply the natural history of the past, is the most
fascinating, with which view we fully sympathise. Putting aside
the study of fossil plants (which is a small branch of the subject),
we may say of Palaeontology, that it interprets to us the world's
" lost creations." In this branch of geology the records are not
so much the rocks themselves as the fossil skeletons they so
often contain.

In some cases, as we shall presently show, the rocks contain
additional evidences of very considerable value, as throwing light
on the habits of the creatures, or on their natural surroundings ;
but bones, shells, and other hard parts of animals, are the founda-
tion on which the science of Palaeontology is founded. And here,
again, we find the same principle at work — viz. that the past must
be read in the light of the present. However many ages ago it
it was, whether millions or billions of years ago, that these
primaeval inhabitants of the world enjoyed their existence, the
same unbroken laws of nature — the visible expressions of a
Divine and All-powerful Will — were at work, fulfilling His pur-
poses as now. Flesh and blood were then what they are now,
and fulfilled the same functions. Bones grew then as they grow
nowadays. To those bones were attached muscles which ex-
panded and contracted just as muscles do now. Wings were used
for flying, fins and paddles for swimming, legs for walking, teeth
for masticating food, just as they are now. In fact these primi-
tive inhabitants of the antique world, however different in bodily
shape from those we see around us now, lived under the same
universal laws of Physiology as we ourselves do.

Palaeontology, then, is the science which, in the light of Com-
parative Anatomy and Physiology, rehabilitates the world's
ancient inhabitants, clothing their dry bones with flesh, and

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 29

enabling us in imagination to see them as they were when they
walked this earth. It will be our endeavour in the present work
to present to our readers a certain number of these antique animals
— birds, beasts, and fishes, whose mortal remains have been buried
up and preserved, often with singular completeness, in the rocks
of the earth's crust.

But although fossil bones and skeletons are the chief material
at our command for this purpose, yet the series of stratified rocks
contains here and there other kinds of evidence, valuable in their
way, such as footmarks, tracks, burrows, coprolites, or droppings,
and even ripple-marks and the impressions of rain-drops. It is
with these evidences that we propose to deal in the present
chapter. Let us see what can be learned from such humble and
apparently insignificant records, of some of the creatures that
once trod this earth.

The intelligent observer who has strolled along the strand of
the seashore at low water, must have often seen the surface of
the exposed sands deeply rippled by the waves of the ebbing tide,
and have noticed the trails of molluscs, and the meandering
furrows and ridges produced by worms, or annelides, and the
tracks of crabs, and sometimes the footprints of birds and of dogs
or other quadrupeds that have walked over sand or mud while
it was yet plastic and sufficiently firm to retain the markings
impressed upon it. Under certain conditions these apparently
evanescent characters are indelibly fixed on the stratum, and in
rocks of immense antiquity successive layers of sandstone and
shale, through a thickness of many hundred feet, are found deeply
furrowed with the ripples of the waves that flowed over them,
pitted by the rain that has fallen upon them, and impressed with
the footmarks of bipeds and quadrupeds that traversed the sands
whilst the surface was in a moist and yielding state. Even on

30 EXTINCT MONSTERS

some of the most ancient of rocks, such as those of the Cambrian
system, jelly-fish have left indelible impressions of their soft
round bodies !

Speaking of the wonderfully enduring nature of certain im-
pressions known to geologists, the sagacious Dean Buckland said,
in an address to the Geological Society : " The historian or the
antiquary may have traversed the fields of ancient or of modern
battles, and may have pursued the line of march of triumphant
conquerors, whose armies trampled down the most mighty
kingdoms of the world. The winds and storms have utterly
obliterated the ephemeral impressions in their course. Not a
track remains of a single foot or a single hoof of all the countless
millions of men and beasts whose progress spread desolation over
the earth. But the reptUes that crawled upon the half-finished ^
surface of our infant planet have left memorials of their passage,
enduring and indelible. Centuries and thousands of years have
rolled away, between the time in which these footsteps were
impressed by tortoises upon the sands of their native Scotland
and the hour when they were again laid bare and exposed to our
curious and admiring eyes. Yet we behold them stamped upon
the rock, distinct as the track of the passing animal upon the
recent snow ; as if to show that thousands of years are but as
nothing amidst eternity, and, as it were, in mockery of the fleeting
perishable course of the mightiest potentates among mankind." ^

Every form of animal life that, writhing, crawling, walking,
running, hopping, or leaping, could leave a track, depression, or
footprint behind it, might thereby leave similar lasting evidence
of its existence and also, to some extent, of its nature. The

^ This expression is a survival from the teaching in vogue fifty years ago.
The world was not in an unfinished state during the period of the New Ked
Sandstone.

* Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i. p. 251.

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 31

interpretation of such evidences of ancient life has exercised the
sagacity of naturalists since Dr. Duncan, in 1828, first inferred the
existence of tortoises in certain sandstones in Dumfriesshire from
the impressions left on them. The vast number and variety of
such impressions has raised up a distinct branch of Palaeontology,
to which the name Ichnology ^ has been given.

We will now give a brief account of the results which have been
arrived at in this branch of inquiry. To begin with one of the
lowest forms of animal life — the worms. The class Annelida
comprises the so-called ringed worms, including the leeches and
earth-worms, and the sea-worms. As might have been expected,
earth-worms are unknown in the geological record ; for their soft
bodies were not likely to be preserved even in the most favourable
kinds of deposits. But in some cases the hard jaws of marine
woi-ms have escaped destruction. Fossil worm-jaws are abundantly
found in some parts of the Cambrian, Silurian, and Carboniferous
systems (see Appendix I,). The so-called " Conodonts " are
believed by many authorities to be the jaws of worms ; and such
remains are also found in strata of the Mesozoic and Tertiary eras.
Besides these rather mysterious little bodies, which some have
taken to be the teeth of primitive fishes — such as our modern Hag-
fish, — a good many worm-like markings are found in muddy and
sandy sediments all through the stratified series. In many cases
the true nature of these remains is still a matter of doubt. The
visitor to the Natural History Museum at South Kensington will
find in Gallery No. XL a very fine and large collection of fossil
tracks and footmarks of all kinds (Wall-cases Nos. 8-12). Some
of these are probably vegetable remains ; but others are certainly
the tracks of molluscs or of crustaceans. Long burrows of marine
worms occur plentifully in some rocks of Cambrian and Silurian
* Greek — ichnos, footstep ; logos, discourse.

32 EXTINCT MONSTERS

age, and have been figured under the names Scolithus, Histioderma,
and Arenicolites. They are nearly straight, and descend vertically
through the rock. Such are abundant in that ancient formation
the Potsdam Sandstone of North America ; in the Clinton forma-
tion, also of that country ; and in the Stiperstones of Shropshire.
Even in the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the west of Sutherlandshire
there have been discovered of late years some long dark lines
which are believed to be the burrows of marine worms pulled out
to great lengths by the " shearing," or pulling-out process to
which these rocks have been long ago subjected. For the full
and complete interpretation of many of the curious markings
known to geologists, a more accurate knowledge of the markings
made by living animals will doubtless be necessary.

Various worms of the present day, such as the common lug-
worm, are known to form long, wandering, tortuous channels in
the sand of the seashore, a little distance below the surface.
These worms feed on particles of organic matter scattered through
the sand or mud, through which it eats its way. Such burrows
cross and intersect each other in various ways, and as the worm
proceeds on its course, they become filled up in the rear by the
sand which has passed through its body. This is how worm-casts
seen on the seashore at the present day are made. It appears,
in the light of more recent researches, that many markings found
in some of the more ancient (Pal?eozoic) rocks, and which have
been formerly described as " fucoids," i.e. seaweeds, under such
names as Palmochorda, are in reality the fiUed-up burrows of
marine worms. These have now been re-christened Planolites.
But there are some who consider them to be tracks made on the
surface, not burrows.

A great many true trails, or tracks of worms, etc., that is
markings made by the animal dragging its soft body over the

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 3^

surface of wet sand or mud, are found in the stratified rocks.
But, in the present state of knowledge, it is very difficult to
distinguish between those formed by worms and others made by
molluscs or even crustaceans. The fossil known as Nereites, from
Silurian slates at Wurtzbach, is probably the track of a worm.
On the other hand, some of the tracks attributed to worms may
have been really made by gastropod molluscs, such as whelks.
One fossil track, known as Crossopodia, resembles the track made
by a living Purpura lapillus, a well-known sea-shell. It is only
in those strata which are very favourable to the preservation of
organic remains that we can expect to find any trace or impres-
sion of the actual body of such a frail and perishable thing as a
worm; but, incredible as it may seem, fossils of this natui'e
occur in that most wonderful formation — the famous Solenhofen
limestone, in which so many valuable treasures have been
found ; also in the Eocene slates of Monte Bolca (Italy). In
these rare cases the form of the worm's body is actually seen,
and the fossilised jaws occur in their natural position. Ex-
amples of these interesting specimens are beautifully rendered
by chromolithography in the German monumental work
PalcEoiitographica. ^'

Several geologists, such as Poulett-Scrope, Strickland, Buck-
land, Salter, and others, have published the results of careful
comparisons of tracks made by living animals on the sands of the
seashore, or on flat surfaces of mud left exposed by the drying up
of a pond, or by other causes, but have not given drawings of the
recent markings on which their conclusions are based. Professor
Emmons and Professor T. McKenny Hughes, however, have
figured some recent tracks in illustration of fossil ones. The
former geologist came to the conclusion that certain imprints
upon some very old rocks — the Taconic Shales of Maine and New

D

34 EXTINCT MONSTERS

York States — were made by the soft fragile larvae of insects
which existed at an early period in the world's history.

We now pass on to the consideration of certain impressions in
the old Potsdam Sandstone of North America, which have been
most carefully studied by the late Sir E. Owen. In the year
1851, Logan exhibited before the Geological Society of London a
small slab of sandstone showing some footprints, and a plaster
cast from a longer surface of similar description. The original,
weighing upwards of a ton, is in the Museum at Montreal con-
nected with the McGill University The locality where it was
found is on the left bank of the Eiver St. Louis, at the village
of Beauharnois, on the south side of the St. Lawrence, about
twenty miles above the city of Montreal. Owen, in his first
paper, came to the conclusion that the tracks were those of a
tortoise. But further research caused him to alter this opinion.
We only mention that to show how much care is required even
on the part of the best naturalists to read the meanings of fossil
tracks. A portion of the impressions now under consideration is
shown in Fig. 1. They consist of a series of well-defined impres-
sions continued in regular succession for four feet, and more ;
but only clearly for four feet. In this four feet there are thirty
successive groups of footprints on each side of a furrow. The
number of prints is not the same in each group. Where they are
best marked, as in our figure, we see three prints in one group,
two in the next and two in the thii-d, followed by a repetition of
the three prints (in our illustration each of the three groups is
enclosed in an oval). These three groups (of 3-2-2 impressions)
are distinctly repeated in succession along the whole series of
tracks on both sides of the furrow. It will be noticed that in
each pair of impressions the innermost pair are of equal size, but
of the outer ones each is a little bigger than the last. An

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 35

important point is that there are no marks of toes or nails. Their
edges are not sharply defined, but are rounded off, and there is a
slight variation in the form and depth of the corresponding im-
pressions on each side of the furrow. But the reader will see
from the figure that they do correspond with each other. Thus,
take the three tracks at the bottom of the lower group on the
light side of the furrow ; the innermost of this group of three may

Fig. 1. — Tracks {Proticlinites), probably of a crustacean, from the Potsdam
Sandstone, North America. (After Owen.)

easily be identified with the innermost track of the group of three
on the left side of the furrow. And so with the two groups of
three belonging to the two upper sets of impressions, each of which
is enclosed in an oval.

These very ancient tracks are known to geologists under the
name Protichnites, and the creature that produced them must have
made no less than fourteen impressions, seven on the right and

36 EXTINCT MONSTERS

seven on the left, each time its legs were set to work. There seems
to be no doubt of this, because the groups of tracks, as marked
out in our illustration, occur again and again in successive series
so similarly and so regularly as to admit of no doubt that they
were made by repeated applications of the legs, and these must
have been capable of being moved so far in advance as to keep
clear of the previous group of impressions. Sir Eichard Owen
concludes his account of the tracks by saying that the creature
which made them was probably a crustacean genus, and that it
may have had three pairs of limbs employed in locomotion, each
of which was split up into two or more parts so as to make in
walking either two or three tracks. The shape of the pits so
clearly seen on these slabs of the old Potsdam Sandstone (although
they have been rubbed and polished by the action of glacier-ice)
suggests that they were made by the hard and partly pointed,
partly blunt, terminations of the limb of a crustacean, such as a
crab or lobster. But this creature moved directly forwards, not
like a crab, but like a lobster or a king-crab. The furrow that
runs between the tracks was probably made by a tail. The
question then arises — what sort of a crustacean was it that made
these tracks ? Great caution is required in dealing with a problem
of this kind, as will be seen from the following words of Sir K.
Owen : " In all probability no living form of animal bears such a
resemblance to that which the Potsdam footprints indicate as to
afford an exact illustration of the shape and number of the instru-
ments, and the mode of locomotion of the Protichnites." The-
imagination is baffled in the attempt to realise the extent of time
past since the period when the creature was in existence which
moved upon the sandy shores of the ancient Cambrian period, to
which the " Potsdam Sandstone " belongs.

In about the year 1830, much interest was excited by the

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 37

discovery of footmarks, resembling those of land tortoises, on the
exposed surfaces of slabs of sandstone of Triassic age, in a quarry
at Corncockle Muir in Dumfriesshire, of which an interesting
account was published by the Eev. Dr. Duncan. Eegular tracks,
indicating the slow progression of a small four-footed animal over
the surface while the stone was in the state of moist sand, were
traced on the blocks of sandstone, when separated by the quarry-
men, along the lines of their stratification. In one instance there
were found twenty-four consecutive impressions, forming a track
with six distinct repetitions of the marks of each foot, the front
feet differing from the hind feet. The appearance of five claws
was discernible on the impressions of each fore paw. In 1853,
Sir William Jardine published a splendid folio work in which he
fully described these footprints ; it was illustrated by full-sized
lithographs coloured after Nature,^

The footprints occur in the Dumfriesshire Sandstones, in
different patches, in several localities, but are best seen either
where naturally exposed in the valleys of the Esk, the Nith, and
the Annan, or in the quarries in those districts where they are
worked for building material. One of those areas, of considerable
extent, fills up the bottom of nearly all the upper basin of the
Annan Valley above the ridge at Dormont Eocks. The beds
are about two hundred feet thick, and present even surfaces. It
is a curious fact, observed by the author of the above-mentioned
book, that all the footprints are impressed as if the animal had
walked from west to east. As a rule the creature seems to have
walked in a straight line, but sometimes the tracks turn and wind
in different directions. The paces are generally even and unin-
terrupted, seldom diverging much aside, showing little stoppage
for food, or for a scuffle with a neighbour, which sometimes
^ Ichnology of Annandale (Edinburgh, 1853; folio).

38 EXTINCT MONSTERS

accompanied them. They appear more as the tracks of animals
passing at once across some tide-receded estuary, in pursuit of
some well-known and favourite grounds which were periodically
sought after for some particular purpose. But it must be borne in
mind that the impressions figured in this important work are not
all similar in shape, and were probably due to different animals.
They often show the effects of a peculiar pushing-back motion,
which may be noticed in living tortoises. Dean Buckland, who
was interested in these impressions, caused a living tortoise to
walk on soft sand, clay, and paste, and found a fairly close
correspondence between the tracks thus made and those of
Corncockle Muir.

In 1831, Mr. Poulett-Scrope, an English geologist, described
some small tracks made by a crustacean on a rock of the Jurassic
period, known as the Forest Marble.

Some years previous to 1856, a series of strange impressions
was found in a quarry in the lowest part of the Millstone Grit
formation at Ehodes Wood, near Tintwhistle, Cheshire. The
proprietor, Mr. Ehodes, was much struck with them, from the
fact that they bore a resemblance to the marks of a human foot.
The workmen also were struck with the resemblance, and, when
they first showed him the impressions, remarked, "Master,
some one has been here before us ! " For several weeks the
quarry was visited by many hundreds of people from Glossop
and the surrounding neighbourhood. The common opinion was
that the tracks were the footprints of some of Noah's family !
This strange idea seems to have been founded on another equally
strange, viz. that the Ark had rested on some neighbouring hills.
But to return to the tracks ; the distance between the impres-
sions was two feet ten inches, and several of the impressions
were tliirteen inches long. Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins saw them.

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 39

and thought that they resembled the supposed chelonian track

figured by Jardine. Mr. Binney's conclusion (who read a paper

on these tracks before the Geological

Society) was that they were made

on wet sand by a heavy slow-moving

animal, like a tortoise, with irregular

gait.

Soon after the discovery of foot-
prints at Corncockle Muir, another
discovery was made in strata of the
same geological age at Hessberg, near
Hildburghausen, in Saxony, These
footprints, however, were evidently
made by somewhat large creatures,
in whicli the fore paws were much
smaller than the hind ones (see
Fig. 2). Subsequently, similar tracks
were observed on slabs of Triassic
Sandstone in the quarries at Storton,
in Cheshire. Others, again, have
been found in Cheshire. The Museums
at Warwick, Warrington, and Liver-
pool, are rich in impressed slabs from
the New Eed Sandstone. Numerous
fine specimens may be seen in the
Museum of the Geological Society, 5,^^ 2.-Footprints of Chevro-

the Museum of Practical Geology, in <7ien«w, in the Bunter Sandstone,

Hessberg, near Hildburghausen.
Jermyn Street, and in the Natural

History Museum, Cromwell Eoad, which is a part of the British

Museum (Gallery No. XL). Some of the slabs from Storton are

covered with small round pits, or depressions, produced by

40 EXTINCT MONSTERS

rain-drops that fell while the surface was soft and impressible.
The footprints from Storton are seen on the face of each
successive stratum of marl, the corresponding surface of the
overlying stone presenting, in relief, casts of the imprints and
other markings. The hollow impressions of the feet are always
on the upper surfaces of the slabs, and the convex casts on the
under side of each layer or stratum, the latter fitting closely
into the former. The double lines in between are casts of
sun-cracks formed as the mud dried in the sun.

These " footprints on the sands of time " follow one another
in pairs — one small, the other large, each pair being in the
same line, and some fourteen inches in advance of the other.
Each footmark has five toes, and the first, or little toe, is bent
outward like a thumb, and is alternately on the right and left
side of both the large and small footprints, which, except in
size, resemble each other. The German geologist, Dr. Kaup,
who first described them in 1834, proposed the name of
Cheirotherium ^ for the great unknown animal that left the foot-
prints, in consequence of the resemblance, both of the fore and
hind feet, to the impression of a human hand. No certain remains
of the creatures whose tracks we are now considering have yet
been discovered in the same strata. But in these rocks and
others of the same geological age in England and Germany there
have been obtained skulls, teeth, and bones of amphibians,
known as Labyrinthodonts, of which we shall have more to say
in Chapter VI. Some of the salamander-like amphibians of the
Triassic period, we now know from later discoveries, attained to
a considerable size.

As Sir K. Owen points out, the impressions of the Cheirotherium
resemble the footprints of a modern salamander in having the

' Greek — cheir, liand ; therion, beast.

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 41

short outer toe of the hind foot projecting at right angles to the
line of the middle toe, but yet are not identical with those of
any known batrachian or reptile. Still it has been conjectured
by the same great authority, as well as by others, that these
footprints were the work of the creatures now known as Labyrin-
thodonts, which have left their remains in rocks of the Car-
boniferous, Triassic, and Permian ages. Later researches have
shown that Owen was wrong. We need not be surprised at this,
for Palaeontology has, like all the other sciences, made great
advances the last fifty years. The researches of Marsh, Cope,
Huxley, Fritsch, Seeley, and others, have brought to light many
new forms of old reptiles, some of which will be described in
later chapters. The supposed Cheirotherium probably was one
of the Dinosaurian reptiles, and in that case these footprints were
made by Dinosaurs.

Our friend. Professor W. J. SoUas, has described some interest-
ing footprints from South Wales, which probably were made by
a Dinosaur of the Triassic age.^ A friend of his was, in 1878,
passing through the village of Newton Nottage, in Glamorgan-
shire, when his attention was arrested by some three-toed foot-
prints on a slab of rock, deeply impressed and rendered par-
ticularly visible by the slanting rays of the setting sun. Casts of
them were afterwards made by the curator of the Cardiff Museum
(Mr. J. Storrie).

To show how valuable geological finds are often neglected
through ignorance of their real worth, it may be mentioned here
that this slab even in 1894 was lying in a corner of the village
green, in front of the church ; formerly it lay in front of the steps
of the inn, where it consequently suffered more or less wear. The
impressions remind one of some of those described by Professor

* Qvuxrterly Journal of Geological Society, xxxv, (1879), p. 510.

42 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Hitchcock (see p. 45), and resemble more especially those
belonging to his genus Brontozoum. Other specimens were after-
wards found in the same locality. Professor Sollas had casts
made of impressions of the feet or a living emu in the Clifton
Zoological Gardens, for the sake of comparison, and found a good
deal of agreement between the two. Nevertheless, from what we
now know of Dinosaurs, it would be unwise to say that the
impressions were made by birds.

Professor W. C. Williamson has described some very interest-
ing impressions from Cheshire. They were found, by a former
pupil of his (Mr. J. W. Kirkham), near Weston Point. They
are unlike those of the Cheirotherium, previously described, and
differ from all others yet found in showing very distinctly what
are probably the marks of scales. The form of the foot also
differs in being more quadrate. Professor Williamson says it
reminds him of certain footprints found by Dr. King in the
Carboniferous rocks of Pennsylvania. The arrangement of the
scales corresponds closely with that seen on the foot of a modem
alligator. The impressions suggest a saurian much more than an
amphibian.

These impressions figured by Professor Williamson remind
one a good deal of some tracks described by Professor Huxley,
in his paper on a " New Eed Sandstone Crocodile from the
Traiassic Strata of Elgin," ^ which may have been made by that
ancient leviathan.

We now pass on to give some account of those famous foot-
prints in the Connecticut Valley, of which probably all geologists
have heard. The Eiver Connecticut, in part of its course through
the country which bears its name, and in the northern district of

* QttarterJy Journal of Qeological Society, xv. (1859), p. 440.

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 43

the adjoining State of Massachusetts, flows through a valley cut
out of sandstone of the Triassic age. Successive layers of this
rock are exposed all along considerable tracts of country. From
this circumstance, and from the facility of transport afforded by
the river, numerous quarries have, for many years, been worked
in various parts of the valley, near the water's edge. The many
footprints contained in these rocks were observed much earlier
than the date (1828) in which the Eev. Dr. Duncan first described
the tracks at Corncockle Muir (see p. 37). They have been very
fully described and figured by Professor Ed. Hitchcock^ and
Dr. J. Deane.^ As far as Dr. Deane could learn, the first
specimen was ploughed up in South Harley, in 1802, by a boy.
This specimen is now in the Appleton Ichnological Cabinet.^ So
strikingly did the tracks resemble those of birds, that they were
familiarly spoken of as the tracks of poultry, or of " Noah's raven."
It was not until the year 1836 that any attempt was made to
describe the tracks scientifically. The year previous some flagging
stones were obtained in Montague for the streets of Greenfield,
by a Mr. Wilson, who observed impressions upon them, which he
regarded as tracks of " the turkey tribe." These were observed
by Dr. Deane, who sent casts of them to Professor Hitchcock.
Professor Hitchcock gave his first account of them in The
American Journal of Science, in 1836. He propounded the idea

1 Professor Ed. Hitchcock, Ichnology of New England. (Boston, 1858.)

2 Dr. J. Deane, Ichnographs from the Sandstone of Connecticut River.
(Boston, 1861.)

3 The late Honourable Samuel Appleton, of Boston, left by his will a large
sum of money to be appropriated by the trustees under his will to benevolent
and scientific purposes. Those trustees accordingly appropriated ten thousand
dollars to the erection of the Appleton Cabinet at Amherst, a museum of
which the lower story is entirely devoted to fossil footmarks (see Report of
Smithsonian Institution, 1907). A still larger collection is now in the Museum
of Yale University, but only a part is on view.

44

EXTINCT MONSTERS

that they were the tracks of birds — a view which was not adopted
by scientific men at the time, though afterwards many came
round to his opinion. We have perused his work with great
interest, and cannot but admire the care with which he studied

Fig. 3. — Portion of a slab of New Red Sandstone, from Turner's Falls,
Massachusetts, U.S., covered with numerous tracks, probably of Dinosaurs.
This specimen is now in the Natural History Museum, London. The separate
tracks are indicated by the numbers. (After Hitchcock.)

the tracks and endeavoured to interpret their meaning, although
his conclusions now require a good deal of modification.

Professor Hitchcock chose to give fanciful names to the
creatures that made the tracks, such as Brontozoum giganteum.

-g^^f^*!*^^^'^'

FOOTPRINTS OF DINOSAURS, FROM CONNECTICUT SANDSTONE,
Plate I. Showing impressions of the small fore feet (1 and 3). (After Hitchcock.)

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 45

" the huge animal giaut ; " Polemarchus gigas, " the huge leader in
war," and so on. He concludes a description of some of these
creatures in the following words : " Such was the fauna of the
sandstone days in the Connecticut Valley. What a wonderful
menagerie ! Who would believe that such a register lay buried in
the strata ? To open the leaves, to unroll the papyrus, has been
an intensely interesting though difficult task, having all the
excitement and marvellous developments of romance. And yet

Fig. 4. — Portion of a slab, with tracks. (After Hitchcock.)

the volume is only partly read. Many a new page, I fancy, will
yet be opened, and many a new key obtained to the hieroglyphic
record. I am thankful that I have been allowed to see so much
by prying between the folded leaves. At first, men supposed that
the strange and gigantic races which I described were mere
creatures of imagination, like the Gorgons and Chimseras of the
ancient poets. But now that hundreds of their footprints, as
fresh and distinct as of yesterday, impressed upon the mud, arrest
the attention of the sceptic on the ample slabs of our cabinets.

46 EXTINCT MONSTERS

he might as reasonably doubt his own corporeal existence as that
of these enormous and peculiar races."

Professor Hitchcock's work on this subject was much appre-
ciated by his countrymen, as the following facts will show. It
was resolved by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the year
1857, that his Geological Bejport on the Sandstone of the Connecticut
Valley ^ be printed, and one copy furnished to each member of
the executive and legislative departments of the Government of
that year, and one copy to each town and city in the Common-
wealth. Not content with this, it was resolved in the following
year that more copies be printed, that one hundred be given to
the author, and others for the purpose of international exchange.
Englishmen cannot but admire this good example, and would
doubtless be glad if it could be followed at home, where so little
is done for the cause of Science by our statesmen.

But, in justice to Dr. Deane, we must not omit to mention his
part in the description and figuring of these interesting records.
Unfortunately, he died before the completion of his beautifully
illustrated work on the subject. He drew with his own hand a
large number of lithographs from the actual slabs; and these
drawings will always be of the greatest use to students of
Ichnology. He worked at the subject in his spare moments,
during an active professional career, and with great enthusiasm,
as the following extract from his unfinished work will show.

"An indescribable interest is imparted by opening the long-
sealed volume that contains the records of these extinct animals.
The slabs were uncovered and raised under my supervision, and
page after page, with their inscriptions, revealed living truths.
There were the characters, fresh as upon the morning when they
were impressed, reminding the spectator of the brevity of human

^ Ichnology of New England.

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 47

antiquity, and of the frail tenure of human works ! On that
morning, how long ago no one can tell, or ever will know, gentle
showers watered the earth, an ocean was unruffled, and upon its
borders primjeval beings enjoyed their existence and inscribed
their eventful history."

And now to sum up the results of their work. Most of the
tracks so fully described and figured by these two authors were
probably made by amphibians and reptiles, and it is doubtful
if any of them were made, as they supposed, by birds. They
vary extremely, both in size and character. While some are
only half an inch long ; others, like the huge Otozoum, of Hitchcock
(see Fig. 5, left-hand corner), are twenty inches long, and show
a stride of three feet! Some of the creatures that made the
tracks had five toes, some four, and many of them only three.
Again, some had hind feet and fore feet of nearly equal size,
and evidently walked or crawled on all-fours.

We have here reproduced, from Professor Hitchcock's work,
a highly interesting plate (Plate I.), which shows that some of
the animals had large hind feet and small fore feet, and that
they sometimes put down the latter, as kangaroos do, for there
are the impressions of them. However, such impressions are
rare, and, as a rule, the creatures, many of which were probably
Dinosaurs, walked on their hind limbs, thus producing those
three-toed bird-like impressions which are shown on the slabs
represented in our figures. It is hardly likely that they hopped
on their hind legs as kangaroos do; they were probably too
heavy for that; but they may have made something like a hop
in bringing up their hind feet, as we have seen the kangaroos
do in the Zoological Gardens. Another very interesting point
brought to light by the researches of Hitchcock and Deane is.

48

EXTINCT MONSTERS

that ou some slabs may be seen what is believed to be the
impression of the tail of a Dinosaur as it dragged along over
the moist sand of the seashore or estuary where these antediluvian
creatures of old disported themselves (see Fig. 5).

Those impressions which Hitchcock believed to have been
made by birds show a regular increase in the number of joints

C3

Fig. 5. — Footprints from the Connecticut Sandstone. The three tracks in the
middle show the mark left by the tail, probably of a Dinosaur (After Hitchcock.)

of the toes ; the inner toe having two, the middle one three,
and the outer one four joints. Now, it happens, by a remark-
able coincidence, that in the case of birds the inner toes have
three, the middle toes four, and the outer toes five joints, but
the last two joints in each case make but one division of the
track, so that their tracks correspond with those we are con-
sidering. The discovery that some Dinosaurs have but three

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 49

toes that were used (functional toes), and that they had the
same number of joints in their toes as birds, has naturally led
scientific men to the opinion that probably all the tracks above
described were made, not by birds, but by Dinosaurs. It may
be pointed out in defence of this opinion, that, although the
two classes of Birds and Eeptiles are now widely separated, yet
in certain former geological periods there was no such gulf as
now divides them. At the time when the Connecticut Sandstone
tracks were made on the shores of a narrow inland sea, there
must have been in existence animals which, if we saw them
now, might sorely puzzle us to decide whether to call them
reptilian birds, or bird-like reptiles.

During the Jura-Trias period there was in the region of
the Connecticut Valley a shallow sea, connected by a narrow
outlet with the ocean. Into this the tides flowed and ebbed,
leaving extensive flats of mud or sand, ribbed with ripple-marks.
A passing shower pitted the soft mud, and the sun, coming
out again from the breaking clouds, dried and cracked it.
Our Dinosaurs and other creatures sauntered or ran near the
margin of the shore. The tide came in again, carrying with
it fine sediments, gently covered the tracks, and preserved them
for ever. This occurred constantly for many ages, about the
time when the Triassic period came to a close.

In the year 1882, reports were published of the discovery of
large footprints — supposed to be human — in a certain sandstone,
near Carson, Nevada, U.S., of which a brief account was given in
our former work.^ These are probably the tracks made by a big
extinct sloth of the Pleistocene period. The wonderful series of foot-
prints of reptiles, birds, and mammals discovered by M. Desnoyers,
in certain Eocene strata near Paris, cannot be described here.

* Extinct Monsters, p. 185 (2nd edit.).

CHAPTER III

SEA-SCORPIONS

" And some rin up the hill and down dale, knapping the chuckj' stanes to
pieces wi' hammers like sae many road-makers run daft. They say 'tis to see
how the warld was made." — Scott, St. Ronan's Well.

Our first group of monsters is taken from a tribe of armed
warriors that lived in the seas of a very ancient period in the
world's history. Like the crabs and lobsters inhabiting the
coasts of Britain, they possessed a coat of armour, and jointed
bodies, supplied with limbs for crawling, swimming, or seizing
their prey. They were giants in their day, far eclipsing in size
any of their relations that have lived on to the present time.
Some of them, such as the Pterygotus (Fig. 6, p. 51), attained a
length of nearly six feet.

There are no living creatures quite like them. Certainly they
are not true lobsters, and yet we may consider them to be first
or second cousins of those ten-footed crustaceans ' of the present
day — lobsters, crabs, and shrimps, so welcome on the tables of
both rich and poor. Some naturalists say that their nearest
relations at the present day are the king-crabs inhabiting the
China seas and the east coast of North America; and there cer-
tainly are some points of resemblance between them. Others say

^ Crustaceans are a class of jointed creatures (articulate animals), possessing
a hard shell or crust (Lat. crusta), which they cast periodically. They all
breathe by gills.

SEA-SCORPIONS

51

that they are related to scorpions, and for this reason we call
them Sea-scorpions. (See Plate II.)

The Crustacea are a very ancient race, as well as a flourishing
one ; some very old rocks containing undoubted fossils — namely,
certain slates found in Wales and the Lake District — tell us of a

Fig. 6. — Pterygotus anglicus, six feet long.
1. Upper side. 2. Under side. (After H. Woodward.)

time when shallow seas swarmed with little articulate animals
known as trilobites.

The best-known and largest of the Sea-scorpions is represented
in Fig. 6. It has received the name Pterygotus (or wing-eared),
from certain fanciful resemblances pointed out by the quarrymen.
It was first discovered, along with others of its kind, by Hugh
Miller, at Carmylie in Forfarshire, in a certain part of the Old
Eed Sandstone (see Table of Strata, Appendix I.) known as the

52 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Arbroath paving-stone. The quarrymen, in the course of their
work, came upon and dug out large pieces of the fossilised
remains of this creature. Its hard coat of jointed armour bore
on its surface curious wavy markings that suggested to their
minds the sculptured feathers on the wings of cherubs — of all
subjects of the chisel the most common. Hence they christened
these remains " Seraphim." They did not succeed in getting
complete specimens that could be pieced together ; and the part
to which this fanciful name was given turned out to be part of the
under side below the mouth. It was composed of several large
plates, two of which are not unlike the wings of a cherub in
shape. Hugh Miller says in his classic work, The Old Red Sand-
stone— "the form altogether, from its wing-like appearance, its
feathery markings, and its angular points, will suggest to the
reader the origin of the name given it by Forfarshire work-
men."

A correct restoration, in proportion to the fragments found in
the Lower Old Eed Sandstone, would give a creature measuring
nearly six feet in length, and more than a foot across. Pterygotus
anglicus may therefore be justly considered a monster crustacean.

The illustrious Cuvier, who, in the eighteenth century, founded
the science of comparative anatomy (see p. 5), astonished the
scientific world by his bold interpretations of fossil bones. From
a few of the chief bones he could restore the skeleton of an entire
animal, and determine its habits and mode of living. When
other wise men were unable to read the writing of Nature on the
walls of her museum — in the shape of fossil bones — he came
forward, like a second Daniel, to interpret the signs, and so in-
structed us how to restore the world's lost creations. Hugh
Miller submitted the fragments found at Balruddery to the cele-
brated naturalist Agassiz, a pupil of Cuvier, who had written a

M'

SEA-SCORPIONS 53

famous work on fossil fishes ; and he says that he was much
struck with the skill displayed by him in piecing together the
fragments of the huge Pterygotus. "Agassiz glanced over the
collection. One specimen especially caught his attention — an
elegantly symmetrical one. His eye brightened as he contem-
plated it. ' I will tell you/ he said, turning to the company — ' I
will tell you what these are — the remains of a huge lobster.' He
arranged the specimens in the group before him with as much
ease as I have seen a young girl aiTanging the pieces of ivory
in an Indian puzzle. There is a homage due to supereminent
genius, wliich Nature spontaneously pays when there are no low
feelings of jealousy or envy to interfere with her operations; and
the reader may well believe that it was willingly rendered on this
occasion to the genius of Agassiz." Agassiz himself, previous to
this, had considered such fragments as he had seen to be the
remains of fishes. As we have said before, this creature was not
a true lobster; but Agassiz, when he expressed the opinion
just quoted, was not far off the mark, and did great service in
showing it to be a crustacean. There were no lobsters at
that early period of the world's history, and this creature, with
its long "jaw-feet" and powerful tail, was a near approach to a
king-crab on the one hand and scorpion on the other. If living
now, it would no doubt command a high price at Billingsgate;
but, then, it would be a dangerous thing to handle when alive,
and might be more troublesome to catch than our crabs or
lobsters.

The front part of the body was entirely enveloped in a kind
of shield, called a carapace, bearing near the centre minute eyes,
which probably were useless, and at the corners two large com-
pound eyes, made up of numerous little lenses, such as we see
in the eye of a dragon-fly. This is clearly proved by certain

54 EXTINCT MONSTERS

well-preserved specimens. There are five pairs of appendages,
all attached under or near the head. Behind the head follow
twelve rings, or segments, the last of which forms the tail, two
at least of these bore gills for breathing. All but two of them,
below the mouth, must have been beautifully articulated, so as
to allow them to move freely, as we see in the lobster of the
present day. But look at that lowest and largest pair of append-
ages, the end joints of which are flattened out, and you will see
that they must have been a powerful oar-like apparatus for
swimming forwards. We can fancy this creature propelling
itself much in the same way as a " water-beetle " rows itself
through the water in a pond. In all other crustaceans the
antennae are used for feeling about, but in the Pterygotus they
are used as claws for seizing the prey.

From its large eyes, powerful oar-like limbs, or appendages,
and from the general form of its body, Dr. Henry Woodward
(the author of a learned monograph on these creatures) con-
cludes that the Pterygotus was a very active animal; and the
reader will easily gather from its pair of antennse, converted at
their extremities into nippers, and from the nature of its "jaw-
feet," that the creature was a hungry and predaceous monster,
seizing everything eatable that came in its way. The whole
family to which it belongs — including Pterygotus, Eurypterus,
Slimonia, Stylonurus, and others — seems to have been fitted for
rather rapid motion, if we may judge from the long tapering and
well-articulated body. In two forms (Pterygotus and Slimonia)
the tail-flap probably served both as a powerful propeller, and as
a rudder for directing the creature's course ; but others, such as
Euiypterus and Stylonurus, had long sword-like tails, which may
have assisted them to burrow into the sand, in the same way that
king-crabs do. Eurypterus remipes is shown in Ei*^. 7. A

SEA-SCORPIONS 55

beautiful restoration in wax of Eurypterus Fischeri may be seen
in the Gallery of Crustacea in the Natural History Museum.

Our Sea-scorpions are related to the king-crab of the present
day. Now, this creature, it is well known, burrows into the mud
and sand at the bottom of the sea. This it does by shoving its
broad sharp-edged head-shield downwards, working rapidly at
the same time with its hinder feet, or appendages, and by push-
ing with the long spike that forms a kind of tail. It will
thus sink deeper and deeper until nothing can be seen of its
body, and only the eyes peep out of the mud. It will crawl and
wander about by night, but remains hidden by day. Some indi-
viduals are of large size, and occasionally measure two feet in
length. They possess six pairs of well-formed feet, the joints of
which, near the body, are armed with teeth and spines, and serve
the purpose of jaws, being used to masticate the food and force it
into the mouth, which is situated between them.

Now, this fact is of great importance ; for it helps us to under-
stand the use of the four pairs of " jaw-feet " in our Sea-scorpions.
What curious animals they must have been, using the same
limbs for walking, holding their prey, and eating ! Look at the
broad plates at the base of the oar-like limbs, or appendages, with
their tooth-like edges. These are the plates found by Hugh
Miller's quarrymen, and compared by them to the wings of
seraphim. The reader will easily perceive that by a backward
and forward movement, they would perform the office of teeth
and jaws, while the long antennse with their nippers — helped by
the other and smaller appendages — held the unfortunate victim
in a relentless grasp. And even these smaller limbs, as seen
from the figure, had their first joints, near the mouth, provided
with toothed edges like a saw.

With regard to the habits of Sea-scorpions, it would not be

56

EXTINCT MONSTERS

altogether safe to conclude that, because in so many ways they
resembled king-crabs, they therefore had the same habit of
burrowing into the soft muddy or sandy bed of the sea, as some
authorities have supposed. Seeing that there is a difference of

Fig. 7.— Silurian Merostomata.
1. Stylomirus. 2. Eurypterus. (After H. Woodward.)

opinion on this subject, the author consulted Dr. H. Woodward
on the question, who said he thought it unlikely, seeing that, in
some of them, such as the Pterygotus, the eyes are placed on the
margin of the head-shield; for it would hardly care to rub its
eyes with sand. Whether it chose at times to bury its long body

SEA-SCORPIONS 57

in the sand by a process of wriggling backwards, as certain modern
crustaceans do, we may consider to be an open question.

If only Sea-scorpions had not unfortunately died out, how
interesting it would be to watch them alive, and to see exactly
what use they would make of their long bodies, tail-flaps, and
tail-spikes ! Were they nocturnal in their habits, wandering
about by night, and taking their rest by day ? Such questions,
we fear, can never be answered. But their large eyes would have
been able to collect a great deal of light when the moon and stars
feebly illumined the shallower waters of the seas of Old Red
Sandstone times ; and so there is nothing to contradict the
idea.

Now, one of the many points of interest in Pterygotus and its
allies is that they somewhat resemble the crab in its young or
larval state. To a modern naturalist, this fact is important as
showing that crustacean forms of life have advanced since the
days of the sea-scorpions.

Their resemblance to land-scorpions is so close that, if it were
not for the important fact that scorpions breathe air instead of
watei'f and for this purpose are provided with an air-tube (or
trachea) such as all insects have, they would certainly be removed
bodily out of the crustacean class, and put into that in which
scorpions and spiders are placed, viz. the Arachnida. But, in
spite of this important difference, there are some naturalists in
favour of such a change. It will thus be seen that our name
Sea-scorpions is quite permissible. Insects and Crustacea are
now included in the term Arthropoda.

Hugh Miller described some curious little round bodies found
with the remains of the Pterygotus, which it was thought were
the eggs of these creatures !

Finally, these extinct crustaceans flourished in those ages of

58 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the world's history known as the Silurian and the Old Ked
Sandstone periods. As far as we know, they did not survive
beyond the succeeding period, known as the Carboniferous.^

1 The student should consult Dr, Henry Woodward's valuable Monograph
of the British Merostomata (Palaeoutographical Society), to which the writer is
much indebted. With regard to the representation of Pteryc/otus anglicus in
Plate II., it has been pointed out by Dr. Woodward that the creature was unable
to bend its body into such a position as is shown there. As in a modern
lobster or shrimp, there were certain overlapping plates in the rings, or
segments, of the body, which prevented movement from side to side, and
only allowed of a vertical movement.

CHAPTER IV

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS

" Berossus, the Chaldaean saith : A time was when the universe was dark-
ness and water, wherein certain animals of frightful and compound forms were
generated. There were serpents and other creatures with the mixed shapes of
one another, of which pictures are kept in the temple of Belus at Babylon." —
The Archaic Genesis.

VisiTOKS to Sydenham, who have wandered about the spacious
gardens so skilfully laid out by the late Sir Joseph Paxton, will
be familiar with the great models of extinct animals on the
"geological island." These were designed and executed by that
clever artist, Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, who made praiseworthy
efforts to picture to our eyes some of the world's lost creations, as
restored by the genius of Sir Eichard Owen and other famous
naturalists. His drawings of extinct animals may yet be seen
hanging on the walls of some of our provincial museums ; but
of these many are far from correct. The difficulties were much
greater in those early days. Mr. Karl Hagenbeck is now setting
up " Eestorations " in his famous Zoological Garden at Hamburg.
Lazily basking in the sun, when it condescends to shine, and
resting his clumsy carcase on the ground that forms the shore
near the said geological island at Sydenham, may be seen the
old fish-lizard, or Ichthyosaurus, that forms the subject of the
present chapter. He looks awkward on land, as if longing to
get into his native element once more, and cleave its waters with
his powerful tail-fin. His " flippers " seem too weak to enable
him to crawl on laud. Moreover, the most recent discoveries

6o EXTINCT MONSTERS

of Dr. Fraas lead us to conclude that the Ichthyosaur never
ventured to leave the " briny ocean " to bask upon the land.

This great uncouth beast presents some curious anomalies in
his constitution, being planned on different lines to anything
now living, and presenting, as so many other extinct animals
do, a mixture, or fusion, .of types that greatly puzzled the
learned men of the time when his remains were first brought to
light, after their long entombment in the Lias rocks forming the
cliffs on the coast of Dorset, Some have christened him a " sea-
dragon," and such indeed he may be considered. But the name
Ichthyosaurus, given above, has received the sanction of high
authority, and, moreover, serves to remind us of the fact that,
although in many respects a lizard, he yet retains in his bony
framework the traces of a remote fishy ancestry. So we will call
him a fish-lizard.

The curious quotation given at the head of the present chapter
refers to a widespread belief, prevalent among the highly civilised
nations of antiquity, that the world was once inhabited by
dragons, or other monsters " of mixed shape " and characters.
To the student of ancient history traces of this curious belief
will be familiar. Sir Charles Lyell refers to such a belief when
he says, in his Prindples of Geology, " The Egyptians, it is true,
had taught, and the Stoics had repeated, that the earth had once
given birth to some monstrous animals that existed no longer."
It may be surprising to some, but it is undoubtedly the fact,
that modem scientific truths were partly anticipated by the
civilised nations of long ago.

The illustrious Cuvier, in his day, considered the fish-lizard
to be one of the most heteroclite and monstrous animals ever
discovered (see p. 74). He said of this creature that it possessed
the snout of a dolphin, the teeth of a crocodile, the head and

'tsiiim^Sm

,«••

,,„.''«"*'•«*„»„

"> 0«J <^v O

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 6i

breast-bone of a lizard, the paddles of a whale or dolphin, and the
vertebrae of a fish ! No wonder that naturalists and palaeonto-
logists, whose realm is the natural history of the past, were obliged
to make a new division, or order, of reptiles to accommodate the
fish-lizard. It is obvious that a creature with such very " mixed "
relationships would be out of place in any of the four orders into
which living reptiles, as represented by turtles, snakes, lizards,
and crocodiles, are divided. Here is what our late friend Professor
Blackie said of the Ichthyosaurus —

" Behold, a strange monster our wonder engages !

If dolphin or lizard your wit may defy.
Some thirty feet long, on the shore of Lyme-Regis,

With a saw for a jaw, and a big staring eye.
A fish or a lizard ? An ichthyosaurus,

With a big goggle eye, and a very small brain,
And paddles like mill-wheels in chattering chorus,

Smiting tremendous the dread-sounding main."

A glance at our restoration, Plate IV., will show that the fish-
lizard was a powerful monster, well endowed with the means of
propelUng itself rapidly through the water as it sought its living
prey, to seize it within those cruel jaws. The long and powerful
tail was its chief organ of propulsion; but the paddles would
also be useful for this purpose, as well as for guiding its course.
The pointed head and generally tapering body suggests a capa-
bility of rapid movement through the water ; and since we know
for certain that it fed on fishes, this conclusion is confirmed, for
fishes are not easily caught now, and most probably were not
easily caught ages ago.

The personal history of the fish-lizard, merely as a fossil or
" remain " is interesting ; so much so, that we may perhaps be
allowed to relate the circumstances of his debut before the
scientific world, in the days of the ever-illustrious Cuvier, to

62 EXTINCT MONSTERS

whom we have already alluded. But England had its share of
illustrious men, too, though lesser lights compared to the founder
of comparative anatomy, — such as Sir Eichard Owen, on whom
the mantle of his friend Cuvier has fallen; Conybeare, De la
Beche, Dean Buckland, and Huxley.

These scientific men, aided by the untiring labours of many
enthusiastic collectors of organic remains, have been the means
of solving the riddle of the fish-lizard, and of introducing him to
the public. By this time there is, perhaps, no creature among
the host of Antediluvian types better known than this reptile.

The remains of fish-lizards have attracted the attention of
collectors and describers of fossils for nearly two centuries past.
The vertebrae, or " cup-bones," as they are often called, of which
the spinal column was composed, were figured by Scheuchzer,
in an old work entitled Querelce Piscium ; and, at that time,
they were supposed to be the vertebrae of fishes. In the year
1814 Sir Everard Home described the fossil remains of this
creature, in a paper read before the Royal Society, and published
in their Philosophical Transactions. This fossil was first discovered
in the Lias strata of the Dorsetshire coast. Other papers followed
till the year 1820. "We are chiefly indebted to De la Beche and
Conybeare for pointing out and illustrating the nature of the fish-
lizard ; and that at a time when the materials for so doing were
far more scanty than they are now. Mr. Charles Konig, Mr.
Thomas Hawkins, Dean Buckland, Sir Philip Egerton, and Pro-
fessor Owen have all helped to throw light on the structure and
habits of these old tyrants of the seas of that age, which is known
as the Jurassic period. They lived on, however, to the succeeding
or Cretaceous period, during which our English chalk was forming ;
but the Liassic age was the one in which they flourished most
abundantly, and developed the greatest variety.

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 63

In the year 1814 a few bones were found on the Dorsetshire
coast between Charmouth and Lyme Regis, and added to the
collection of Bullock. They came from the Lias cliffs, undermined
by the encroaching sea. Sir Everard's attention being attracted
to them, he published the notices already referred to. The analogy
of some of the bones to those of a crocodile, induced Mr. Konig, of
the British Museum, to believe the animal to have been a saurian,
or lizard ; but the vertebrae, and also the position of certain open-
ings in the skull, indicated some remote afi&nity with fishes, but
this must not be pressed too far. The choice of a name, there-
fore, involved much difficulty; and at length he decided to call
it the Ichthyosaurus, or fish-lizard. Mr. Johnson, of Bristol, who
had collected for many years in that neighbourhood, found out
some valuable particulars about these remains. The conclusions
of Dean Buckland, then Professor of Geology at Oxford, led Sir
Everard to abandon many of his former opinions. The labours
of the learned men of the day were greatly assisted by the exertions
of Miss Anning, an enthusiastic collector of fossils. This lady,
devoting herself to science, explored the frowning and precipitous
cliffs in the neighbourhood of Lyme Eegis, when the furious
spring-tide combined with the tempest to overthrow them, and
rescued from destruction by the sea, sometimes at the peril of her
life, the few specimens which originated all the facts and specula-
tions of those persons whose names will ever be remembered with
gratitude by geologists.

Probably our readers are already more or less familiar with the
drawings of the fossilised remains of Ichthyosauri to be seen in
almost every text-book of geology. (Fig. 8 is from Owen's British
Fossil Reptiles.) But we recommend all who take an interest in
the world's lost creations to pay a visit to the great Natural
History Museum, at South Kensington. The fossil reptile gallery

64

EXTINCT MONSTERS

contains a magnificent series of Ichthyosauri, about thirty in
number. Of these a large number were obtained through the
exertions of the late Mr. T. Hawkins, a Somersetshire gentleman,
who was a most ardent collector of fossil reptiles, and who devoted
himself with great enthusiasm and unsparing energy to the acquisi-
tion of a truly splendid collection of these most interesting relics
of the past. Nearly seventy years ago he arranged for the pur-
chase of his treasures by the authorities of the British Museum,
and thus his collection became the property of the nation.

His specimens were figured and described by him in two large
folio volumes. The first was published in 1834, under the title,

Fig. 8. — Ichthyosaurus intermedius.

Memoirs of the Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri ; his second, with the
same plates, in 1842, under the quaint title of The Book of the
Great Sea-Dragons. The large lithographic drawings of his fine
specimens were beautifully executed by Scharf and O'Neil. The
plates are the only really valuable part of these two curious and
ill-written books.

Mr. Hawkins tells us that his youthful attention was directed
to the Lias quarries, near Edgarly, in Somersetshire, in consequence
of some strange reports. It was said that the bones of giants and
infants had, at distant intervals, been found in them. These
quarries he visited, and, by offers of generous payment, induced

c a

. 1^

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 65

the workmen to keep for him all the remains they might find.
In this way he finally obtained the co-operation of all the quarry-
men in the county.

When, however, he complains of the Philistine dulness and
stupidity of quarrymen, who often, in their ignorance, break up
finds of almost priceless value, we can fully sympathise.

In general contour the body of the fish-lizard was long and
tapering, like that of a whale (see Plate IV.). It probably showed
no distinct neck. The long tail was its chief organ of propulsion.
We notice two pairs of fins, or paddles ; one on the fore part of
the body, the other on the hinder part, like the pectoral and
abdominal fins of a fish. The skin was scaleless and smooth, or
slightly wrinkled, like that of a whale. No traces of scales have
ever been found ; and if such had existed, they would certainly
have been preserved, since those of fishes and crocodiles of the
Jurassic period have been found in considerable number and
variety. It is therefore safe to conclude that such were absent
in this case. In the Lias strata, at least, the specimens are often
preserved with most wonderful completeness (see p. 70).

The long and pointed jaws are a striking feature of these
animals. The eyes were very large and powerful, and specially
adapted, as we shall see presently, to the conditions of their life.

It might, perhaps, be asked whether the fish-lizards breathed,
like fishes, by means of gills. That question can easily be
answered ; for if they had possessed gills for taking in water and
breathing the air dissolved therein, they would reveal the fact by
showing a bony framework for the support of gills, such as are to
be found in all fishes. These structures, known as " branchial
arches," are absent ; therefore the fish-lizards possessed lungs, and
breathed air like reptiles of the present day. Their skulls show
where the nostrils were situated ; namely, near the eyes, and not

F

66

EXTINCT MONSTERS

at the end of the upper jaw-bone. There are also passages in the
skull leading from the nostrils to the palate, along which currents
of air passed on their way to the lungs. Being air-breathers, they
would be compelled occasionally to seek the surface of the sea, in
order to obtain a fresh supply of the life-giving element — oxygen ;
but, being cold-blooded and with a small brain, needing a much
less supply of oxygen for its work, the fish-lizards had, like fishes.

Fig. 9. — (a) Lateral and (b) profile views of a tooth of Ichthyosaurus platyodon
(Conybeare), Lower Lias, Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, (c) Tooth of Ichthyosaurus
communis (Conybeare), Lower Lias, Lyme Regis, Dorset.

this advantage over whales, which are warm-blooded — that their
stern-propeller, or tail-fin, could take the form best adapted for a
swift, straightforward course through the water.

In the whale tribe the tail-fin is horizontal ; and this is so on
account of their need, as large-brained, warm-blooded air-breathers,
of speedy access to the atmospheric air. "Were it otherwise, they
would not have the means of rising with sufficient rapidity to the

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 67

surface of the sea ; for they have only one pair of fins. But the
fish-lizards had two pairs of these appendages, and the hinder or
pelvic pair no doubt were of great service in helping the creatures
to come up to the surface when necessary.

These great marine predaceous reptiles literally swarmed in the
seas of the Lias period, and no doubt devoured immense shoals of
the fishes of those times, whose numbers were thus to some extent
kept down. There is the clear proof of this in the fossilised
droppings — known as " coprolites," — which show on examination
the broken and comminuted remains of the little bony plates of
ganoid fishes that we know were contemporaries of these reptiles.
Probably young ones were sometimes devoured too (see p. 72).

Fig. 10. — Skull of Ichthyosaurus latifrons.

It was in the period of the Lias that fish-lizards attained to
their greatest development, both in numbers and variety ; and the
strata of that period have preserved some interesting variations.
It will be sufficient here to point out two, namely. Ichthyosaurus
tenuirostris — an elegant little form, in which the jaws, instead of
being massive and strong, were long and slender like a bird's
beak ; and also Ichthyosaurus latifrons (Fig. 10), with jaws still
more birdlike. Our artist has attempted to show the former
variety in our illustration (Plate IV.). A most perfect example
of this pretty little Ichthyosaur, from the Lower Lias of Street
in Somerset, has been presented to the National Collection at
South Kensington by Mr. Alfred Gillett, of Street, and may be
seen there (Plate III.). In this group of fish-lizards the eyes are

68 EXTINCT MONSTERS

relatively larger, and we should imagine that they were very
quick in detecting and catching their prey ; their paddles also
have larger bones.

There is a remarkably fine specimen at Burlington House, in
the rooms of the Geological Society, of an Ichthyosaurus' head,
which the writer found, on measuring, to be about five feet six
inches long. A cast of this head is exhibited at the Natural
History Museum. The largest of the specimens in the National
Collection is twenty-two feet long and eight feet across the
expanded paddles; but it is kno^vn that many attained much
greater dimensions. Judging from detached heads and parts
of skeletons, it is probable that some of them were between
thirty and forty feet long. A specimen of Ichthyosaurus
platyodon in the collection of the late Mr. Johnson, of
Bristol, has an eye-cavity with a diameter of fourteen inches.
This collection is now dispersed.

With regard to their habits. Sir Kichard Owen concludes that
they occasionally sought the shores, crawled on the strand, and
basked in the sunshine. His reason for this conjecture (which,
however, is not confirmed by Dr. Fraas's recent discoveries) is to
be found in the bony structure connected with the fore paddles,
which is not to be found in any porpoise, dolphin, grampus, or
whale, and for want of which these creatures are so helpless when
left high and dry on the shore.^ The structure in question is a
strong bony arch, inverted and spanning across beneath the chest
from one shoulder to the other. A fish-lizard, when so visiting
the shore for sleep, or in the breeding season, would lie or crawl,

* It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to remark that whales are not fishes but
mammals which have undergone great change in order to adapt themselves
to a marine life. Their hind limbs have practically vanished, only a rudiment
of them being left. But their external resemblance to the Ichthyosaur type is
remarkable — dolphins especially so (see p. 73).

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 69

prostrate, with its under side resting or dragging on the ground —
somewhat after the manner of a turtle.

It is a curious fact that this bony arch resembles the same part
in those singular and problematical mammals, the Echidna and
the Platypus, or duck-mole.

The enormous magnitude and peculiar construction of the eye
are highly interesting features. The expanded pupil must have
allowed of the admittance of a large quantity of light, so that the
creature possessed great powers of vision.

The organic remains associated with fish-lizards tell us that
they inhabited waters of moderate depth, such as prevails near a
coast-line or among coral islands. Moreover, an air-breathing
creature would obviously be unable to live in " the depths of the
sea ; " for it would take a long time to get to the surface for a
fresh supply of air.

Perhaps no part of the skeleton is more interesting than the
curious circular series of bony plates surrounding the iris and
pupil of the eye. The eyes of many fishes are defended by a
bony covering consisting of two pieces ; but a circle of bony over-
lapping plates is now only found in the eyes of turtles, tortoises,
lizards, and birds, and some alligators. This elaborate apparatus
must have been of some special use ; the question is — What
service or services did it perform ? Here, again, we find answers
suggested by Owen and Buckland. It would aid, they say, in
protecting the eye-ball from the waves of the sea when the
creature rose to the surface, as well as from the pressure of the
water when it dived down to the bottom — for even at a slight
depth pressure increases, as divers know.

It might well be supposed that no record had been preserved
from which we could learn anything about the nature of the skin
of our fish-lizard ; but even this wish has been partly fulfilled.

70

EXTINCT MONSTERS

to the delight of all geologists. Certain specimens have been
obtained, from the Lias of England and Germany, that show
faithful impressions of the skin that covered the paddles. A

Fig. 11. — Head of Ichthyoamirus platyodon.

specimen of this nature has been presented to the national
treasure-house at South Kensington by Mr. Montagu Browne.

Fig. 12. — Ichthyosaurus tenuirostris, from Wurtemberg. (Fraas.)

On the inner side of the paddle was a broad fin-like expansion,
admirably adapted to obtain the full advantage of the stroke of
the limb in swimming.

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 71

In the year 1892 there was discovered in the Lias of Wiirtem-
berg the skeleton of an Ichthyosaur, in which the outline of the
fleshy parts is completely preserved (see lower figure). The
reader will see from the figure that the tail-fin is very large,
and the backbone appears to run into the lower lobe. Such a
tail-fin as this impression indicates must have resembled that
of the shark, only it is wider ; but the shark's backbone runs
into the upper lobe. Sir Kichard Owen long ago foretold the
existence of this appendage, and the discovery, coming now, adds
one more tribute to his genius.

As Dr. Fraas remarks, this discovery shows how closely
analogous Ichthyosaurs were in form to fishes, and further
justifies the title of " fish- lizards." He considers that they did
not visit the shore.

Speaking of the limbs, it should be mentioned that the bones
of each finger, instead of being elongated and limited in number
to three in each of the five fingers, are polygonal in shape and
arranged in as many as seven or eight rows, while those of each
finger are exceedingly numerous. Thus the whole structure
forms a kind of bony pavement which must have been very
supple. Such a limb would be one of the most efficient and
powerful swimming organs known in the whole animal kingdom.
In whales the fingers of the flippers are of the usual number,
namely, five. Some species of fish-lizards had as many as over
a hundred separate little bones in the fore paddle.

Another question naturally suggests itself: Were they vivi-
parous, or did they lay eggs like crocodiles ? This question seems
to have been answered in favour of the first supposition ; and
in the following interesting manner. It not infrequently happens
that entire little skeletons of very small individuals are found
under the large ones. They are invariably uninjured, and of

72 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the same species as the one that encloses them, and with the
head pointing in one direction. Such specimens are most
probably the fossilised remains of little fish-lizards, that were
yet unborn when their mothers met with an untimely end.
In some cases, however, they may be young ones that were
swallowed.

The jaws of these hungry formidable monsters were provided
with a series of formidable teeth — sometimes over two hundred
in number — inserted in a long groove, and not in distinct
sockets, as in the case of crocodiles. In some cases, sixty or
more have been found on each side of the upper and lower jaws,
giving a total of over two hundred and forty teeth ! The larger
teeth may be two inches or more in length.

The jaws were admirably constructed on a plan that combined
lightness, elasticity, and strength. Instead of consisting of one
piece only, they show a union of plates of bone, as in recent
crocodiles. These plates are strongest and most numerous just
where the greatest strength was wanted, and thinner and fewer
towards the extremities of the jaw. A crocodile. Sir Samuel
Baker says, in his Wild Beasts and their Ways, can bite a man
in two ; and no doubt our fish-lizard would have been glad to
perform the same feat ! But in his pre- Adamite days the oppor-
tunity did not present itself.

The spinal column, or backbone, with its generally concave
vertebrae, must have been highly flexible, as is that of a fish,
especially the long tail which the creature worked rapidly from
side to side as it lashed the waters.

Our description of the fish-lizard has, we trust, been sufficient —
although not couched in the language used by men of science — to
give a fair idea of its structure and habits.

In conclusion, a few words may be said about the ancestry and

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 73

life-history of these ancient monsters. Palaeontologists have good
reason to believe that they were descended from some early form
of land reptile. If so, they show that whales are not the first
land animals that have gone back to the sea, from which so many
forms of life have taken their rise.

During the long Mesozoic period fish-lizards played the part
that whales now play in the economy of the world; and they
resembled the latter, not only in general shape, but in the situa-
tion of the nostrils (near the eye), and in their teeth and long
jaws. But these curious resemblances must not be interpreted to
mean that whales and fish-lizards are related to each other. They
only show that similar modes of life tend to produce artificial
resemblances — ^just as some whales, in their turn, show a superficial
resemblance to fishes (see p, 68).

With regard to the particular form of reptile from which the
fish-lizard may have been derived, no certain conclusion has at
present been arrived at. This is chiefly from want of fuller
knowledge of early forms, such as may have existed in the previous
periods known as the Carboniferous and Trias (see Appendix I,).
But there are certain features in the skulls, teeth, and vertebrae
that suggest a relationship with the Labyrinthodonts, such as
Archsegosaurus (see p. 96), or primaeval salamanders that flourished
during the above periods, or at least from amphibians more or
less closely allied to them. They cannot by any possibility be
regarded as modified fishes ; for fishes have gills instead of lungs.
Professor Merriam has found in the Triassic strata of California
some of the links between some old land-reptiles and the fish-
lizards ; but at present no early marine ancestors have come to
light.

The fish-lizards played their part, and played it admirably ; but
their days were numbered, and the place they occupied has since

74 EXTINCT MONSTERS

been taken by a higber type — the mammal. As reptiles, they
were eminently a success ; but, then, they were only reptiles, and
therefore were at last left behind in the struggle for existence,
until finally they died out, at the end of the Cretaceous period,
when certain important geographical and other changes took
place, helping to cause the extinction of many other strange forms
of life, as we shall see later on.

They had a wide geographical range; for their remains have
been discovered in Arctic regions, in Europe, India, Ceram,
North America, the east coast of Africa, Australia, New Zealand,
and Chili.

In American deposits they are represented by certain toothless
forms, to which the names Sauranodon (" toothless lizard ") and
Baptanodon have been given. These have been discovered by
Professor Marsh, in the Jurassic strata of the Eocky Mountains.
They were eight or nine feet long, and in every other respect
resembled Ichthyosaurs. As we have endeavoured to indicate
in our illustration, the fish-lizards flourished in seas wherein
animal, and doubtless vegetable life was very abundant. Any
one who has collected fossils from the Lias of England will
have found how full it is of beautiful organic remains, such
as corals, mollusca, encrinites, sea-urchins, and other echinoids,
fishes, etc.

The climate of this period in Europe was mild and genial, or
even semi-tropical. Coral reefs and coral islands varied the
landscape. There is just one more point of interest that ought
not to be omitted ; it refers to the manner in which these reptiles
of the Lias age met their deaths, and were thus buried up in
their rocky tombs. Sir Charles Lyell and other writers point out
that the individuals found in those strata must have met with a
sudden death and quick burial ; for if their uncovered bodies

THE GREAT FISH-LIZARDS 75

had been left, even for a few hours, exposed to putrification
and the attacks of fishes at the bottom of the sea, we should
not now find their remains so completely preserved that often
scarcely a single bone has been moved from its right place.
What was the exact nature of this operation is at present a
matter of doubt.^

1 Just before going to press comes news of another most interesting find near
Wiirtemberg of a small Ichthyosaur showing the whole of the skin on one side.
See Illustrated London News, Jan. 1st, 1910.

CHAPTER V

THE GREAT SEA-LIZARDS AND THEIR ALLIES

" The wonders of geology exercise every faculty of the mind — reason,
memory, imagination ; and though we cannot put our fossils to the question,
it is something to be so aroused as to be made to put the question to one's
self." — Hugh Miller.

The fish-lizards, described in our last chapter, were not the
only predaceous monsters that haunted the seas of the great
Mesozoic age, or era. We must now say a few words about certain
contemporary creatures that shared with them the spoils of those
old seas, so teeming with life. And first among these — as being
more fully known — come the long-necked sea-lizards, or Plesio-
saurs.

The Plesiosaurus was first discovered in the Lias rocks of
Lyme Kegis, in the year 1821. It was christened by the above
name, and introduced to the scientific world by the Eev. Mr.
Conybeare (afterwards Dean of Llandaff) and Mr, (afterwards
Sir Henry) de la Beche. They gave it this name in order to
distinguish it from the Ichthyosaurus, and to record the fact that
it was more nearly allied to the lizard than the latter.^ Cony-
beare, with the assistance of De la Beche, first described it in a
now-classic paper read before the Geological Society of London,
and published in the Transactions of that Society in the year

1 The name is derived from two Greeks words — plesios, near, or allied to,
and sauros, a lizard.

THE GREAT SEA-LIZARDS 77

1821. In a later paper (1824) he gave a restoration of the entire
skeleton of Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus ; and the accuracy of that
restoration is still universally acknowledged. This fine specimen
was in the possession of the Duke of Buckingham, who kindly
placed it at the disposal of Dr. Buckland, for a time, that it
might be properly described and investigated.

A glance at our illustration, Plate VI., will show that this
strange creature was not inaptly compared at the time to a snake
threaded through the body of a turtle.

Perhaps the best way in which we can gain a clear idea of the
general characters of a long-necked sea-lizard, as we may call our
Plesiosaurus, is by comparing it with the fish-lizard, described in
the last chapter. Its long neck and small head are the most
conspicuous features. Then we notice the short tail. But if we
compare the paddles of these two extinct forms of life, we notice
at once certain important differences. In the fish-lizard the bone
of the arm was very short, while all the bones of the fore arm
and fingers were modified into little many-sided bodies, and so
articulated together as to make the whole limb, or paddle, a solid
yet flexible structure. In the long-necked sea-lizard, however,
we find a long arm-bone with a club-like shape; and the two
bones of the fore arm are seen to be longer than in the fish-
lizard. But a still greater difference shows itself in the bones
of the finger, as we look at a fossilised skeleton (or a drawing
of one) ; for the fingers are long and slender, like those of ordinary
reptiles.

There are only five fingers, and each finger is quite distinct
from the others. This is the reason why the Plesiosaur was
considered to depart less from the type of an ordinary reptile,
and so received its name. Other remarkable differences present
themselves in the shoulders and haunches, but these need not

1^

EXTINCT MONSTERS

be considered here. The species shown in Fig. 14 had rather a
large head. It is obvious that such a long slender neck as these
creatures had could not have supported a large head, like that
of the fish-lizard. Consequently, we find a striking contrast in
the skulls of the two forms. That of the Plesiosaur was short

Fig. 13. — Mandibles of Sea- lizards, a, Pelonetistes philarchus (Seeley) ; from
the Oxford Clay, b, Thaumatosaurus indicus (Lydekker) ; Upper Jurassic of India,
c, Plesiosaurus doliclwdirus (Conybeare) ; from the Lower Lias, Lyme Regis.

and stout, and therefore such as could easily be supported, as
well as rapidly moved about by the long slender neck. Thus
we find another simple illustration of the " law of correlation,"
alluded to on p. 7. The teeth were set in distinct sockets, as
they are in crocodiles, to which animals there are also points

P5 >»

THE GREAT SEA-LIZARDS 79

of resemblance, in the backbone, ribs, and skull. Fig. 13 shows
three different types of lower jaws of Plesiosaurs. The one
marked C belongs to Plesiosaurus dolichodirus, the species
represented in our plate. There were no bony plates in the
eye. Professor Owen thinks that they were long-lived. The
skin was probably smooth, like that of a porpoise.

The visitor to the geological collection at South Kensington
will find a splendid series of the fossilised remains of long-necked
sea-lizards. They were mostly obtained from the Lias formation
of Street in Somersetshire, Lyme Eegis in Dorset, and Whitby
in Yorkshire. Those from the Lias are mostly small, about
eight to ten feet in length. But in the rocks of the Cretaceous
period, which was later, are found larger specimens. There is
a cast of a very fine specimen from the Upper Lias on the
wall of the Geological Gallery No. IV., at South Kensington,
which is twenty-two feet long. But some of the Cretaceous
forms, both in Europe and America, attained a length of forty
feet, and had vertebrae six inches in diameter. The bodies of
the vertebrae, or " cup-bones," are either flat or slightly concave,
showing that the backbone as a whole was less flexible than in
the fish-lizards.

Plate V. is from a photograph of a Plesiosaurus skeleton set up
as if it were that of a living animal in the Natural History
Museum, in 1892, the bones having been carefully collected by
Mr. Alfred N. Leeds, of Eyebury, who has disinterred the
separate bones of many distinct skeletons of Plesiosaurs from
Oxford Clay strata near Peterborough, and to whom great
credit is due for his laborious work. Quite recently another
big Plesiosaur skeleton has been mounted in the Natural
History Museum, near to the above. Though much disturbed
by crushing, it shows some remarkable and novel features.

8o

EXTINCT MONSTERS

Specimens of extinct animals thus set up, give one a much
better idea than when the bones are all lying huddled together
on a slab of rock. But it is not always possible to get the
bones entirely out of their rocky bed, or matrix.

Fiu. li. — Plesiosaurus macrocephalus.

It will be remembered that the long and powerful tail of the
fish-lizard was its principal organ of propulsion through the
water ; and that, consequently, the paddles only played a
secondary part. They were small, but amply large enough for
the work they had to perform. But our long-necked sea-lizards
possessed very short tails. What, then, was the consequence ?
Obviously that the paddles had all the more work to do. They

THE GREAT SEA-LIZARDS 8i

were the chief swimming organs. The vertebrae of this short tail
show that it probably was highly flexible, and could move rapidly
from side to side ; but, for all that, its use as a propeller would
not be of much importance. We see now why the paddles are
so long and powerful, like two pairs of great oars, one pair on
each side of the body. In a fossil skeleton you will notice the
flattened shape of the arm-bone (or humerus), and of the thigh-
bone (or femur). This gave breadth to the paddles, and made
them more efficient as swimming organs. They give no indica-
tion of having carried even such imperfect claws as those of
turtles and seals, and therefore we may conclude that the Plesio-
saur was far more at home in the water than on land, and it
seems probable that progression on land was impossible.

The tail was probably useful as a rudder, to steer the animal
when swimming on the surface, and to elevate or depress it in
ascending and descending through the water. Like the fish-
lizard, this creature was an air-breather, and therefore was obliged
occasionally to visit the surface for fresh supplies of air. But
probably it possessed the power of compressing air vsdthin its
lungs, so that the frequency of its visits to the surface would
not be very great.

From the long neck and head, situated so far away from the
paddles, as well as for other reasons, it may be concluded that
this creature was a rapid swimmer, as was the Ichthyosaurus.
Although of considerable size, it probably had to seek its food,
as well as its safety, chiefly by artifice and concealment. The
fish-lizard, its contemporary, must have been a formidable rival
and a dangerous enemy, whom to attack would be unadvisable.

Speaking of the habits of the long-necked sea-lizard, Mr. Cony-
beare, in his second paper, already alluded to, says, " That it was
aquatic, is evident from the form of its paddles ; that it was

o

82 EXTINCT MONSTERS

marine, is almost equally so, from the remains with which it is
universally associated ; that it may occasionally have visited the
shore, the resemblance of its extremities to those of the turtle
may lead us to conjecture ; its motion, however, must have been
very awkward on land; its long neck must have impeded its
progress through the water, presenting a striking contrast to the
organisation which so admirably fits the Ichthyosaurus to cut
through the waves.

" May it not therefore be concluded (since, in addition to these
circumstances, its respiration must have required frequent access
of air) that it swam upon or near the surface, arching back its
long neck like the swan, occasionally darting it down at the fish
which happened to float within its reach ? It may, perhaps, have
lurked in shoal-water along the coast, concealed among the sea-
weed, and, raising its nostrils to a level with the surface from a
considerable depth, may have found a secure retreat from the
assaults of dangerous enemies ; while the length and flexibility of
its neck may have compensated for the want of strength in its
jaws and its incapacity for swift motion through the water, by the
suddenness and agility of the attack which they enabled it to
make on every animal fitted for its prey, which came within its
extensive sweep."

More than twenty species of long-necked sea-lizards are known
to geologists.

Professor Owen, in his great work on British Fossil Reptiles,
when describing the huge Plesiosaurus dolichodirus from Dorset,
suggests that the carcase of this monster, after it sank to the
bottom of the sea, was preyed upon by some carnivorous animal
(perhaps sharks). It seems, he says, as if a bite of the neck had
pulled out of place the eighth to the twelfth vertebrae. Those at
the base of the neck are scattered and dispersed as if through

^ hJ

o
o

«

1^ >

THE GREAT SEA-LIZARDS 83

more " tugging and riving." So with regard to its body, pro-
bably some hungry creature had a grip of the spine near the
middle of the back, and pulled all the succeeding vertebrae in the
region of the hind limbs. Thus we get a little glimpse of scenes
of violence that took place at the bottom of the bright sunny seas
of the period when the clays and limestones of the Lias rocks
were being deposited in the region of Lyme Eegis.

As time went on, these curious reptiles increased in size, until,
in the period when our English chalk was being formed (Creta-
ceous period), they reached their highest point (see p. 197). After
that they became extinct — whether slowly or somewhat suddenly
we cannot tell.

Until more is known of the ancient life of the earth, it will not
be possible to say with certainty what were the nearest relations
of the long-necked sea-lizards. They first appear in the strata
of the New Eed Sandstone, which is below the Lias. Certain
little reptiles, about three feet long, from the former rocks, known
as Neusticosaurus and Lariosaurus, seem to be rather closely
related to the creatures we are now considering, and to connect
them with a group of land reptiles. They were partly terrestrial
and partly aquatic; but it is not easy to say whether their
limbs had been converted into true paddles or not. At any
rate, there is every reason to believe that the long-necked sea-
lizards were descended from an earlier form of land reptile.
They gradually underwent considerable modifications, in order to
adapt themselves to an aquatic life. We noticed that the same
conclusion had been arrived at with regard to the fish-lizards.
Both these extinct groups, therefore, present an interesting
analogy to whales, which are now considered to have been
derived, by a like series of changes, from mammals that once
walked the earth.

84 EXTINCT MONSTERS

The Plesiosaur presents, on the one hand, points of resem-
blance to turtles and lizards, — on the other hand, to crocodiles,
whales, and, according to some authorities, even the strange
Ornithorhynchus. But it will be very long before its ancestry
can be made known. In the mean time we must put it in a
place somewhere near the fish-lizards, and leave posterity to
complete what has at present only been begun. It must, how-
ever, be borne in mind that some of the above resemblances are
purely accidental, and not such as point to relationship. Because
their flippers are like those pf a whale, it does not mean that
Plesiosaurs are related to modern whales. It only means that
similar habits tend to produce accidental resemblances — just as
the whales and porpoises, in their turn, resemble fishes. To
make torpedoes go rapidly through the water, inventors have
given them a fish-like shape ; — in the same way the early forms
of mammals, from which whales are descended, gradually adapted
themselves to a life in the water, and so became modified to
some extent to the shapes of fishes.

The Pliosaurs, above mentioned, are evidently relations, but
with short necks instead of long ones. They had enormous heads
and thick necks. Fine specimens of their huge jaws, paddle-
bones, etc., may be seen in the fossil reptile-gallery at Cromwell
Eoad. One of the skulls exhibited there is nearly six feet
long, while a hind paddle measures upwards of six and a half
feet in length, of which thirty-seven inches is taken up by the
thigh-bone alone. The teeth at the end of the jaws are truly
enormous. One tooth, from a deposit known as the Kimmeridge
Clay, is nearly a foot long from the tip of the crown to the base
of the root. In some, the two jaw-bones of the lower jaw are
partly united, as in the sperm-whale or cachalot. Creatures so
armed must have been very destructive.

CHAPTER VI

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS

" Slowly moves the march of ages,
Slowly grows the forest-king,
Slowly to perfection cometh
Every great and glorious thing."

Anon.

One of the great steps in the upward progress of the animal king-
dom was the transition from the fish to the reptile. These two
classes are at the present time well marked and clearly separated
from each other ; but an idea of how the change took place, in
the course of Evolution, may be gathered from a study of the
important group, or class, which comes in between the two,
viz. the amphibians, or batrachia of some naturalists. This im-
portant and interesting group forms, as it were, a series of " links "
between fishes and reptiles. They derive the latter name from
the Greek word hatrachos, signifying a frog. But we will speak
of them as amphibia,^ because they live both in water and on
land; and during the early part of their lives swim in water
like fishes, and moreover breathe as fishes do by means of gills.
Afterwards they put away such childish things as gills, and,
developing lungs, become air-breathers, and behave like ordinary
reptiles.

Modern naturalists who accept the theory of Evolution, as most

* Greek — amphi, both ; and hios, life.

86 EXTINCT MONSTERS

do, regard the metamorphosis of the tadpole into a frog as a kind
of object-lesson on the part of Dame Nature, given with a view-
to show us, in a general way and in a short space of time, how
the wonderful change from the fish to the reptile took place.

By the time the great coal-forests of the Carboniferous period
were flourishing, the fish class had attained a high state of
development, and were to some extent foreshadowing the
amphibian type of creation. Now, we know that when the
New Eed Sandstone was being laid down, the next great class,
viz. the reptiles, had not only made a start, but had struck out
in several lines, and were specialised in certain directions, as
shown by their bird-like footprints on the Triassic sandstones.
Would it not therefore be expected that we should find, in rocks
of greater age than the New Eed Sandstone, the remains of
animals in some respects intermediate between fishes and
reptiles ? This expectation is fully realised by the presence
in such strata (i.e. the coal-measures and Permian rocks) of the
remains of quite a large number of amphibia. They also crop
up again in the Trias, but after that period are not much in
evidence until we come to Tertiary times.

The amphibian class, at the present day, is represented by
the frogs, toads, and newts of our own country, and by the
salamanders of Japan and the United States. But these are
only a meagre remnant of a large number of families that lived
ages ago.

Let us endeavour now to take a general view of the amphibian
class as it was in the days of long ago, before the creation of
man, — to look at their family tree and see what their ancestors
were like. When this is done we shall perhaps have a little
more respect for the frogs and newts that inhabit our ponds;
for they come of a very ancient stock, and one which played

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS 87

an important part in primaeval times, branching out here and
there into strange and varied forms, as if they could not help
themselves. In order to do this we must go a long way back
into the world's history ; and even then we shall still be some
way off the roots of the family tree ; or, in other words, we shall
be in the dark about the first forms of amphibian life which
appeared on the earth's surface.

To find the oldest known amphibian we must go back as far
as those " dark ages " when a large portion of the surface of what
is now Europe was overgrown with vast areas of dismal coal-
forests, something like the mangrove swamps of which we read
in books of African travel ; they must have been dark compared
to an English meadow on a summer day, and therefore the
expression " dark ages " is all the more a;ppropriate. Our know-
ledge of the earliest air-breathing creatures is no doubt small,
but of late years it has been considerably extended, thanks to the
labours of several English, American, and Continental workers,
such as Owen, Huxley, Miall, Seeley, Gaudry, Fritsch, Cope, and
others, who have all carefully studied and described the fossil
remains submitted to them, to say nothing of the numerous
eager collectors who have brought away from the bowels of the
earth numerous specimens of great value. Their services,
although of a more humble order, are quite indispensable; and
it should be borne in mind that it is in the power of all of us,
however ignorant we may be of comparative anatomy, and there-
fore unable to write learned papers for the Geological Society,
to render valuable service to the cause of Science simply by using
our eyes and not neglecting opportunities of collecting specimens
wherever we may go.

But before proceeding it will be necessary to introduce a new
name for our old amphibians. It is rather a long one, we

88 EXTINCT MONSTERS

admit, but useful, because it partly serves to describe them.
Scientific men are said to be very fond of long Latin and Greek
names, but such can hardly be avoided ; and there is this to be
said for them — that the names they use are much more exact
than the popular ones by which plants and animals are com-
monly known, and, moreover, they often convey a great deal of
information in a brief manner. Now, the name given to the
creatures we are about to describe is Labyrinthodonts.

It was Sir Eichard Owen who first accurately described the

fossil amphibians, and they received this name from him. Let

us see what the name means and how it applies. Sir Eichard

Owen's acquaintance with these remarkable forms of ancient life

began in the year 1840, when he first examined certain teeth from

the New Eed Sandstone of Coton End quarry, Warwickshire.

In external character these fragmentary teeth corresponded

with those which had been previously discovered in Germany

(in Wiirtemberg) by Professor Jaeger, and which had been called

by him Mastodonsaurus. This name was not a happy one,

because it suggested an association with an extinct elephant,

the Mastodon, with which this amphibian, it is hardly necessary

to say, had no connection, real or imaginary. Owen examined

the teeth of the fossils from Germany, as well as those from

Warwickshire, and found that, when cut across into transverse

sections for the microscope, they revealed a very remarkable and

complicated structure ; the whole of the internal portion was

seen to be made up of a complex series of foldings, forming a

peculiar structure, suggesting a labyrinth — the external layer of

cement belonging to the tooth converging in numerous folds

towards the pulp-cavity. And so the name Labyrinthodonts

reminds us that all, or nearly all, the fossil animals included

under the above general term possess teeth having this

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS

89

peculiarity. They are the Labyrinth-toothed amphibians (see
Fig. 15).

At first sight it might perhaps seem to the uninitiated as if
the internal and minute structure of a tooth were a matter of
comparative unimportance; but it is recognised by all anato-
mists that teeth are highly important as indicating the place
of an animal in the scale of being. In the present case, for
instance, the possession of teeth '"-'-'-
with the labyrinthine structure
indicates an affinity with certain
ganoid fishes, which also possess
similarly infolded teeth. Again,
there is a peculiarly low type
of reptiles, known as the
Ichthyosaurus, or " fish-lizard,"
of which the teeth show an
approach to the same kind of
structure. Some of the Laby-
rinthodonts retained the gills
of their youth through life.

Fig. 15. — Magnified section of tooth of
Labyrinthodont. (After Owen.)

instead of changing them for lungs, as frogs do.

But, if these facts tend to connect the Labyrinthodonts with
fishes below, there are others which tend to connect them with the
reptiles above. Sir Eichard Owen, by a bold piece of reasoning,
arrived at the conclusion that certain huge and somewhat frog-like
skulls, previously discovered in German Triassic rocks, belonged
to Labyrinthodonts. This was an important step ; but then the
question arose. What kind of creature made the tracks found in
these strata, both in Germany and England ? This question
cannot be answered with any certainty, as we have stated on p. 41 .
But we know that Anomodont reptiles and Dinosaurs abounded.

90 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Like the reptiles of to-day, modern amphibians have no fixed
type of external form. Some suggest a likeness to turtles and
tortoises ; others suggest in shape the true snakes ; another
group, represented by newts and salamanders, suggests a resem-
blance to the lizards ; and lastly, those which keep their gills
through life suggest certain finless fishes, such as the conger-
eels and the lampreys. It was just the same in the old days,
when amphibians flourished more abundantly than now ; they
struck out in many directions — some taking on a long snakelike
form (see Plate VII. and Fig. 23), others being short and with
larger limbs, while in the matter of size there were great
differences.

As far as present knowledge goes, it seems to indicate that the
reptilian class in early days was less advanced than in the later
phases of the Secondary era {i.e. during ""'-le Jurassic and
Cretaceous periods) ; and so we can understand that amphibians
to some extent played the part of reptiles in those remote ages
of the coal-forests and the New Eed Sandstone. Their very
diversity shows that they were in a flourishing condition, and
probably had a pretty wide field to themselves, without too many
enemies. A certain amount of competition with other creatures,
no doubt, they had to submit to ; but with fishes they could
hold their own. Later on came a much more severe form of
competition from highly developed reptiles, such as Dinosaurs,
and that was too much for them (according to Darwinian
teaching). As the reptile class rose, amphibians, of course, came
off second best, and the geological record tells us that, ever since,
they have remained in the background of the theatre of life.

It will be well, before proceeding to describe some of the
better-known types of Labyrinthodonts, to say a word about the
general characters by which they may be distinguished. Of

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS 91

the internal structure of the teeth we have already spoken ; but
although the same complexity of folding does not apply to some
of the smaller forms, the name by which they are known is very
appropriate to the group as a whole. In Plate IX. the reader
will jfind a restoration of a typical labyrinthodont the Mastodon-
saurus, of which the skull is shown in Fig. 16. There was a
marked difference in size between the hind limbs and fore limbs,
as shown in the above Plate. There are five digits to each limb,
and no claws.

Turning to their skulls, there is one feature that is quite
peculiar to the group and rarely seen in reptiles, living or
extinct, viz. that the whole of the upper surface of the skull
behind the ,eye-holes is covered in by a complete roof of bone.
Hence some authorities call them Stegocephali,^ or " roof-skulled."
This is clearly shfc<;*'^^in Fig. 16, representing the huge skull of
Mastodonsaurus. Some fishes have skulls thus roofed over. But
the skull of a lizard or a crocodile is very different, showing a
long open channel behind each orbit, and another one lower
down at the side of the head.. Another important character in
the labyrinthodont skull is the presence of two condyles, instead
of only one, as in all true reptiles and birds. The word condyle ^
signifies a knuckle, and is applied chiefly to the surface or
surfaces by which the skull joins on to, or articulates with, the
first vertebra of the neck. All the mammalia have skulls
articulating by two condyles — a fact which would seem to imply
that mammals branch off from the amphibia, and not from reptiles.
Again, the bones of which the skull is composed are nearly
always covered with a network of grooves, or " canals," doubtless
intended for the attachment of hard, horny, and bony scales or
scutes.

* Grtek — steyos, roof; cephalos, head. ^ Greek — condulos.

92

EXTINCT MONSTERS

Before we leave the skull there is one other very interesting
point that should not be omitted. If the reader will refer to the
skull of Mastodonsaurus (Fig. 16), he will see, just on the middle
line and near the base, a small round hole. It lies over the
brain-cavity, and most probably represents the site of a small
third eye. Whether this little extra eye was capable of receiving
impressions of light, and so of communicating them to the brain

Fig. 16.— Skull of a Labyrinthodont Mastodonsaurus Jaegeri, from New Red
Sandstone, Germany.

as an ordinary eye does, is a matter of doubt ; but in a certain
very primitive little lizard now living in New Zealand, and
known as the Tuatara (Sphenodon), there is a similar aperture
overlying the rudiment of an eye now quite useless and lying
down in the brain. This little eye in the Tuatara must at
one time have been made use of, and the question arises
whether the third eye of the Labyrinthodonts was similarly

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS 93

useless ; but the chances are rather against the notion. All
the lizards have this pineal eye. It is probable that we have
here a relic from some much older and now lost form of life —
possibly a fish, but possibly also a still lower type. These rudi-
mentary structures, of which Darwin speaks in his great work,
The Origin of Species, always possess a high degree of interest for
the palaeontologist, as being survivals from very early days in the
world's history. To the latter they are as interesting in their
way as are ancient customs and old superstitions to a student of
folk-lore or of ancient history.

We must also notice the forward position of the creature's
nostrils as indicated by the two small openings at the apex of the
skull (see Fig. 16). If we were to examine the under side of a
skull such as that of the Mastodonsaurus, we should see that the
bony palate is formed chiefly of two broad and flat bones, called
the " vomerine," which generally support teeth. Now, this is a
character not exhibited by the skull of any true reptile, and we
must go to modern amphibia, such as our frogs and toads, to
find a parallel. There is also a corresponding series of small
teeth on the mandible of the lower jaw (see Fig. 25). The
eyes often show the peculiar sclerotic plates seen so well in the
" fish-lizards."

In studying an extinct vertebrate, or backboned animal, one
of the first points to be considered is the nature of the vertebrae,
or joints of the backbone. Now, in all fishes, and also in their
distant cousin the Ichthyosaurus (fish-lizard), these bones have
their articulating surfaces (centra) hollow, hence the popular
term " cup bones " applied to the vertebrae of the latter. Need
we be surprised, then, to learn that the Labyrinthodonts possessed
similarly cup-shaped vertebrae ? This is one more link to connect
them with fishes. In some of the more primitive and ancient

94 EXTINCT MONSTERS

forms, the body of the vertebra was composed of three separate
pieces, an arrangement peculiar to certain primitive fishes.

Ever since an unfortunate restoration of a Labyrinthodont by
Mr. W. Hawkins, it has been the custom — in popular works at
least — to represent the creature with a frog-like aspect. This
restoration was based on the imperfect material of a good many
years ago, and is therefore out of date. But later discoveries
have shown that, instead of being frog-like, most of the Laby-
rinthodonts, if we could have seen them in the flesh, would
have reminded us more of our modern little newts, or of the
salamanders of hot countries. The tail was generally well
developed, and the limbs were adapted quite as much for walking
as for swimming.

Their chests were defended by three bony plates (see Fig. 17),
which h£id grooves similar to those on the skull. But besides
this, all the under side of the body was protected by a large
number of scales, running in two directions, as shown in Fig. 17,
In one or two instances the whole body was covered with a
coat of mail, consisting of small bony scales. An example
of this kind of skin is the Seeleya, from the Permian rocks of
Bohemia, restored by Fritsch, and named by him after the late
Professor H. G. Seeley, F.E.S, In size the Labyrinthodonts
varied greatly, some being only an inch or two in length, others
seven or eight feet, and perhaps more. Most of them had
limbs, but in one or two cases these had apparently been dis-
pensed with.

It might naturally be asked, Did they undergo a series of
changes similar to the metamorphoses of a common frog ? One
could hardly, perhaps, have expected an answer to this question ;
but, strange to say, some of the smaller forms from the petroleum
shales (Gaskohle) of Bohemia, so carefully studied and described

■r. s

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS 95

by Dr. Fritsch, have been very well preserved in those deposits
of the Permian age, so that he was able to recognise in

Fig. 17. — Part of skeleton of a Labyrinthodont, Archegosaunts Decheni,
from the Permian, Saarbriicken. (After H. von Meyer.) The snout is incomplete.
The three ventral plates are seen near the head.

some cases the signs of the gills, by means of which, in early
life, they breathed in water, like fishes. And so it is manifest
that they did go through a series of metamorphoses.

96 EXTINCT MONSTERS

One of the most primitive, and at the same time one of the
earliest known Labyrinthodonts, is the Archegosaurus, of which
we must now give a short account.

It resembled the modern Proteus and other amphibians that
retain their lungs throughout life.

Some of the specimens acquired since Sir E. Owen published
his conclusions on this creature are now in the Natural History-
Museum. There are certain fishes of the present day that have
their backbones in an incomplete or unfinished state ; that is to
say, the bones consist partly of cartilage, like an unfinished
house which is only built up to a certain level, the upper
stories being merely indicated by scaffolding. An example of
this kind of fish is furnished by the existing mud-eel, or Lepido-
siren, a highly interesting form of life to the geologist, because
it tends to fill up the gap between the two distinct classes of
Fishes and Eeptiles. Now, in this respect, the old Carboniferous
amphibian we are now considering resembles the mud-fish. The
latter leads a partly amphibious life, burying itself in the mud
during the hot season, and breathing air by means of its air-
sack. It is believed by evolutionists that, in the course of ages,
lungs were developed from the air-sacks of " ganoid " fishes.
After detailing certain other characters, in which Archegosaurus
resembles the higher ganoid fishes. Sir Eichard Owen says, " All
these characters point to one great natural group, peculiar for
the extensive gradations of development, linking and blending
together fishes and reptiles within the limits of such group."
The salamander-like ganoids, Lepidosteus of North America
and Polypterus of the Nile, are the most fish-like; the true
Labyrinthodonts are the most reptilian or saurian of the group;
Archegosaurus conducts the march of development from the
fish proper to the labyrinthodont type ; Lepidosiren conducts

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS

97

it to the batracliian type with permanent gills. Both tend to
show the artificial nature of the arrangement by which, under
most systems of classification, fishes are separated by a wide gap
from reptiles and amphibians.

The Labyrinthodonts ranged through three geological periods
— the Carboniferous, the Permian, and the Triassic. At the
time when the coal-forests of Europe and America were flourish-
ing, they were tenanted by a large number of Labyrinthodonts.
These, and others of the succeeding Permian period, which may
conveniently be taken together, have been specially studied by
such authorities as Professors Huxley and Cope, Dr. Fritsch,

Fig. 18. — Skull of Archegosaurus. (Permian.)

Professor Miall, and others. The limits of space will only
allow us to make a small selection from the numerous forms
described by them.

Cricotus is an American genus described by Professor Cope,
from the Permian strata of Texas. The skull and some of the
scales belonging to the under surface of the body are shown in
Fig. 19. The Eryops, of which the skull is shown in the same
figure, is considered by Professor Seeley to belong to a higher,
though related group, the Anomodonts (Chap. VII.). The one
group is much connected with the other, and the question of the

H

98

EXTINCT MONSTERS

classification of their various members is a difficult one, which
only time and further discoveries can settle.

Loxomma is another genus of the Coal period, but only the
head is known (see Plate VII.). It was named by Professor
Huxley, who, during a visit to Edinburgh in 1862, made a
study of the large collection of vertebrate fossils from Burdie
House and Gilmerton in the Museum of Edinburgh. While
looking through the collection for fossil fishes, he came upon
some specimens which were of quite a different character, and

Fig. 19. — Labyrinthodonts. 1, o, b, Cricotus. 2. Skull of Eryops.
Permian strata, Texas. (After Cope.)

Prom

among these found part of the skull of a Labyrinthodont,
which he named Loxomma. A very beautifully preserved
specimen of the skull of this creature, from the coal-measures

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS

99

of Shropshire, is to be seen at the Natural History Museum
(Gallery No, V. of the Geological Department). It is fortunately

Fig. 20. — Skull of Ei'yops macrocephalus, from Permian strata, Texas.
(After Cope.)

uncrushed, and shows the natural contour of the skull and
lower jaw. The specimen was presented by George Maw,
Esq., F.G.S.

'^^^

Fig. 21. — Skeleton of a Labyrinthodont, Actinodon, from Permian strata.
(Partly after Gaudry.)

In Actinodon the skull is short and wide, the nostrils are large,
and the muzzle is broad. Fig. 21 is a drawing of the complete

loo EXTINCT MONSTERS

skeleton, and in the wall-case 19, Gallery V., will be found
a skull preserved on a slab of shale from Permian strata in

Fig. 22. — A small Labyrinthodont, Ceraterpeton, restored after Pritsch,
from Permian strata, Bohemia.

France. A restoration of the creature when alive is shown in
Plate VII.

A number of small Labyrinthodonts, somewhat like sala-
manders, have been found in Ireland and in Bohemia. Those

PTTOXIUS (two species). (aFTER COPE.) FROM COAL MEASURES, OHIO.
Platk VIII.

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS loi

from the latter country are very exhaustively described by Dr.
Fritsch, in a valuable monograph/ with many excellent illustra-
tions. We have reproduced two of these, the Ceraterpeton and
the snake-like Dolichosoma^ — both restored in Plate VII., and
their skeletons shown in Figs. 22, 23. Speaking of snake-like
forms, it may be mentioned that one of them — the Palseosiren

Fig. 23. — A snake-like Labyrinthodont, DolicJwsoma, from Carboniferous
strata, Bohemia. (After Fritsch.)

("ancient siren") — is estimated to have attained a length of
forty-five feet. Professor Cope has written an account of a
number of Labyrinthodonts from the coal-measures of Ohio, where
both Professor Newberry and Professor Wyman have obtained
specimens. These show great variety of form. Some resemble

1 Fauna der Gaskohle, Dr. A. Fritsch.

2 Greek — dolichos, long ; soma, body.

I02

EXTINCT MONSTERS

Fig. 24. — Restoration of skeleton of Amphibatmcs grandiceps, by R. L. Moodie.
{Journal of Geology, vol. 17.)

ANCIENT SALAMANDERS

103

long-limbed lizards ; some have short limbs. Others, like Ptyonius
(see Plate VIII.), were very elongate. The members of the
Labyrinthodont order flourished over a large part of the earth's
surface, from the time of the coal-forests to that of the Triassic
sandstones. Their remains are found in all the great conti-
nents. The late Professor Seeley considered them to have been
the ancestors of the crocodiles. Large skulls of Labyrinthodonts,
such as Mastodonsaurus and Capitosaurus, have for a long time
past been found in the Upper Triassic (Keuper) strata of Germany.
They appear to resemble very
closely a generalised Anomo-
dont (see next Chapter).

In the writer's previous work,
Creatures of Other Days, p. 70,
he reproduced a restoration of
the skeleton of Labyrinthodon
by Professor Wiedersheim, based
on a discovery made in the year
1864 in Eiehen, Switzerland.
The specimen, now in the
Museum at Basle, was some-
what fully described. Eecent
researches have shown that the
interpretation given by Wiedersheim was wrong, and that the
bones (rather badly preserved), represent a reptile of the
Anomodont order, described in Chapter VII. This figure is
now replaced by a recent restoration of the skeleton of
another Labyrinthodont amphibian, viz. the Amphibamus of
Mr. E. L. Moodie. Let the reader compare this with the
skeleton of a true reptile, and he will at once see how
primitive it is.

Fig. 25. — Skull of a Labyrinthodont,
Cyclotosaurus (under side).

I04 EXTINCT MONSTERS

True Salamanders are known in a fossil state. There is the
famous Andrias Scheuchzeri, about three feet long, found in 1725,
and described by Scheuchzer as the skeleton of a man. He
called it Homo Diluvii Testis, or, "the man who witnessed the
Deluge." Cuvier, in 1811, announced its true nature.

§ 1,

to s^

s i

?5

s -S

CHAPTER VII

ANOMALOUS KEPTILES

" In the endeavour to complete the Natural History of any class of animals,
the mind seeks to penetrate the mystery of its origin, and, by tracing its
mutations in time past, to comprehend more clearly its actual condition, and
gain an insight into its probable destiny in time to come." — Sib R. Owek.

Having, in our previous chapter, discussed the Labyrinthodonts,
we now pass on to consider some of their descendants in the
shape of a very peculiar group of reptiles hailing from South
Africa and elsewhere. Perhaps the chief peculiarity, among
many others, presented by these very antique and old-fashioned
inhabitants of the world, is to be found in their teeth. In fact,
so irregular and anomalous are they in regard to these organs,
and so at variance with all our preconceived ideas with regard
to what proper, well-behaved reptiles, whether living or extinct,
ought to be like, that their vagaries in this respect have led
to their being christened by the name of Anomodonts, or
" anomalously toothed " reptiles.^ Needless to say, they occupy
a distinct order, with several sub-orders, in the classifications
adopted by palaeontologists. They are also by some authorities
named Theromorphs and Theriodonts. The moral of all this is,
as we shall better understand later on, that it would be well for
students of extinct forms of life to enter this domain of Science
without any preconceived ideas at all ! It would save a great

' Greek — anomos, without law ; odous, odontos, tooth.

io6 EXTINCT MONSTERS

deal of confusion and trouble in the end; and, moreover, would be
far more truly scientific. For what right has any one, however
great his knowledge or his ability, to dictate to Nature, and to
say this or that is impossible — that no reptile, for instance,
could possibly have flown ; or that such and such teeth were
impossible for a reptile ?

We now know that there was a time when certain reptiles
did fly (although many people with some pretensions to know-
ledge doubted the evidence). And so with regard to reptilian
teeth ; fossil evidence shows that some old reptiles had teeth
more like those of modern mammals ! Facts such as these
should teach caution, and every student of palaeontology will
do well to remember the saying of Agassiz : " The possibilities
of existence run so deeply into the extravagant that there is
scarcely any conception too extraordinary for Nature to realise."

The chief characters of the Anomodonts may be briefly stated
as follows : In this order the body is lizard-like, and the limbs
are adapted for walking. The skull is comparatively short, and
the nasal openings are large. The teeth are generally placed in
distinct sockets (thecodont). The bodies of the vertebrae are
hollow at both ends (amphicoelous), and in some cases are only
partly converted into bone — a character which is common to the
Labyrinthodonts. The whole structure of the foot is distinctly
on the mammalian plan. Recent researches show that these
animals are descended from Labyrinthodonts, and more especially
the family of which Archegosaurus is a member (see p. 96).
Certain important characters show (strange as it may seem)
affinity with mammals ; and it is probable that they are related
to the lowest group of them, as represented at the present day
by that remarkable creature the Spiny Ant-eater of Australia
(Echidna), and the wonderful Duck-mole (Omithorhynchus),

ANOMALOUS REPTILES 107

which lays eggs like a reptile. These two creatures belong to
the Monotreme order.

Now the Anomodont reptiles are divided into several groups,
sub-orders, and families, of which we will take first those known
as Dicynodonts,^ because they illustrate the anomalous nature of
the teeth, to which we referred just now.

Sir E. Owen, after a careful study of these interesting remains
concluded^ that there had formerly existed in South Africa —
probably in a great lake or inland sea — a race of reptiles pre-
senting, in the construction of their skulls, characters presented
by the crocodile, the tortoise, and the lizard, but possessing a
pair of long tusks implanted in distinct sockets, like those of
the walrus. No other kind of teeth had they; and, as in the
case of a tortoise, the lower jaw appears to have been armed by
a trenchant sheath of horny matter. The tusks are of a finer
texture than that of the crocodile's teeth, and almost as dense
as in the hyaena (see Plate X.). These illustrations are taken
from photographs very kindly sent by Professor Amalitzky, of
Warsaw, who has of late years laboriously worked out nodules
containing bones, skulls, etc., from Permian strata on the banks of
the Northern Dwina, near Archangel ; the results of his researches
are of great value (see Sir E. Kay Lankester's Uxtinct Animals,
p. 212). The head is shown in Fig. 26, and the fore limb in
Figs. 27, 28. As it is, at present, hardly possible to restore the
skeleton with any degree of certainty, we have not ventured to
show the Dicynodon in our Plate of New Eed Sandstone Eeptiles
(see Plate IX.). A carnivorous genus is shown in Plate XI.

1 The genus Dicynodon is so called from two Greek words : dis, twice ;
and kunodos, dog-toothed, on account of the two tusk-like canine teeth in
the upper jaw.

- Professor Owen's Memoir on the Dicynodon, Geol. Trans., second series,
vol. vi., with plates.

io8

EXTINCT MONSTERS

Some of the arguments used by Owen in his Memoir, above
referred to, may be briefly condensed as follows : The creatures
to which these skulls belonged were not mammals (although to
an evolutionist they are a foreshadowing of that class), both on
account of the double nasal apertures, one of which is seen in
Fig. 26; and also because no mammal has a brain-cavity so
relatively small. They were not crocodiles, as indicated by
certain other features of the skull. They were not turtles or

Fig. 26. — Anomodont skulls, a, skull of Dicynodon; b, skull of Oude^wdon,
from Karoo strata, South Africa. (After Owen.)

tortoises, for all such reptiles have a single nasal opening placed
in the middle of the fore part of the skull. They could not be
fishes, for fishes breathe in quite a different way. Ifeither could
they be batrachians (frogs, etc.), nor yet snakes, as is also proved
by the structure of their skulls. Certain other features of the
skull show a relationship with the Lacertilians, or true lizards.
The skulls are mostly of small size ; but that of Dicynodon
tigriceps is as much as twenty inches in length. That of

1. SKULL OF DICYKODON. PALATAL ASPECT.

Plate X.

2. SKULL OP DICYNODON TBAUTSCHOELDI.
From photographs kindly sent by Prof. Amalitzky of Warsaw.

ANOMALOUS REPTILES

109

D. lacerticeps (" lizard-headed," Fig. 26) is only six inches long.
Dicynodonts have since been found in the Gondwana series
in Central India, and in the Elgin Sandstone, Scotland.

The vertebrae, or joints of the backbone, are hollow on both
sides (biconcave) — a feature common to fishes and Labyrintho-
donts. Probably they were good swimmers, and spent much
of their time in the water; but it is quite clear that they

Fig, 27. — Fore limb of Dicynodon.
(After Owen.)

Fig. 28. — Arm-bone (humerus) of
Dicynodon. J natural size. (After
Owen.)

were air-breathers, and so must have come up to the surface
to breathe.

The genus Oudenodou,^ although it has no teeth, so closely re-
sembles the Dicynodon that it must be included in the same
family. The skull is shown in Fig. 26. Professor Owen even
suggested that the absence of teeth might merely denote a difference
of sex; but this view is not accepted by others. The general
shape of the skull is very similar to that of Dicynodon, and the

' Greek — ouden, nothing ; odous, odontos, tooth.

no EXTINCT MONSTERS

jaws ended in a kind of beak. There are several species, and
some attained very large dimensions.

In Oudenodon Bainii the skull is six inches long.

Platypodosaurus ^ is the name given to a considerable portion
of the skeleton of a Dicynodont reptile from the Karoo strata of
South Africa; but, unfortunately, the skull is unknown, and it
may prove to be identical with Oudenodon. The structure of the
pelvis, or region of the hips, is remarkably mammalian. The
name indicates that it had broad feet.

The genus Endothiodon represents a remarkable family of large
reptiles from the same strata, distinguished by the presence of
teeth on the palate. The skull resembles that of Oudenodon, but
the muzzle is longer.

Two genera, Placodus ^ and Cyamodus, from Triassic strata in
Germany, represent another group, the Placodonts, which are
very remarkable, but unfortunately at present are only known by
their skulls. These, however, are sufficiently peculiar to deserve
notice. The teeth represent a curious modification previously un-
known in the reptile class, but of which the class of fishes affords
numerous examples. In the latter genus the skull is as broad as
it is long, and the jaws were very strong. This powerful action of
the jaws relates to the form and size of the teeth, which are broad
and flat, like paving stones, and evidently adapted to crack and
bruise shells of molluscs and Crustacea (see Fig. 29). Although
now admitted to be a reptile, this remarkable genus was once con-
sidered by Agassiz, Owen, and others to be a fish ; but where fossil
remains are so imperfect, mistakes may easily be made at first.

Tapinocephalus ^ and Titanosuchus * are the names given to two

1 Greek — flatus, broad ; pous, podos, foot ; and sauros, lizard.

2 Greek — plax, plakos, any flat thing ; odous, tooth.

3 Greek — tapeinos, low ; cephalos, head.

* Greek — titan, a titan ; souchos, a crocodile.

ANOMALOUS REPTILES

III

huge Anomodonts from South Africa, both belonging to the same
family, the teeth of which indicate carnivorous habits. An

Fig. 29, — Skull of Cyamodus laticeps, upper view (a) and palatal view (b), from
the JIuschelkalk of Baireuth, Germany ; J natural size.

imperfect skull, several entire limb-bones, and vertebrae are pre-
served in the national collection at South Kensington.

Galesaurus,^ of which the head is shown in Fig. 30, belongs to
a remarkable group of Anomodonts, first described by Sir E. Owen,

Fig. 30. — Skull and mandible of an Anomodont, Galesaurus planiceps.
Length 6 inches. Karoo strata, South Africa. (After Owen.)

and called by him Theriodonts,^ because the form and order of
arrangement of their teeth bear a striking resemblance to those

* Greek — ^aU, weasel ; sauros, lizard.

2 Greek — therion, wild beast ; and odous, odontos, tooth : because the teeth
resemble those of savage carnivorous creatures, such as lions or wolves.

112 EXTINCT MONSTERS

of carnivorous mammals ; for the incisors are separated from the
molars by well-developed canines, and the canines of the lower
jaw crossed those of the upper in front. In some of the members
of this family the upper canine teeth are long and trenchant, and
the incisors large and close together. Visitors to the Natural
History Museum will find a most valuable set of specimens of the
skulls, etc. (Gallery IV.).

In most reptiles, living and extinct, the teeth that are worn
away by use, or otherwise lost, are replaced by others that are
constantly forming in the jaws ; but in the case of Theriodonts
there is no evidence of preceding teeth, like the milk-teeth in

Fig. 31. — Right side-view of skull and mandible of a Theriodont {^lurosaurus

felinus), § natural size, with two upper teeth, natural size (a, b), from the Triassic

Karoo Formation of Beaufort West, Cape Colony. Behind the large orbit the

back part of the skull is broken away. (After Owen.)

mammals, nor of succeeding teeth, like the crocodile's. Sir E.
Owen therefore concluded that these creatures had but one set of
teeth, which lasted through life. He has described eleven genera,
varying in the size and form of the skull and teeth ; they are all
from South Africa, and are figured in his Catalogue of the Fossil
Reptiles of South Africa.

The work of describing and classifying Anomodont reptiles has

1. SKELETON OF INOSTRAXSEVIA ALEXANDBI.

Plate XI.

2. SKULL OP INOSTEASSEVIA ALEXANDBI.
From photographs kindly sent by Prof. Amalitzky of Warsaw.

ANOMALOUS REPTILES

"3

since been carried on by the late Professor H. G. Seeley, F.E.S.,
who had contributed a series of elaborate papers to the Koyal
Society.^

So far we have only spoken of Anomodonts that are imperfectly
known ; it therefore now remains, before we part company with
this wonderful extinct order, to describe one of which the skeleton
is practically complete. This is the remarkable Pareiasaurus,^
for the discovery and description of which palaeontologists are

Fig. 32. — Skull of Tritylodon longcBVus, a palatal view, b upper view. From
Triassic strata, Basutoland.

indebted to a distinguished English geologist, the late Professor
H. G. Seeley, F.E.S.^ Visitors to the Natural History Museum
will see the unique specimen brought home by Professor Seeley at
the end of the fossil reptile gallery, in a glass case by itself (see
Fig. 34). The story of its discovery, as given in the journals above

1 Philosophical Transactions, vols. 179, 183, etc.

2 Greek — pareia, the cheek-piece of a helmet ; and sauros, lizard. So named
because the cheek-bones descend so as partly to cover the back of the lower jaw.

3 Philosophical Transactions, vol. 183 B (1892), and Journal of South
African Philosophical Society, vol. vi. p. 5 (1889-90).

114

EXTINCT MONSTERS

quoted, may be briefly condensed as follows : — In the year 1889
Professor Seeley visited Cape Colony, and examined the Museums
of Cape Town and Graham's Town, with a view to studying such
remains of the creature as were then known; but almost every
specimen of real interest had already been sent to the British

Fig. 33. — Parts of skeleton of Divietrodon incisivtis, from Permian strata,
Texas. About J natural size. (After Cope.) See p. 118.

Museum. He succeeded in unearthing, in the year 1889, in the
Karoo rocks, the most valuable specimen shown in Fig. 34.

There is probably no other South African fossil reptile in
which the teeth are developed to the same extent in rows on the
palate. Three rows of scutes, or bony scales, appear to have
extended down the middle of the back, but the restoration by
Professor Amalitzky (Plate XII.) shows many more. Some of

ANOMALOUS REPTILES

115

these are still preserved iu contact with the neural spines on
the specimens, but they are not easily detected. Each scute is

about two inches wide. There were also scutes on the skull,
as in the Labyrinthodonts.

n6 EXTINCT MONSTERS

The creature must have been fully nine feet long wheu
alive. The great width and squareness of the animal is a
feature that strikes one at once. The skull decidedly resembles
that of a Labyrinthodont, and, even to a casual observer, has a
frog-like look. But internally it is like that of the Tuatara, or
Sphenodon, of New Zealand, which is a survival from very old
times, and throws much light on several orders of Triassic reptiles.
The backbone, or vertebral column, also resembles that of the
little Tuatara, and not that of a Labyrinthodont, In the shoulder
girdle we see a resemblance to the Anomodonts, as also in the
pelvis, or region of the hips, which is remarkably mammalian.
Every one who looks at the skeleton must be struck with the great
strength and massiveness of the limb-bones. The arm-bone
suggests two very triangular wedges fastened together ; so does the
femur, or thigh-bone. The present writer suggested three years ago
that all this strength may have been for the purpose of supporting
a massive shield as in the case of the common tortoise, and now,
1909, he hears that another genus Propappus actually had such
an armoured shield. For the sake of comparison, a specimen of
the Tuatara (Sphenodon) is placed in a case close by (Wall-case 9).
Visitors will find it instructive to compare the skeleton of a
Sphenodon with that of the Pareiasaurus. On so doing, they will
see a resemblance in the limb-bones of the two creatures. How
fortunate that this little lizard should have survived so many
geological ages — as it were on purpose to give us some help in
studying the long-lost Anomodonts! Professor Seeley considers
that the limbs, as represented by their bones, are intermediate
between those of mammals and the tailed amphibians, such as
newts and salamanders. But the creature was more of a reptile
than an amphibian, as is shown by the fact that its skull articu-
lated with the first joint of the backbone by means of one condyle,

1. MODEL OF PAEEIASAUBUS KABPIXSKII.
By Prof. Amalitzky.

^.^liVfl 91 K ife ik r

Plate XII.

2. SKELETON OF PABEIASAURUS KAEPINSKII.
From photographs kindly sent by Prof. Amalitzky of Warsaw.

ANOMALOUS REPTILES 117

or knob- like process, instead of by two, as in the Labyrinthodonts
and all the amphibia.

Palaeontologists have concluded that Labyrinthodonts, Anomo-
donts, and Monotreme mammals are all descended from some
common amphibian stock. If this theory is true, the Anomodonts
retained, while they were yet in existence, structures showing a
relationship with mammals or a foreshadowing of them, which in
all other reptiles have been altogether lost.

Palaeontologists are often greatly helped in their studies by
comparing extinct types of life with some of the living types which
are very old-fashioned and, one would think, ought to have become
extinct ages ago, but fortunately have not ! We mentioned just
now the Tuatara, as a case in point ; another still more important
case is that of the Monotreme mammals — the curious Duckbill
and the Spiny Ant-eater (Echidna) of Australia (which, of course,
is not one of the true Ant-eaters). These two remarkable egg-
laying mammals show some wonderful points of resemblance to
the Anomodonts — points which cannot, however, be explained
without entering too much into dry details of Anatomy. Indeed,
they are a great puzzle to naturalists, and one hardly knows
whether we ought to call them reptiles or mammals; but since
they do suckle their young ones (after a primitive fashion, though),
they have been placed with the latter; still it requires a slight
stretch of imagination to look upon an egg-laying creature as a
mammal.

Leaving now the Anomodonts, we pass on to consider another
order — the Proterosauria. In America and France the subject
has been studied by Professors Cope ^ and Gaudry. The former
palaeontologist has described, amongst others, such remarkable

1 History of the Vertehrata of the Permian Formation of Texas, by Professor
E. D. Cope, Pal. Bull, No. 32.

ii8 EXTINCT MONSTERS

forms as Eryops (Fig. 20), Empedias, and Dimetrodon. As these
are not completely known, we have refrained from attempting
to restore them. Perhaps the most remarkable is the Dimetrodon ^
(see Fig. 33) belonging to the order Pelycosauria. Not only
was the skull provided with formidable tusks, but the vertebrae
of the back present a new feature in having very long neural
spines. In one species the height of the spine is actually more
than twenty times the length of the centrum! According to
Professor Cope, these spines formed a kind of elevated fin on the
back, of which it is difficult to imagine the use ; but then there
are many living animals with bony structures which, if only
known in a fossil state, would greatly puzzle every one.
Plate XIII. shows a photograph of a restoration of the allied
Naosaurus from Permian strata of Texas, for which the writer
is indebted to Professor H. F. Osborn. We will take Protero-
saurus next.

The skull is more lizard-Kke than crocodilian. There are
mainly two interpretations of this fossil. (1) Cuvier and Huxley
class it unreservedly with the lizards. (2) Von Meyer and Owen
consider that it represents a new type of reptile. Von Meyer
published an elaborate monograph on the subject, with nine folio
plates (1856). Professor Seeley also considers that it shows no
particular afi&nity with any living group of reptiles. It evidently
came of a very ancient stock. With regard to its habits, Owen
concluded that it was an aquatic animal. He says, " The strength
of its neck and head, and the sharpness of its teeth, enabled it to
seize and overcome the struggles of the active fishes of the waters
which deposited the old Thuringian copper-slates." There can be
but little doubt, however, that it was capable of walking on land
as well as of disporting itself in the water Certain ganoid fishes

* Greek — dt\ double ; metron, measure ; odous, tooth .

« s

ft -3

o g

ANOMALOUS REPTILES

119

abounded in the seas of the Permian period. These, as Owen
points out, may have been its prey.

The beak-headed lizards, or Khynchocephalia,^ belong to another
very remarkable order of reptiles
that lived during the New Bed
Sandstone period. The order is
now almost extinct, being only
represented by the Tuatara, or
Sphenodon, of New Zealand.

There are three extinct
reptiles to be considered under
this head before we conclude
our survey of Triassic reptiles,
and first we will take the little
Telerpeton. It was found in
the New Eed Sandstone strata
of Elgin — then considered to
be the Old Eed Sandstone, and
a great controversy took place
with regard to their geological
age. But now most geologists
accept the view that they are
of New Eed Sandstone age, as
asserted by Professor Huxley,
and others. The discovery of
Telerpeton was an important
event in the scientific world at the time, chiefly because the Elgin
sandstones were then considered to be of Old Eed Sandstone age.

The name now generally accepted denotes the remote antiquity
of this reptile.^
1 Greek— runcAos, beak; cephalos, head. ^ Greek — tele, far off; erpeton, reptile.

Fig. 35. — Skeleton of Telerpeton elgi-
nense, from the Elgin Sandstone. Natural
size. 1. Tooth. (After Mantell.)

I20 EXTINCT MONSTERS

A model or cast of this delicate fossil is to be seen in the
Natural History Museum. Unfortunately, the head is not pre-
served. Dr. Mantell considered Telerpeton to be partly amphibian
and partly saurian. But, some years later, Professor Huxley
came to the rescue, and threw more light on the subject. In
a paper read before the Geological Society,^ he described a new
specimen, which showed the skull. This specimen, the property
of Mr. James Grant, of Lossiemouth, was sent to him by that
veteran geologist, the late Eev. Dr. Gordon, of Birnie, by Elgin,
who, for fifty years or more, had taken a deep interest in the
geology of the district. It is larger, being ten to twelve inches

8

Fig. 36. — Skull of RhyncJiosaurus arliceps from the Trias, from the New Red

Sandstone near Shrewsbury ; J natural size. 2. Upper aspect of a dorsal vertebra ;

natural size. (After Mantell.)

in length. As is usual with fossils from the Elgin sandstone,
the bones are represented by casts, but these were well defined.
Professor Huxley was able to show that Telerpeton has no
relationship with amphibians. In all its characters it is a true
lizard. Instead of being a low, or "generalised" form, it is
somewhat " specialised," or highly developed.

The second example of the reptilian order now under considera-
tion is the Ehynchosaurus, discovered by Dr. 0. Ward, in a quarry
in the New Eed Sandstone, at Grinsill, near Shrewsbury. His
discovery comprised the skull and a considerable portion of the
skeleton (see Fig. 36). Professor Owen also found some remains
of the same animal in tliis quarry.

^ Published in the Journal of 1867, vol. xxiii. p. 77.

ANOMALOUS REPTILES

121

The animal was about three feet in length. The general aspect
of the skull differs from that of modern lizards, and resembles
that of a bird or a turtle, which resemblance is increased by the
apparent absence of teeth. There was, however, a single row
of teeth on the palate. Professor Owen concluded that this
ancient creature had its jaws encased in a bony or a horny
sheath. The fortunate preservation of the skull has brought to

Fig. 37. — Skull and mandible of Hyperodapedon Gm-doni. a. Upper view ; b. Side
view ; c. Mandible. From the Elgin Sandstone of Triassic age. (After Dr. A.

Smith Woodward.)

light a curious modification of the lizard type of structure, that
seems to lead on towards birds and turtles.

The Hyperodapedon was a much larger creature. It was a
terrestrial reptile, some six or seven feet long, and does not
appear to have been armed with scutes or spines of any kind.

122

EXTINCT MONSTERS

A fine specimen is to be seen at the Natural History Museum
(Wall-case 9). Like the Khynchosaurus, it had a broadly triangular
form of skull, with the orbits for the eyes directed upwards, and
the jaws prolonged into a sharp curved beak, so that it comes
into the same order of " beak-headed lizards." But, unlike the
latter reptile, it had several rows of well-developed, low, conical
teeth, both on the jaws and palate. The specimen at South
Kensington shows the head, neck, backbone, and ribs, together

Fig. 38. — Front view of skull of Elginia mirabilis, as restored from natural
moulds in the Elgin Sandstone, by Mr. E. T. Newton.

with some of the limb-bones. We have therefore ventured on
a restoration by Mr. Smit (see Plate IX.), in order to give the
reader an idea of its curious head and beaked jaws. (The limbs
might be larger.) Hyperodapedon must have had a wide geo-
graphical range during the period of the Trias ; for its remains
have also been found in the centre of England (Warwickshire),
in Devonshire, and in Central India. A much larger species

ANOMALOUS REPTILES 123

from India is reckoned to have attained a length of seventeen
feet.

Professor Huxley concluded that Hyperodapedon and Rhyncho-
saurus do not depart from the ordinary lizard type of structure
more than some of our modem lizards do — such as the Monitor,
Chameleon and Gecko, to which both are allied. He thinks
that, even in Triassic times, the lizard type had become highly
specialised.

Elginia mirabilis is the name proposed for the skull of a reptile

Fia. 39. — Side view of skull of Elginia mirabilis, as restored from natural
casts in the Elgin Sandstone, by Mr. E. T. Newton,

which, on account of the extreme development of horns and spines,
reminds one of the living lizards, Moloch and Phrynosoma. The
skull of this ancient saurian (see Figs. 38, 39) is unlike that of any
living or fossil form, and seems to show affinities with both the
Labyrinthodonts and the lizards. All the remains are in the
form of hollow moulds in blocks of stone, but Mr. Newton has,
with wonderful skill and patience, made casts in guttapercha and
so reconstructed the skull, as shown in our illustrations. The
Elginia was closely related to Pareiasaurus.

CHAPTER VIII

THE DRAGONS OF OLD TIME — DINOSAURS

" What we know is but little ; what we do not know is immense." — La
Place.

Was there ever an age of dragons ? Tradition says there was ;
but there is every reason to believe that the fierce and blood-
thirsty creatures, of which such a variety present themselves, are
but creations of the imagination, — useful in their way, no doubt,
as pointing a moral or adorning a tale, but, nevertheless, wholly
without foundation in fact. The dragon figures in the earliest
traditions of the human race, and crops up again in full force in
European mediaeval or even late romance. But in spite of all
the manifest absurdities of the dragons of various nations and
times, geology reveals to us that there once lived upon this earth
reptUes so great and uncouth that we can think of no other but
the time-honoured word " dragon " to convey briefly the slightest
idea of their monstrous forms and characters.

So there is some truth in dragons, after all. But then we must
make this important reservation — viz. that the days of these
dragons were long before the human period ; they flourished in
one of those dim geological ages of which the rocks around us
bear ample records.

It is a strange fact that human fancy should have, in some
cases at least, created monsters not very unlike some of those
antediluvian animals that have, during the present century, been

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 125

discovered in various parts of Europe and America. Some un-
reasonable persons will have it that certain monstrous reptiles
of the Mesozoic era, about to be described, must have somehow
managed to survive into the human period, and so have suggested
to early races of men the dragons to which we have alluded.
But there is no need for this untenable supposition. By a free
blending together of ideas culled from living types of animals it
would be very easy to construct no small variety of dragons ; and
so we may believe this is what the ancients did.

The announcement by Baron Cuvier — the illustrious founder
of Palaeontology — that there was a period when our planet was
inhabited by reptiles of appalling magnitude, with many of the
features of modern quadrupeds, was of so novel and startling a
character as to require the prestige of even his name to obtain
for it any degree of credence. But subsequent discoveries have
fully confirmed the truth of his belief, and the " age of reptiles "
is no longer considered fabulous. This expression was first
used by Dr. G. Mantell as the title of a paper published in the
Ediiiburgh Fhilosophical Journal in 1831, and serves to remind
us that reptilian forms of life were once the ruling class among
animals.

The Dinosaurs are an extinct order comprising the largest
terrestrial and semi-aquatic reptiles that ever lived; and while
some of them in a general way resembled crocodiles, others show
in the bony structures they have left behind a very remarkable
and interesting resemblance to birds of the ostrich tribe. This
resemblance shows itself in the pelvis, or bony arch with which
the hind limbs are connected in vertebrate or back-boned animals,
and in the limbs themselves. This curious fact, first brought
into notice by Professor Huxley, has been variously interpreted
by anatomists; some concluding, with Professor Huxley, that

126 EXTINCT MONSTERS

bii'ds are descended from Dinosaurian ancestors; while others,
with Professor Owen, consider the resemblance accidental, and in
no way implying relationship. Huxley has proposed the name
Ornithoscelida, or bird-legged, for these remarkable reptiles.

Dinosaurs must have formerly inhabited a large part of the
primaeval world ; for their remains are found, not only in Europe,
but in Africa, India, North and South America, and even in
Australia ; and the geologist finds that they reigned supreme on
the earth throughout the whole of the great Mesozoic era. Their
bodies were, in some cases, defended by a formidable coat of
armour, consisting of bony plates and spines, as illustrated by
the case of Polacanthus (p. 173), thus giving them a decidedly
dragon-like appearance. The vertebrae, or bony segments of the
back-bone, generally have their centra hollow on both ends, as
in the Ichthyosaurus; but in the neck and tail they are not
unfrequently hollow on one side and convex on the other. In
some of the largest forms the vertebrae are excavated into hollow
chambers. This is apparently for the sake of lightness; for a
very large animal with heavy solid bones would find it difficult
to move freely. In this way strength was combined with
lightness.

All the Dinosaurs had four limbs, and in many cases the hind
pair were very large compared to the fore limbs. They varied
enormously in size, as well as in appearance. Thus certain of
the smaller families were only two feet long and lightly built;
while others were truly colossal in size, far out-rivalling oui'
modern rhinoceroses and elephants.

The limbs of Cetiosaurus, for example, or of Stegosaurus,
remind us strikingly of those of elephants. The celebrated Von
Meyer was so struck with this likeness that he proposed the name
Pachypoda for them, which means thick-footed. Professor Owen

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 127

opposed this name; for it was misleading, and only applied to
a few of them. He therefore proposed the name we have already
been using, viz. Dinosauria,^ and this name has been generally
retained. We are thus led to connect them with lizards and
crocodiles, rather than with birds or quadrupeds. The strange
and curiously mixed characters of the old-fashioned reptiles is
forcibly illustrated by these differences of opinion among leading
naturalists. The late Professor Seeley, another authority, refused
to consider them as reptiles, at least in the ordinary sense of the
word.

Extinct forms of life are often so very different to the creatures
inhabiting the world of to-day, that naturalists find it a hard
task to assign them their places in the animal kingdom. The
classes, orders, and families under which living forms are grouped
are often found inadequate for the purpose, so much so that
new orders and new families require to be made for them; and
then it is often quite impossible to determine the relations
of these new groups to the old ones we are accustomed to.
Dinosaurs offer a good example of this difficulty. Were they
related to ancient crocodiles ? No one can say for certain ;
but it is quite possible, and even probable. Again, did certain
long-legged Dinosaurs eventually give rise by evolution to the
running birds, ostriches, emeus, etc. ? This, although supported
by weighty authority, is a matter of speculation : we ought to be
very careful in accepting such conclusions. The following
reflections will serve to show that the fact may be explained in
another theory. Some Dinosaurs walked, in a more or less erect
position, on their hind limbs. Similar habits, if continued for
age after age, must tend to produce somewhat similar appearances,
at least externally. Take, for example, the case of whales and

* Greek — deinos, terrible ; sauros, lizard.

i2g EXTINCT MONSTERS

fishes ; the original land mammal from which whales are descended
has, in the course of time, become so fish-like in appearance
that even in these modern days there are some who yet speak
of them as fishes ! The shape of a whale is fish-like ; it has
lost its hind limbs through disuse; it has changed its fore
limbs into paddles, which have a certain fin-like aspect; and
its cousin, the porpoise, has developed a big triangular fin on the
back. To take another example : Pterodactyls are reptiles which
acquired the power of flight ; and some, at least, of them must
have borne a resemblance to modern bats. And yet pterodactyls
and bats are in no way related. The pterodactyl was a lizard
that could fly ; while the bat is a mammal that can do the
same. There is no question of relationship. Now let us apply
the same kind of reasoning to Dinosaurs and birds. For our
part, we confess to being not quite convinced. Dinosaurs walked,
ran, and perhaps some of the smaller ones even hopped on their
hind legs ; would it not follow as a matter of course that certain
rather bird-like developments would follow ? Let us reason the
matter out. For a horizontal body, like that of a lizard, to be
properly poised on two legs instead of four, the weight of the
viscera must be transferred backward, and the forward, or anterior
part of the body lightened. The lower bones of the region of
the hips (pelvis), with the contained organs, are thrown back-
ward, while the fore part of the body and the fore limbs are
lightened and much reduced in proportionate size.

Changes such as these might be supposed capable of producing
those bird-like features in Dinosaurs which we have already
noticed, and on the strength of which some authorities believe
birds and Dinosaurs to have had a common ancestry. It may
perhaps be safer to look upon the ancestry of birds as one of
those problems that remain to be solved by some future

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME

129

generation with fuller knowledge derived from first evidence.
We insert here an illustration (see Fig. 40) in which are shown,
side by side, the limb-bones and those of the region of the pelvis
in a crocodile, a dinosaur, and a bird. (The middle drawing is
not complete and the leg of the crocodile should be more bent.)
Professor Marsh has described some remains of certain small
and slender little Dinosaurs (Hallopus) about the size of a fowl,
which, from the construction of their feet, he believes were

Fig. 40.— Hind limbs of (a) Bird, (b) Dinosaur, and (c) Crocodile.

capable of jumping. It is a question not yet decided whether
Dinosaurs laid eggs.

The late Sir Eichard Owen, in his great work on British Fossil
Reptiles, made some valuable remarks on the probable habits of
Dinosaurs, which deserve careful attention. He points out that
actual observation of a swimming crocodile testifies to the fact
that the fore-limbs are laid flat and motionless upon the sides of
the chest. Their chief swimming organ is, of course, the tail,
which is both long and powerful, and, in some forms, is flattened
in a vertical direction. Most of the Dinosaurs at present known
have the crocodilian swimming organ; and some, such as the

K

I30 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Claosaurus (p. 169), and the Iguanodon (p. 164), reveal it consider-
ably compressed vertically. In those forms it must have been a
cumbrous impediment in the way of walking on land ; but in others,
such as Anchisaurus (p. 142), the tail was rounder and more lizard-
like, and doubtless these carnivorous forms were less hampered in
their movements on land. Concerning the smallness of the fore
limbs. Professor Owen suggests that the forward dash of the
creature through the water in pursuit of fishy prey would be
facilitated by this reduction in size of the fore limbs, which
would take no part in movement, unless in the way of steering.

Fig. 41.— Eggs of reptiles from the Great Oolite.

On land they might be of some use in scratching out the nest for
the eggs, if they did lay eggs, as well as in helping to support
the body.

When any tribe of plants or animals becomes very flourishing,
and spreads over the face of the earth, occupying regions far
apart from one another, where the geographical and other con-
ditions, such as climate, are unlike, its members will inevitably
develop considerable differences among themselves.

During the great Mesozoic period. Dinosaurs spread over a
large part of the world; they became very numerous and

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 131

powerful. Just as the birds and beasts (quadrupeds) of to-day
show an almost endless variety, according to the circumstances
in which they are placed, so that great and powerful order of
reptiles we are now considering ran riot, and gave rise to a
variety of forms, or types.

Various attempts have been made to classify Dinosaurs and
arrange them in family groups. But considering how imperfect
our knoM'ledge is of this very great and important order of
reptiles, it is well to bear in mind that all such attempts are
provisional and temporary. Much might be said in favour of a
complete rearrangement of the classification usually adopted,
which is that of the late Professor Marsh. As at present con-
stituted, they appear to make a very artificial group.

The order is usually divided into three sub-orders, as follows :
(1) Theropoda, or beast-footed ; (2) Sauropoda, or lizard-footed ;
(3) Predentata, Ornithopoda, or Orthopoda. We shall follow
this arrangement (used by von Zittel and others) but merely
for convenience. Dr. H. Gadow raises them into a sub-class,
making the above groups into orders, which perhaps is better.

But it may be that Dinosaurs are not a homogeneous group.
Perhaps some day the sub-order Sauropoda may be taken away
altogether and placed with, or at least, near to the crocodiles,
which they resemble in some ways. But Dinosaurs are strange
beasts, very puzzling to the naturalist ; and, much as our know-
ledge of them has been extended, future discoveries may bring to
light forms quite as strange as those already known. Doubtless
hundreds of specimens lie awaiting discovery in the unexplored
fields of Asia, Africa, and South America. Dinosaurs also show
obvious resemblances to the Ehyncocephalia and the Theromorpha.
But nobody can say exactly where they should be placed. If we
try to construct a genealogical tree of the reptUes we must put

132 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the branch called Dinosaurs somewhere near crocodiles, the
sphenodon, and even the turtles.

We will take each sub-order in turn, and describe its leading
features, and some of the individual genera will be described
somewhat fully. In our previous edition the English and
the American Dinosaurs were separately dealt with ; in the
present edition they are not so divided. We have been obliged to
omit details here and there to save space, as we are now limited
to one volume, and a great part of Creatures of Other Days,
will be found to be included in the present work. The Theropoda
(or beast-footed sub-order) include such forms as Megalosaurus,
Anchisaurus, Compsognathus, etc. They played the part of lions
and tigers of the present day.

To begin with Megalosaurus. In the year 1824 that keen
observer and original thinker, the Eev. Dr. Buckland, described to
the Geological Society of London some remains of a very strange
and formidable reptile found in the Limestone of Stonesfield, near
Woodstock (about twelve miles from Oxford). This rock, known
as " Stonesfield slate " from its property of splitting up into thin
layers, has long been celebrated for its fossil remains, and from it
have been also obtained the bones of some early mammals. It is
a member of the Lower Oolitic group.

The portions of skeleton originally discovered consisted of
part of a lower jaw, with teeth, a thigh bone (femur), a series
of vertebrse of the trunk, a few ribs, and some other fragments.
The name Megalosaurus, or *' great lizard," suggested itself both
to Dr. Buckland and Baron Cuvier, because it was evident from
the size of the bones that the creature must have been very big.
It is true these bones were not found together in one spot ; but
Professor Owen came to the conclusion that they all belonged to
the same species.

'**3B!rfc.

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 133

No entire skeleton of the Megalosaur has ever been found, but
there was enough material to enable Dr. Buckland, Professor
Owen, and Professor Phillips to form a very fair idea of its general
structure. But Ceratosaurus (p. 137) is completely known. It
should be mentioned here that Dr. Mantell, the enthusiastic
geologist to whose labours palaeontologists are greatly indebted,
had previously discovered similar teeth and bones in the
Wealdeu strata of Tilgate Forest. Sherborne, in Dorset, is another
locality which has yielded a fine specimen of parts of both
jaws with teeth. A cast of this may be seen in the geological
collection at South Kensington.

The portion of a lower jaw in the Oxford Museum is twelve
inches long, with a row of
nine teeth, or sockets for teeth.
The structure of the teeth
leaves no doubt as to the car-
nivorous habits of the creature.

With a length of perhaps thirty Fig. 42.— Lower jaw-bone of Megalo-
c i. / -,oA\ 11 f f sawrMS, with teeth.

teet (see p. 139), capable of free

and rapid movement on land, with strong hind limbs, short
head, with long pointed teeth, and formidable claws to its
feet, the Megalosaur must have been without a rival among
the carnivorous reptiles on this side of the world. It probably
walked for the most part on its hind legs, as depicted in our
illustration, and Professors Huxley and Owen, on examining
the bones in the Oxford Museum, were much impressed with
the bird-like character of some parts of the skeleton, showing
an approach to the ostrich type. The form of the teeth, as
pointed out by Dr. Buckland, exhibits a remarkable combination
of contrivances.

The genus Megalosaurus — now rendered classic through the

134 EXTINCT MONSTERS

labours of Professors Buckland, Phillips, Owen, and Marsh —
may be regarded as the type of the carnivorous Dinosaurs ; and
it affords an excellent and instructive instance of the gradual
restoration of the skeleton of a new monster from more or less
fragmentary remains. Certain very excusable errors were at first
made in the restoration, but these have since been rectified by
a comparison with the allied American forms, such as Allosaurus
(see Plate XV.), of which nearly entire skeletons have of late been
discovered in strata of Jurassic age — in fact, the same rock in

Fig. 43.— Skeleton of Megalosaurus, restored from the English Oolites.

Colorado as that in which the huge Atlantosaurus bones lay hid.
The accompanying woodcut (Fig. 43) shows how the skeleton has
been restored in the light of these later discoveries of Professor
Marsh. The large bones of the limbs were hollow, and many
of the vertebrae, as well as some of those of the feet, contained
cavities, or were otherwise lightened in order to give a greater
power of rapid movement.

It is not very difficult to imagine a Megalosaur lying in wait
for his prey (perhaps a slender, harmless little mammal of the

2 -i

O 5

2 z;

S a

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME

135

ant-eater type) with his hind limbs bent under his body, so as to
bring the heels to the ground, and then with one terrific bound

Fig. 44.— Limb-bones of Allosaurus. (After Marsh.)
1. Fore leg. 2. Hind leg.

from those long legs springing on to the prey, and holding the

mammal tight in its clawed fore limbs, as a cat might hold a

136 EXTINCT MONSTERS

mouse. Then the sabre-like teeth would be brought into action
by the powerful jaws, and soon the flesh and bones of the victim
would be gone !

As we remarked before, the carnivorous Dinosaurs were the
lions and tigers of the Mesozoic era, and, what with small
mammals and numerous reptiles of those days, it would seem
that they were not limited in their choice of diet.

During the early part of the Mesozoic era, at the period known
as the Triassic (New Red Sandstone), Dinosaurs flourished
vigorously in America, developing a great variety of forms and
sizes. Although but few of their bones have as yet been dis-
covered in those rocks, they have left behind unmistakable
evidence of their presence in the well-known footprints and other
impressions upon the shores of the waters which they frequented
(see p. 48).

The late Professor Marsh had the good fortune to discover a
very peculiar new form of carnivorous Dinosaur, to which he
gave the name Ceratosaurus,^ because its skull supported a
horn. But the horn is not the only feature presented by this
interesting creature. Its vertebraj are of a strange and un-
expected type ; and in the pelvis all the bones are fused together,
as in modern birds. Externally, also, the Ceratosaurus differed
from other members of the carnivorous group, for its body was
partly protected by long plates in the skin, such as crocodiles
have : these extended from the back of the head, along the neck,
and over the back. An almost complete skeleton was found
which indicates an animal about twenty-two feet long. When
alive it was probably about half the bulk of the Allosaurus
mentioned above. (See Fig. 44.)

^ Greek — heras, horn ; sauros, lizard. Some authorities consider it to be
identical with Megalosaurus.

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME

137

Seen from above, its skull resembles in general outline that
of a crocodile, the facial portion being elongated and gradually

Fig. 45.— Skull of Ceratosaurus nasicomis. Top view. (After Marsh.)

tapering to the muzzle, with the nasal openings separate, and
placed near the end of the snout.

The teeth of this horned Dinosaur resemble those of the
Megalosaur. Its eyes were protected by protuberances of the

Fig. 46.— Skull of Ceratosaurus nasicornis. (After Slarsh.)

skull just above the cavity in which the eye was placed (see
Figs. 45 and 46). The brain was a good deal larger in proportion
to the size of the animal than in Brontosaurus and its allies ; so

138 EXTINCT MONSTERS

perhaps we may infer that it was endowed with greater intelli-
gence, as it certainly was more active in its habits. The fore
limbs, as in Megalosaurus, were small, and some of the fingers
ended in powerful claws, which no doubt it could use to good

Fig. 47. — Skeleton of Compsognathus longipes, length about 2 feet. From the
Solenhofen limestone.

purpose. This skeleton so much resembles that of Megalosaurus
that Mr. Lydekker considers they should be both included in the
genus Megalosaurus.

Perhaps the most remarkable of all the Dinosaurs was a

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME

139

diminutive creature only two feet in length, which was related
to those we have just been considering, and whose skeleton has
been found almost entire in the now famous Lithogi'aphic Stone
of Solenhofen in Bavaria. Of this unique type, the Compsogna-
thus, the skeleton of which is in many ways so bird-like, Professor
Huxley remarks, "It is impossible to look at the conformation
of this strange reptile and to doubt that it hopped, or walked, in
an erect or semi-erect position, after the manner of a bird, to
which its long neck, slight head, and small anterior limbs must
have given it an extraordinary resemblance." (See Fig. 47.)
But by far the greatest of all the carnivorous Dinosaurs was

w

Fig. 48. — Restored skeleton of the huge carnivorous Dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus
rex. (After Professor H. F. Osborn.) The shaded portions are the actual bones
discovered. A scale of meters is given at the side.

the huge and fierce beast known now as Tyrannosaurus rex, a true
example of a " terrible lizard," as the word Dinosaur denotes.
Its length was about thirty-nine feet, and height about seventeen
feet ! Plate XV. is a photograph from a restored skeleton of Allo-
saurus and Fig. 48 gives a diagrammatic view of Tyrannosaurus,
with a human skeleton for comparison, and shows which parts
were actually discovered, and which are restored, the latter being

I40 EXTINCT MONSTERS

only in outline. It was discovered in 1902 in Montana, U.S., by
the members of an expedition for the American Museum of
Natural History in Cretaceous rocks below the Laramie beds.
Previous discoveries were made in 1856, 1866, 1868, 1876, 1892,
and 1900. A specimen found in the last-named year was
described under the name of Dynamosaurus, thus indicating the
strength of the beast. It seems to have been contemporary with
the Ceratosauria, to be described later on (p. 184). Allosaurus and
liaelaps were related forms. The limb-bones in all these forms
are hollow.

Another remarkably bird-like form of Dinosaur, also found by
Professor Osborn at Como Bluffs, is the Ornitholestes, an active
little creature, which seems to have walked on its hind legs only,
like a bird. The hind limb is extremely bird-like and resembles
that of the oldest known bird, Archseopteryx (see p. 213) with
its back claw. The hand also is very bird-like, the digits being
armed with strong claws. Its bones are hollow (in fact mere
shells), another bird-like feature. The present writer was so
much struck by the resemblance between this skeleton and that
of Archseopteryx, that he even ventured to suggest that possibly
this supposed Dinosaur may have been a bird, perhaps the first
bird that ever existed !

It is perhaps hardly necessary to remark that to any one
thoroughly acquainted with the structures of living animals, a
tooth, or a series of teeth, will furnish material from which
important conclusions with regard to the structure and habits of
an extinct animal may be drawn. So also with regard to some
other parts, such as limb-bones, but more especially the bones of
which the back-bone is composed (known as vertebrae). Professor
Owen has said, " If I were restricted to a single specimen on
which to deduce the nature of an extinct animal, I should choose

MODELS OF LAELAPS RESTORED.
Reproduced by permission of the American Museum of Natural History, and

Plate XVI.

Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn.

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 141

a vertebra to work out a reptile, and a tooth in the case of a
mammal. Seven or eight different ' characters,' " he says, " may-
be deduced from a reptilian vertebra." It is of course impossible
for any one to reconstruct an entire animal from a single bone,
or a few teeth. Not even Owen could do this — in spite of the
rather frequent assertions to that effect one sees in newspapers
and magazines !

Dr. G. A. Mantell says, " Fossils have been eloquently and
appropriately termed Medals of Creation" and the eloquent
passage by which those words are followed may be transcribed
here. He goes on to say, " For as an accomplished numismatist,
even when the inscription of an ancient and unknown coin is
illegible, can from the half-obliterated effigy, and from the style
of art, determine with precision the people by whom, and the
period when, it was struck: in like manner the geologist can
decipher these natural memorials, interpret the hieroglyphics
with which they are inscribed, and from apparently the most
insignificant relics trace the history of beings of whom no other
records are extant, and ascertain the forms and habits of unknown
types of organisation whose races are swept from the face of the
earth, ere the creation of man, and the creatures which are his
contemporaries. Well might the illustrious Bergmann exclaim,
'Sunt instar nummorum memoralium quce de prceteritis globi
nostri fatis testantur, uhi omnia silent monumenta Jiistorica.' "

Geology owes a deep debt of gratitude to the late Dr. Gideon
A. Mantell, who, during the intervals of a laborious professional
life, collected and described the remains of several strange
extinct reptiles, and wrote k number of works on geology, such
as served in his day to advance the science to which he was so
enthusiastically devoted (see p. 159),

One of the oldest of the Dinosaurs seems to be the

142 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Anchisaurus ^ of Marsh, of which he has made a restoration of the
skeleton, as shown in Fig. 49. But it was only by putting to-
gether the results of several discoveries that he was enabled to give
the complete outline of its skeleton as represented in the accom-
panying figure, so it may be well to give a brief account of the
history of the discoveries that led up to this much-desired result.
As far back as the year 1818, a portion of a skeleton was dis-

FiG. 49. — A carnivorous Dinosaur, Anchisaurus colurus, from Now Red Sandstone
strata, North America. (After Marsh.)

covered in the Connecticut Valley, near Windsor. Another was
found near Springfield, and described by Hitchcock, in 1865,
under the name Megadactylus. Later on, in the year 1884, Pro-
fessor Marsh announced another discovery, near Manchester
Connecticut, in almost the same geological level, or " horizon," —
* Greek— ancAt, near; sawros, lizard.

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 143

that is to say, iu strata of about the same age, — of the remains
of an animal of larger size, but in many respects nearly allied to
the one described by Hitchcock. Both apparently belong to the
same genus. These remains seem to represent an animal about
six to eight feet long ; but, unfortunately, they are not complete,
although when first discovered the skeleton probably was com-
plete, and, with proper care, might have been preserved entire.
Another discovery was reported by Professor Marsh, in 1891,
when two interesting specimens were secured for the Yale College
Museum ; one of these was a species of the Anchisaurus. Its
skull and the greater portion of the skeleton were found in place.
The skull is of moderate size and delicate structure, and in
general shape somewhat resembles that of the curious New
Zealand reptile known as the Sphenodon, or Tuatara. The
vertebrae and limb-bones are hollow, and the whole skeleton was
lightly built ; the neck and tail were of moderate length.

Writing in the American Journal of Science for February of
1893, Professor Marsh reported that the skeletons of five small
Dinosaurs had since been discovered in the Connecticut Sand-
stone. They are sufficiently well preserved to give us most
valuable information with regard to all the chief characteristics
of the animals to which they once belonged.

With the more complete materials now in his possession.
Professor Marsh was enabled to make the restoration of the
skeleton of the genus Anchisaurus, seen in Fig. 49, We may
attribute a length of about six feet to the creature when alive.
The skeleton, from which this restoration was chiefly made, was
discovered entire, and apparently in the position in which the
animal died. Unfortunately, some of the vertebrae belonging to
the neck and tail were lost before the importance of the specimen
was realised, but the skull and nearly all the rest of the skeleton

144 EXTINCT MONSTERS

was saved. In order to complete the outline, Professor Marsh
made use of the corresponding parts, fortunately preserved, in
another specimen of an allied species, viz. Anchisaurus solus,
found in the same locality. Although it would doubtless be
preferable to make restorations from a single specimen only,
because the result would be free from all doubt (except perhaps
in some of the positions assigned to limbs, etc.), yet this is seldom
possible. Those who make extinct forms of life their study are
frequently obliged to adopt the method of scholars in reconstruct-
ing the text of some classical author, who, when breaks, or
lacunce, occur in one manuscript, consult another one which they
consider trustworthy, and from it fill in the gaps.

The restoration of this Dinosaur shown in Plate XVII. is
based on the figure of the skeleton shown above. The Anchi-
saurus colurus was one of the most slender and delicate of all the
Dinosaurs yet discovered, being only surpassed in this respect by
the little bird-like form, from the Solenhofen slate, known as
Compsognathus, the skeleton of which is reproduced for com-
parison on p. 138. This was the creature of which Professor
Huxley remarked that no one could look at it without con-
cluding that it must have hopped about on its hind feet, like a
bird. The position chosen for the Anchisaurus, as represented
in our Plate, is one which, doubtless, the creature was in the
habit of assuming during life. But, at the same time, there
can be but little doubt that it was also in the habit of pro-
gressing on all-fours. In fact, some persons may think that it
looks a little " top-heavy," so to speak, in this semi-erect position
assigned to it. But, as other carnivorous Dinosaurs of a later
period must have walked erect on their hind legs, we may be
allowed to follow Professor Marsh in this matter, and to adopt
his conclusion.

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 145

But the most interesting opinion connected with this dis-
covery is that the Anchisaurus was probably the creature
that made some of the tracks found in the strata in which its
remains were buried up (see chap. II., p. 44). For half a
century or more these tracks have been a fruitful source of con-
tention, and now at last we seem to be literally " on the track "
of one of the many antediluvian creatures that made them. This
is very satisfactory, and shows that time solves most things.
Professor Marsh points out that, on a firm but moist beach, only
three-toed impressions would have been left by the hind feet, and
the tail could have been kept free from the ground. On a soft
muddy shore, the claw of the first toe of the hind foot would have
left its mark, and perhaps the tail also might have touched the
ground. As we have already remarked, such additional im-
pressions have been found on the Connecticut Sandstones (see
Plate I.).

One other carnivorous Dinosaur, named Ammosaurus by Pro-
fessor Marsh, and allied to the one above described, is also partly
known in the same strata, but we cannot at present give any
account of it. One or two other forms from Triassic strata are
only imperfectly known ; such as the Thecodontosaurus, from the
Triassic conglomerate of Clifton, Bristol, and Zanclodon, from
Germany and South Africa.

Taking one consideration wdth another, there can be but little
doubt that Dinosaurs flourished vigorously during the period of
the New Ked Sandstone. We have two kinds of evidence to con-
firm such a conclusion ; one is the large number and variety of
footprints which they have left behind — although, of course, we
cannot suppose that they were all made by Dinosaurs ; for, as we
have seen, some were probably due to tortoises, while others were
probably made by Labyrinthodonts and perhaps even Anomodonts.

146 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Another piece of evidence is the known fact that Dinosaurs were
abundant in the succeeding Jurassic period. Judging from the
size of some of the footprints, it would appear that not a few of
the Triassic forms attained large dimensions. And, if the strata
had been more favourable, we should have had more of them pre-
served, Belodon, described in the author's Creatures of Other
Days as a crocodile, has been proved by recent discoveries in
America to be a Dinosaur of Triassic age.

We pass on to consider the very interesting and huge forms
included by the late Professor Marsh (of Yale College), in
his suborder Sauropoda, or lizard-footed Dinosaurs. Various
parts of the skeletons, such as vertebrae, leg-bones, etc., of these
cumbrous beasts have long been known in this country ; but
Professor Marsh weis the first person to discover a complete
skeleton.

We shall, therefore, now turn our attention to the bony frame-
work of the huge Brontosaurus (Fig. 50), a vegetable-feeding lizard.
But it will be necessary to completely lay aside all our previous
notions taken from lizards of the present day, with their short
legs and snake-like scaly bodies, before we can come to any fair
conclusion with regard to this monstrous beast.

It was nearly sixty feet long, and probably when alive weighed
more than thirty-eight tons! that it was a stupid, slow-moving
reptile, may be inferred from its very small brain and slender
spinal cord. By taking casts of the brain-cavities in the skulls of
extinct animals, anatomists can obtain a very good idea of the
nature and capacity of their brains ; and in this way important
evidence is obtained, and such as helps to throw light upon their
habits and general intelligence. No bony plates or spines have
been discovered with the remains of this monster ; so that we are
driven to conclude that it was wholly without armour : and.

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME

147

moreover, there seem to be no signs of offensive weapons of any
kind except the lash of the tail.

Professor Marsh concludes that it was more or less amphibious

P4

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P <

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I a
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'o ^

CO

i

in its habits, and that it fed upon aquatic plants and other succu-
lent vegetation. Its remains, he says, are generally found in

148 EXTINCT MONSTERS

localities where the animal had evidently become mired, just as
cattle at the present day sometimes become hopelessly fixed in a
swampy place on the margin of a lake or river (see p. 19). Each
track made by the creature in walking occupied one square yard
in extent !

The Sauropoda, or lizard-footed Dinosaurs, show in many ways
a decided approach to a simple or generalised crocodile ; so much
so, that Professor Cope is inclined to include crocodiles and sauro-
podous Dinosaurs in the same order. Vertebrae, limb-bones,
skulls, and teeth have all been discovered through the zeal and
energy of Professor Marsh and his comrades, in the far west of
America, as well as by the researches of English geologists, assisted
by the labours of many ardent collectors of fossils, in this country.
Some of these may now be briefly considered.

In Plate XVIII. we have endeavoured to give some idea of a
huge thigh-bone (femur) belonging to the truly gigantic Dinosaur
called Atlantosaurus. It is six feet two inches long, and a cast
of it may be seen in the fossil reptile gallery of the British
Museum of Natural History. It should be mentioned, however,
that the original specimen is partly restored, so that its exact
length to an inch or so is not quite certain. In our illustration
it is shown to be a little taller, when placed upright, than a full-
grown man. Professor Marsh, the fortunate discoverer of this
wonderful bone, calculates that the Atlantosaui'us must have
attained a length of over eighty feet ! and, assuming that it
walked upon its hind feet, a height of thii'ty feet !

It doubtless fed upon the luxuriant foliage of the sub-tropical
forests, portions of which are preserved with its remains. Besides
this thigh-bone, Professor Marsh has procured specimens of
vertebrae from the different parts of the vertebral column ; but no
skull or teeth. The vertebrae are hollowed out much in the same

THIGH-BONE OF A HUGE DINOSAUR, ATLAXTOSAURUS.
From a cast in the Natural History Museum, London. Length 6 feet 2 inches.
Plate XVIIL

j

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME

149

way as those of Brontosaurus. The fore limbs were large, as in
the latter animal ; and the extremities of the limbs were provided
with claws. It had two sternal bones like Diplodocus (see
Plate XXI.). Taking all present evidence, it appears that the
Atlantosaurus bore a general resemblance to its smaller con-
temporary. We can therefore form a fairly good idea of its aspect
and proportions.

The same Jurassic strata from the Eocky Mountains have

1.

Fig. 51. — Neck vertebrae of Brontosaurus.
1. Front view. 2. Back view.

yielded remains of another big Dinosaur, belonging to the same
family. This genus, which has been named the Apatosaurus, is
represented by a nearly complete skeleton, in the Yale College
Museum ; and it is fortunately in an excellent state of preservation.
Another species, of smaller size, though not so complete, adorns
the same collection. This was about thirty feet long, and is
known as Apatosaurus grandis.

The remarkably small head is one of the most striking features
of these Dinosaurs, and presents a curious contrast to the large

I50 EXTINCT MONSTERS

and formidable skulls possessed by some other forms to be
described further on. But it is clear that no animal with such
a long neck as this creature had could have borne the weight
of a heavy skull. Short thick necks and heavy skulls always
go together. Indeed, the weight of the long neck itself would
have been serious had it not been for the fact that the vertebrae
in this part of the skeleton, and as far as the region of the tail,
have large cavities in the side^ of the centra. This cavernous
structure of the vertebrae gradually decreases towards the tail.
The cavities communicated with a series of internal cavities
which give a kind of honeycombed structure to the whole
vertebrae. This arrangement affords a combination of strength
and lightness in the massive supports required for the huge
ribs, limbs, and muscles, such as could not have been provided
by any other plan. (See Fig. 51.)

The body of the Brontosaur was comparatively short, with a
fairly large paunch (see restoration, Plate XIX.). The legs and
feet were strong and massive, and the limb-bones solid. As
if partly in order to balance the neck, we find a long and power-
ful tail, in which the vertebrae are nearly all solid. In most
Dinosaurs the fore limbs are small compared to the hind limbs —
e.g. Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Scelidosaurus, — but here we
find them unusually large. In this case, then, it is hardly
possible that the creature walked upon its hind legs, as many
of the Dinosaurs did. There can be little doubt but that many
other fierce and formidable Dinosaurs were living at the same
time and in the same region with Brontosaurus, whose remains
are found in the Jurassic rocks of Colorado (Atlantosaurus beds).

How this apparently helpless and awkward animal escaped in
the struggle for existence it is not easy to conjecture ; but since
there is reason to believe it was more or less at home in the

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 151

water, and could use its powerful tail in swimming, we may
perhaps find a way out of the difficulty by supposing that, when
alarmed by dangerous flesh-eating foes, it took to the water, and
found discretion to be the better part of valour. Although
apparently stupid, the Brontosaur probably possessed a good deal
of cunning, and we can fancy it stretching its long neck above
reeds, ferns, and cycads to get a view of the approaching
enemy.

The remains of this interesting Dinosaur (Brontosaurus), which
in several ways differs from other members of the " lizard-footed "
group, were found in Upper Jurassic beds, near Canon City,
Colorado. A second smaller species was also discovered near
Morrison, Colorado. All the remains lay in the Atlantosaurus
beds. These strata — the tomb in which Nature has buried up
so many of her dragons of old time — can be traced for several
hundred miles on the flanks of the Eocky Mountains, and are
always to be known by the bones they contain. They lie above
the Triassic strata and just below the Sandstone of the Dakota
group. Some have regarded them as of Cretaceous age; but,
judging from their fossils, there can be but little doubt that they
were deposited during the Jurassic period — probably in an old
estuary. They consist of shale and sandstone.

Besides the numerous Dinosaurs, Professor Marsh's colleagues
have found abundant remains of crocodiles, tortoises, and fishes,
with one Pterodactyl, a flying reptile (see Chap, XL), and several
small marsupials. The wonderful collection of American Jurassic
Dinosaurs in the Museum of Yale College includes the remains
of several hundred individuals, many of them in excellent pre-
servation, and has afforded to Professor Marsh the material for
his classification already alluded to.

For a good many years past the State of Wyoming has been

152 EXTINCT MONSTERS

famous as a liappy hunting ground for geologists in search of
prehistoric monsters. It was here that Marsh and others found
the bones of creatures whose existence had never been suspected,
some of which we have abeady described. But it was in the
year 1897 that Mr. Walter Granger, of the American Museum
Expedition, discovered the greatest and most wonderful site for
fossil bones ever known in the whole history of Science, It
simply teems with bones. Dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, etc. !
Professor H. F. Osborn has been working on this site for six
years (from 1898), and has taken therefrom bones weighing
nearly 100,000 lbs. (over 44 tons).^ Judging from the number
of thigh bones, these probably represent 73 animals of the
following kinds : Giant herbivorous Dinosaurs, 44 ; plated herbi-
vorous ditto, 3 ; large carnivorous ditto, 6 ; small carnivorous
ditto, 3 ; crocodiles, 4 ; turtles, 5.

But the site is not yet exhausted ; it lies not far from Medicine
Bow Eiver, and is marked by a ruined hut which some shepherd
had built up with blocks of stone containing petrified bones.
The illustration on Plate XX. shows a hind limb of a Diplodocus
nearly six feet long ! from a photograph kindly lent by Professor
Osborn. The site is now known as "Bone-cabin Quarry" — a
building probably unique in the world's liistory. At the Como
Bluffs (Cliffs), about ten miles off, single animals lie from twenty
to one hundred feet apart ; but whole skeletons are seldom found.
The late Professor Marsh, however, got a nearly complete Bronto-
saurus here, which is now in the Yale Museum. A geologist
is more likely to find a complete tail, or a long neck, or a good
part of the trunk. Skulls are rare, unfortunately. Professor
Osborn suggests that we have here the site of an old river-bar

* The Century Magazine, September, 1904. The Fossil Wi/ndei-a of the
West, by Professor H. F. Osborn.

. '« 'i

HIND-IiEG BONES OF DIPLODOCUS, i)l ^itu, BOi>"E-CABIi; QUARRY,

MEDICINE BOW, WYOMING.

Reproduced by permission of Prof. Henry Fairfield Ostorn and the American Museum of

Natural History.

Plate XX.

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME

153

which arrested the floating carcases (more or less decomposed)
which had slowly drifted down the stream towards it.

Diplodocus is almost the largest fossil reptile that has yet been
discovered. From the illustration showing one of the hind limbs
the reader probably surmises that Brontosaurus was a near
relation, which is true. Certain bones, and a skull of the former,
have been known for the last twenty years, but no oiu complete
skeleton has ever been found. However, through the labours
of Marsh, Hatcher, and Dr. W. J. Holland, enough material has
been collected to build up a complete model or reconstruction
1 2

Fig. 52. — Skull of Diplodocus.
1. Side view. 2. Front view.

of the skeleton of this truly wonderful giant reptile, as shown
in Plate XXI. It is a cast in plaster-of-Paris — the gift of Mr.
Andrew Carnegie, who, by his generous gifts, is doing much to
further scientific researches in various directions. This model
when first set up in the gallery devoted (chiefly) to modern
reptiles attracted a great deal of attention. Not unnaturally, for
it is so stupendous. A reptile 84J feet long was something
quite new to the public. This model is an exact copy of the
original composite skeleton, to be seen in the Carnegie Museum,
Pittsburgh. Each bone was cast in a separate mould made from

154 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the original bone, so that for all practical purposes this model
is as good as the original. It seems a pity that there is no
room for it in the fossil reptile gallery, along with Cetiosaurus
and other allies. Both geologists and naturalists are hoping that
some day our Government will give a grant for the extension
of the British Museum (N"atural History) in Cromwell Eoad, and
then we might have a spacious gallery entirely devoted to fossil
reptiles. Failing that, there is still a hope that some rich man
may come forward to supply the funds for this great improve-
ment. The material for this reconstruction, made under the
direction of Dr. W. J. Holland, director of the Carnegie Museum,
Pittsburgh, comes from four incomplete skeletons : One was found
by Dr. J. L. Wortman, in an expedition made in the year 1899,
another by Mr. 0. A. Peterson, in another expedition the follow-
ing year. Both specimens came from the same quarry, in Sheep
Creek, in Albany, County Wyoming, which had previously yielded
so much material to Dr. Wortman. Later on another two, or
more, turned up, each incomplete. No complete skull has yet
been found : Marsh had two incomplete skulls, and the Carnegie
Museum has another. The American Museum of Natural
History has two others (see Fig. 52) also incomplete. In these
circumstances a restoration had to be made from the material
at hand, and missing parts supplied by a study of the skull of
Brontosaurus, which is a near relation. This seems justifiable ;
and we may add that the tail, consisting of 70 vertebrse, has
been found complete : a large part of the trunk also. So, with
the neck, Diplodocus had a height of 14 feet, if it stood erect
as shown in Plate XXII. Professor Tornier, however, thinks the
legs were more or less bent. This view is partly expressed in our
restoration. The teeth are small and weak, probably serving to
collect succulent vegetation. The nostrils open quite in the top

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 155

of the head, a position which would be convenient to an air-
breathing animal that spent most of its time in the water.

With regard to what may be called the architecture of this
huge skeleton, Professor Osborn says : " The backbone is indeed
a marvel. The fitness of the construction consists, like that of
the American truss-bridge, in attaining the maximum of strength
with the minimum of weight."

Morosaurus is an allied form, also from the Atlantosaurus beds
of Wyoming, with a long neck and small head. But no complete
skeleton has yet been found.

Unfortunately, there are at present no complete skeletons
known of English Dinosaurs related to the American forms above
described. But, since the English fossils were first in evidence
by many years, and Marsh's discoveries have confirmed in a
remarkable way conclusions drawn by Owen, Huxley, Hulke,
and Seeley, and others from materials that were rather frag-
mentary, it may be worth while to give some account of these
remains and the interpretations they have received.

Dr. Buckland, in his Bndgewater Treatise, 1836, referred to a
limb-bone in the Oxford Museum, from the great Oolite forma-
tion near Woodstock, which was examined by Cuvier, and
pronounced to have once belonged to a whale ; also a very large
rib, which seemed whale-like. In 1838 Professor Owen, when
collecting materials for his famous Report on the Fossil Reptiles
of Great Britain, inspected this remarkable limb-bone, and
could not match it with any bones known among the whale
tribe; and yet its structure, where exposed, was like that of
the long bone (humerus) of the paddle of a whale. Later on,
he abandoned the idea that it once belonged to a whale, and it
was thought that the extinct animal in question might have
been a reptile of the crocodilian order. In time, a fine series

156 EXTINCT MONSTERS

of limb-bones and vertebroe was added to the Oxford Museum
by Professor Phillips (Dr. Buckland's successor at Oxford), who
pronounced them to be Dinosaurian. The name " Cetiosaurus "
(or Whale-lizard), originally given by Owen, was unfortunate,
because there is really nothing whale-like about it, except a
certain coarse texture of some of the bones.

In 1848 Dr. Buckland announced the discovery of another
limb-bone (a femur), which Owen referred to Cetiosaurus; it
was four feet three inches in length. Between 1868 and 1870,
however, a considerable portion of a skeleton was discovered in
the same formation at Kirtlington Station, near Oxford. These
remains were the subject of careful examination by Professors
Owen and Phillips. The femur this time was five feet four
inches long. Their studies threw much light on the nature and
habits of Cetiosaurus.

Of late years, Mr. Alfred N. Leeds, who has so zealously col-
lected fossil bones from the Oxford clay near Eyebury (especially
those of Plesiosauri, see p. 79) has brought together a large
number of bones of the Cetiosaurus. These have been acquired
by the British Museum (Natural History Department), and
may be seen at South Kensington, where a large part of a skeleton
may be seen mounted. It consists of most of the tail, the left
hind limb, and the right fore limb. The height at the hip is
ten feet six inches, and the total length probably was sixty feet.
The skull is not known. Here again it is possible that the legs
were more or less bent outwards as in lizards and crocodiles.

It is evident that Cetiosaurus was closely allied to the
American Brontosaurus (p. 150); and so these earlier English
discoveries have gained much in interest from the light thrown
upon them by Professor Marsh's huge Saurian.

Another English Saurian of this group was the Ornithopsis,

DRAGONS OF OLD TIME 157

from Wealden strata iu the Isle of Wight, which has been the
subject of careful study by Mr. Hulke and Professor Seeley.
Their conclusions, based on the examination of separate portions
of the skeleton (such as vertebrae), have been singularly con-
firmed by the discovery of Brontosaurus.

In Ornithopsis the vertebrae of the neck and back, though of
great size, were remarkably light, and yet of great strength. One
of the vertebrae of the back had a body, or centrum, ten inches
long. Hoplosaurus and Pelorosaurus were evidently reptiles closely
allied to the above types; but at present are so imperfectly known
that we need not consider them here. On a recent visit to Berlin
the writer was informed by Professor Brauer of the discovery in
German East Africa of immense quantities of Dinosaurian bones.
Among these one femur exceeds in length that of Diplodocus by
several inches.

CHAPTER IX

DINOSAURS {continued)

" Everything in Nature is engaged in writing its own history : the planet
and the pebble are attended by their shadows, the rolling rock leaves its
furrows on the mountain side, the river its channel in the soil, the animal its
bones in the stratum, the fern and the leaf inscribe their modest epitaphs on
the coal, the falling drop sculptures its story on the sand and on the stone, —
not a footstep on the snow or on the ground, but traces in characters more or
less enduring the record of its progress." — Emeksok.

We propose now to give a brief account of a wonderful group
of Dinosaurs, first introduced to the scientific world through Dr.
Mantell's labours. The first of these monsters is the Iguanodon,
the earliest known individual of the " bird-footed " division
(Ornithopoda). The history of the gradual reconstruction of its
skeleton is an instructive instance of the results that may be
obtained by a careful and patient study of fragmentary remains.
Through the labours of Dr. Mantell, in the first half of the last
century, a considerable knowledge was acquired of the greater
part of the skeleton, but certain portions remained a puzzle ;
these, however, were eventually explained by Professor Huxley
and Mr. Hulke, and a few years ago a series of complete
skeletons was most fortunately obtained in Belgium, so that
now every part of the huge framework of this monster is
known to the palaeontologist. Its history, as a fossil, is most
interesting, and furnishes one more example of the marvellous
insight into the nature of extinct animals displayed by the

DINOSAURS

159

illustrious Baron Cuvier. Let us begin with the teeth, since
they were the first part of the monster brought to light.

The first specimens of the teeth of Iguanodon were found by
Mrs. Mantell, in 1822 (see Fig. 53), in the coarse conglomerate
of certain strata in Tilgate Forest, belonging to the Cretaceous
period (see Table of Strata, Appendix I.). Dr. and Mrs. Mantell
subsequently collected a most interesting series of these remark-
able teeth (which, for a time, puzzled the most learned men of

Fig. 53. — Tooth of Iguanodon, with the apex slightly worn. (From the
Wealden Beds of Tilgate Forest. Natural size.) 1. Front aspect, showing the
longitudinal ridges and serrated margins of the crown. 2. View of the back, or
inner surface of the tooth, a. Serrated margins, h. Apex of the crown worn by use.

the day), from the perfect tooth of a young animal, to the last
stage, that of a mere long stump worn away by mastication.
In external form they bore a striking resemblance to the grinders
of herbivorous mammals, and were wholly unlike any that had
previously been known. The first specimen that arrested his
attention was a large tooth, which, from the worn surface of
its crown, had evidently once belonged to some herbivorous
animal. In form it so entirely resembled the corresponding

i6o EXTINCT MONSTERS

part of au incisor tooth of a large quadruped ground down by
use, that Dr. Mantell was much embarrassed to account for its
presence in the ancient Wealden strata, in which, according to
all previous experience, no fossil remains of mammals would be
likely to occur. No reptiles of the present day are capable of
masticating their food ; how, then, could he venture to assign
it to a reptile ? Here was a puzzle to be solved, and in his
perplexity he determined to try whether the great naturalist at
Paris would be able to throw any light on the question. Through
Sir Charles (then Mr.) Lyell, this perplexing tooth was submitted
to Baron Guvier; and great was the doctor's astonishment on
hearing that it had been without hesitation pronounced to be
the upper incisor of a rhinoceros! The same tooth, with some
other specimens, had already been exhibited at a meeting of the
Greological Society, and shown to Dr. Buckland, Mr. Conybeare,
and others, but with no more satisfactory result. Worse than
that : Dr. Mantell was told that the teeth were of no particular
interest, and that, without doubt, they either belonged to some
large fish, or were the teeth of a mammal, and derived from
some superficial deposit of the "glacial drift," then called
Diluvium !

There was one man, however, who foresaw the importance of
Mantell's discovery, and that was Dr. Wollaston. This dis-
tinguished philosopher, though not a naturalist, supported the
doctor's idea that the teeth belonged to an unknown herbivorous
reptile, and encouraged him to continue his researches.

The workmen in the quarry were stimulated by suitable
rewards, and at length the doctor's efforts resulted in the dis-
covery of teeth which displayed the curious serrated edges, and
the entire form of the unused crown. Having forwarded speci-
mens and drawings of these to Paris, Dr. Mantell went to

DINOSAURS i6i

London, and ransacked all the drawers in the Hunterian Museum
that contained jaws and teeth of reptiles, but without finding
any that threw light on this subject. Fortunately, Mr. Samuel
Stutchbury, then a young man, was present, and proposed to
show him the skeleton of an Iguana, which he had himself pre-
pared from a specimen that had long been immersed in spirits.
And now the puzzle was in a fair way to being solved; for, to
his great delight, the doctor found that the minute teeth of that
reptile bore a closer resemblance in their general form to those
from Tilgate Forest than any others he had ever seen.

In spite of this fortunate discovery, however, others remained
obstinate and unconvinced ; and it was not until he had collected
a series of specimens, exhibiting various stages of the teeth, that
the correctness of his opinion was admitted, either as to their
true interpretation, or the age of the strata in which they were
imbedded. And now there came good news from Paris. Cuvier,
with the fresh material submitted to him, had boldly renounced
his previous opinion, and gave the weight of his great authority
to the view maintained by the discoverer of these teeth. In a
letter to the doctor he said that such teeth were quite unknown
to him, and that they belonged to some reptile. He suggested
that they implied the existence of a new animal, a herlivorous
reptile. Time would either confirm or disprove the idea, and in
the mean time he advised Dr. Mantell to seek diligently for
further evidence, and, if part of a jaw could be found with
teeth adhering, he believed he could solve the problem. In his
immortal work, Ossemens Fossiles, Cuvier generously admits his
former mistake, and said he was entirely convinced of his error.

Baron Cuvier alone amongst the doctor's friends or corre-
spondents was able to give any hint as to the character and
probable relations of the animal to which the recently discovered

M

i62 EXTINCT MONSTERS

teeth belonged. Being hampered by arduous professional duties
in a provincial town, remote from museums and libraries, Dr.
Mantell transmitted to the Eoyal Society figures and drawings of
the specimens, and, at the suggestion of the Eev. W. D. Cony-
beare, adopted the name Iguanodon (Iguana-tooth) for the extinct
reptile, a name which pointed to the resemblance of its teeth to
those of the modern iguana, a land-lizard some three to five feet
long, inhabiting many parts of America and the West Indies,
and rarely met with north or south of the tropics.

In all living reptiles the insects or vegetables on which they
feed are seized by the tongue or teeth, and swallowed whole, so
that a movable covering to the jaws, similar to the lips and cheeks
of the mammalia, is not necessary, either for seizing and retain-
ing food or for subjecting it by muscular movements to the action
of the teeth. It is the power of perfect mastication possessed by
the Iguanodon that is so strange, for it implies a most remarkable
approach in extinct reptiles to characters possessed now only by
herbivorous mammalia, such as horses, cows, deer, etc. Erom
this and other strange characters seen in the Dinosaurs, we learn
that they in their day played the part of our modern mammals,
whether carnivorous or herbivorous, and showed remarkable
approach to the mammalian type, which of course is a much
higher one. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at that Dr.
Mantell's contemporaries, with the exception of Cuvier, found in
these teeth an awkward puzzle and refused to believe that they
belonged to a reptile. Such a notion was at variance with all
previous experience; and we naturally form our conclusions
largely by experience. The importance of discovering, if possible,
a portion of the jaw of an Iguanodon was fully recognised by
Dr. Mantell, and, urged by the encouragement he had received
from the illustrious Cuvier, he eagerly sought for the required

DINOSAURS 163

evidence. But nearly a quarter of a century elapsed before it was
forthcoming. In the years 1841 and 1848 portions of the lower
jaw with some attached teeth were found. It is very interesting
in the light of recent discoveries to read the conclusions arrived
at by Mantell and Owen, with regard to the organisation of this
great Wealden reptile, and to see how, with the exception of
certain details, they have been confirmed. Considering the
imperfect nature of the materials at their command, it is
wonderful that their forecasts should have turned out so
successful. Thus Professor Owen predicted for the Iguanodon
a total length of twenty-eight feet, and specimens discovered of
late years show a length of twenty-four feet.

Dr. Mantell also was the first to prove, from the nature of the
Wealden strata, that they were deposited in or near the estuary
of a mighty river. With regard to the aspect of the country in
which the Iguanodon flourished, he showed that coniferous trees
probably clothed its Alpine regions ; palms and arborescent ferns,
and cycadaceous plants {i.e. plants resembling the modern zamia
or " false palm ") constituted the groves and forests of its plains
and valleys ; and in its fens and marshes the equisetacea (mare's
tails) and plants of a like nature prevailed. Since the days
of Dr. Mantell, the remains of Iguanodon or other closely
allied genera have been found on the Continent, in England, and
North America, in strata of various ages, from the Trias or
New Red Sandstone to the Chalk (see Table of Strata,
Appendix I.). The American Hadrosaurus must have been
an allied form.

In the year 1878 was announced one of the most fortunate
discoveries known in the whole history of geological science —
a discovery unique of its kind, and one which throws considerable
light on the nature of the monster first discovered by Dr. Mantell.

i64 EXTINCT MONSTERS

In that year came the good news that no less than twenty-
three Iguanodons had been found in the colliery of Bernissart,
in Belgium, between Mons and Tournai, near the French frontier.
The specimens so skilfully set up by M. de Pauw represent two
distinct species. The larger one, Iguanodon Bernissartensis,
cannot be less than fifteen feet high, and, measured from the tip
of the snout to the end of the tail, is rather over thirty feet long,

Fig. 54. — Skeleton of Iguanodon Bernissartensis. (After DoUo.)

covering nearly twenty-four feet of ground in its erect position
(see Fig. 54), Iguanodon Mantelli is smaller and more slender
looking, with a height of over ten feet, and a length of about
twenty feet. (See Fig. 55.)

The huge three- toed impressions found in Sussex (see p. 166)
prove that the monster, although owning a body as large as that
of an elephant, habitually walked on its hind legs ! Some of the
thigh-bones found by Dr. Mantell measured between four and five

Plate XXIII.

IGUAXODO>' BEBXISSARTENSIS.
Length about 30 feet.
Illustration lent by H. R. Knipe (from Xehula to Man').

DINOSAURS

165

feet in length. It will be seen that the fore limbs are small in
comparison to the hind limbs, A remarkable feature of the hand
is the large pointed bone at the end of the thumb, forming a kind
of spur. The conical shape of this bone found by Dr. Mantell,
who had no clue to its place in the skeleton, led him to suppose
that it was a horn answering to that of a rhinoceros — a conclusion
which Professor Owen refused for various reasons to accept. The
latter concluded that it belonged to the hand, and now we see

Fig. 55. — Skull and skeleton of Iguatwdon Mantelli. (After Dollo.)

that he was right. It has been suggested that the spur was a
weapon of offence, and that, when attacked, an Iguanodon may
have seized its aggressor in its short arms, and made use of the spur
as a dagger. But this is only conjecture, and perhaps the spur may
have been useful in seizing and pulling down the foliage and
branches of trees, or in grubbing them up by the roots. Detached
specimens of this curious bone may be seen among the other

i66 EXTINCT MONSTERS

remains of Iguanodon at South Kensington, and also some of the
gigantic tracks already alluded to. A complete cast of a skeleton
may be seen in the reptile gallery of the Natural History
Museum.

The Bernissart specimens even afford some evidence as to the
nature of the integument, or skin, and this supports the idea
previously held that the creature possessed a smooth skin, or,
at least, only slightly roughened. The muzzle was quite tooth-
less, and perhaps may have been sheathed in horn, like the beak

r)

■0

Fig. 56. — Tracks of Igtianodon, much reduced. From Wealden strata, Sussex.

of turtles — an arrangement highly useful for biting off the leaves
of trees.

Probably it passed much of its time in the water, using its
immense powerful tail as an organ of propulsion. When swim-
ming slowly it may have used both sets of limbs, but when going
fast it probably fixed its fore limbs closely beside its body, and
drove itself through the water by means of the long hind limbs
alone. M. Dollo, of Brussels, is preparing a final monograph
on the Bernissart Iguanodons, a work to which palaeontologists

DINOSAURS 167

eagerly look forward. The Brussels Museum now contains ten
mounted specimens, and twelve more lying in position on the
rock. There cannot be much doubt that these unarmoured
Dinosaurs were molested and preyed upon by their carnivorous
contemporaries, such as the fierce Megalosaurus, previously
described (p. 134). And with regard to this, M. DoUo
makes the suggestion that, when on land, their great height and
erect posture enabled them to descry such enemies a long way
ofiF. Their great height must also have stood them in good stead,
by enabling them easily to reach the leaves of trees, tree-ferns,
cycads, and other forms of vegetable life, which constituted their
daily food. (See Plate XXIII.)

Should the reader visit the " geological island " in the grounds
of the Crystal Palace, he will see that Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins's
great model Iguanodon there set up is by no means in accord-
ance with the description given above; but we must remember
how imperfect was the material at his command. Mr. Karl
Hagenbeck has recently added to his famous Zoological
Gardens at Hamburg a number of life-size models of extinct
animals, thus following in the footsteps of Mr. Waterhouse
Hawkins, but with happier results. It is a step in the right
direction, for the Science of Palgeontology has made such great
strides in the last forty or fifty years that a great deal of light
has been thrown on the ancestry of living animals, and thus the
student of life as it is to-day finds himself led back into past
ages in order to get some glimpses into the evolution of the
various orders and families now inhabiting the world.

Just as the Ceratosaurus of the New World is represented by,
or rather corresponds to, the Megalosaurus of the Old World, so
the other newly discovered Dinosaur, which we are about to
describe, shows a good deal of correspondence with the now

1 68

EXTINCT MONSTERS

well-known Iguanodon. It is called by Professor Marsh, Clao-
saurus ; and it represents a whole family of herbivorous Dinosaurs.
In length it was nearly thirty feet, and must have stood nearly
fifteen feet high. The remains of this remarkable creature were
discovered by two of Professor Marsh's assistants in the Laramie

Fig. 57. — 1. Skull of Claosaurtis annectens, side view. 2. The same, front view.

(After Marsh.)

beds of Wyoming, associated with those of the still more strange
Triceratops, and also of some diminutive mammals lately dis-
covered.

The most important feature in the skeleton of the Claosaurus
is the skull. This is long and narrow, and, as seen in Fig. 57,

DINOSAURS

169

has a large muzzle, the surface of which is considerably
roughened, showing that it was covered, during life, with hard and
thickened skin. The brain of the creature was very small in pro-
portion to its skull. The orbits for the eyes are large, suggesting
large eyes ; and its sense of smell was probably pretty keen. The
teeth resemble those of Hadrosaurus, an allied form. Succulent
vegetation probably was the main diet of this animal. The whole
backbone, or vertebral column, was found complete, with the

Fig. 58. — Skeleton of a large herbivorous Dinosaur, Claosaurus annectens, from
Cretaceous strata, North America. (After Marsh.)

exception of a few little vertebrae from the end of the tail. Alto-
gether there were about ninety vertebrae in the backbone of this
powerful creature. The reader will perceive, from the drawing of
the skeleton, in Fig. 58, that this Dinosaur must have possessed
a long and powerful tail, such as would have constituted a most
useful organ of propulsion through the water. As in its ally,
Iguanodon, the vertebrae of the tail are compressed in a vertical

I70 EXTINCT MONSTERS

directiou, Plate XXIV., which is a restoration, should be compared
with the drawing of the skeleton in Fig. 58. Another important
feature of the skeleton is the remarkable ossified tendons, by
means of which the neural spines of the vertebrae were held
together, and so strengthened. They increase in number in the
region of the thighs, and also in the first part of the tail.

The reader will have noticed the smallness of the fore limbs
compared with the hind limbs. This is often the case with
Dinosaurs. Only three fingers of the hand were used — the first
was a rudimentary one ; the second and third were of nearly
equal length, the fourth shorter, and the fifth entirely wanting.
These long fingers ended in hoofs, not claws ; the fore limb as a
whole was adapted for walking and support, rather than for
purposes of prehension, although the latter might have been
expected from its small size and position. The hind limb, has
three digits, all well developed and massive. These were covered
with fairly broad hoofs, and it is clear that this Dinosaur was in
the habit of walking on its hind legs. It is distinguished from
Hadrosaurus, a near ally, by the fact that its limb-bones, instead
of being hollow, are all solid. This piece of evidence tends to
confirm the idea that Claosaurus was fond of the water ; for it has
been pointed out by Owen, Marsh, and other authorities, that
land animals, having to support the weight of their bodies on
land, have hollow bones ; while those which live in the water, like
whales, being buoyed up by the action of the water, and thus
having so much weight taken ofi" their hands and feet, have their
limb-bones solid.

The late Professor von Zittel considered that possibly Claosaurus
was not to be distinguished from Hadrosaurus.

There is an unusually fine example of a mounted skeleton in
the United States National Museum (Washington), to which the

DINOSAURS 171

name Trachodon has been given, but it is really the same genus.
Professor F. A. Lucas says that in some cases the impression of
the skin was preserved in the surrounding rock, and that it
appears from these that the creature was covered with small
horny plates. Another at Yale University is twenty-nine feet
long. The Natural History Museum possesses a specimen
showing the skin. Gallery IV., Wall-case 8.

The late IMr. J. W. Hulke, another English authority on
Dinosaurs, described some twenty years ago a very remarkable
and slender form of Dinosaur, on which we must now, in con-
clusion, say a few words. Professor Huxley has also helped to
unravel the meaning of its structure. Hypsilophodon is the name
this little creature has received, on account of the nature of its teeth.
As far as we know it was the smallest of the Dinosaurs with the
exception of the Compsognathus ^ and Hallopus, and Scleromochlus.
It is certainly the least specialised — that is, the least highly orga-
nised. It lived during the Wealden period, or, in other words,
during the closing scenes of the great Mesozoic era, and so was
contemporary with others of a much more specialised character.
As a rule the remains of animals found in our English Wealden
and Cretaceous strata are in a fragmentary condition ; but in this
case we have, fortunately, an exception. Almost the whole of its
skeleton is now known, thanks to the labours of Mr. Hulke and
the Kev. William Fox. The remains occur in a bed which crops
out a short distance west of Barns High Cliff, and passes under
the shore a few yards west of Cowleaze Chine, on the south
coast of the Isle of Wight. A restoration of its skeleton,
according to Hulke, is seen in Fig. 59, and in Plate XXV. we
have the creature restored to life. The skull shows a combina-
tion of chai'acters belonging to a crocodile and a lizard, but is
' Gieek^ — komjjsas^ elej^'aiit ; yiiathos, jaw.

172

EXTINCT MONSTERS

on the whole more lizard-like. The creature was about four
feet long.

The researches of Baron Nopcsa show that this Dinosaur was
provided with a thin but well-developed armour, consisting of
large, thin, and flat bony plates, feebly punctured. The base of
the skull is very bird-like, as in some of the group Theropoda.
The eyes had no sclerotic plates, as Mr. Hulke thought.

But there were in existence during the long Jurassic period
other and even stranger forms of Dinosaurs with armour. One
of these, only imperfectly known at present, was the many-
spined Polacanthus.^ This remarkable monster had the whole

Fig. 59. — Skeleton of a small Dinosaur, Hypsiloplwdon Foxi, from Wealden
strata, Isle of Wight. Restored by Professor J. W. Hulke, F.R.S. From the
Philasophical Transactions oftJie Boyal Society, vol. 173.

region of the loins and haunches protected by a continuous
sheet of bony plate armour, rising into knobs and spines, after
the fashion of the shield or carapace of certain extinct armadillos
known as Glyptodonts (see Chap. XV.). Fig. 60 shows a partial
reconstruction of the skeleton. The shaded parts of the drawing
indicate the parts actually preserved, the rest is reconstructed
with the help of the bones of an allied Dinosaur : e.g. Stegosaurus.
From this we see that Polacanthus was a reptile of low stature.
It was a slow-moving vegetable feeder, according to Baron Nopcsa,

* From Greek— poZiw, many, and acantha, spine.

DINOSAURS

"^73

174 EXTINCT MONSTERS

who, with the assistance of Dr. Smith Woodward and the late
Mr. Barlow, made the above restoration which may be seen at
South Kensington. Baron Nopcsa has made a special study of
Dinosaurs in Hungary. Dr. Mantell had already pointed out
certain analogies between Iguanodon and the huge extinct sloths
of the South American continent, that flourished in the much
more recent Pleistocene period ; and this idea is now considerably
strengthened by the later discoveries of armoured Dinosaurs.
These are his words: "In fine, we have in the Iguanodon the
type of the terrestrial herbivora which, in the remote epoch of
the earth's physical history termed by geologists the age of
Reptiles, occupied the same relative position in the scale of being,
and fulfilled the same general purposes in the economy of nature,
as the Mastodons, Mammoths, and the Mylodons (extinct sloths)
of the Tertiary period, and the existing pachyderms."

It is, perhaps, one of the most interesting discoveries of modern
geology, that certain races of animals now extinct have in various
ways assumed some of the characteristics presented by animals
much higher in the scale of being, that flourish in the present
day. It seems as if there had been some strange law of anticipa-
tion at work, if we may venture so to formulate the idea. It has
already been shown how the great saurians Ichthyosaurus and
Plesiosaurus presumed to put on some of the characters of whales,
and to play their role in nature, though they were only reptiles ;
how the carnivorous Dinosaurs acquired teeth like those now
possessed by lions and tigers, which also are mammals ; and now
we find herbivorous Dinosaurs imitating the Glyptodon, an
armadillo that lived in South America almost down to the human
period. We shall not lose sight of this very interesting and
curious discovery, for other cases will present themselves to our
view in future chapters. The reader might ask, " If reptiles

DINOSAURS 175

were able in these and other ways to imitate the mammals of
to-day, or of yesterday, why should they not have been able to
go a few steps further, and actually become mammals ? " The
Evolutionist, if confronted with such a question, would say,
that there is no evidence of Dinosaurs turning into mammals,
but that both may have branched off at an early geological
period (say the Permian) from a primitive group of reptiles, or
even of amphibians.

It must be borne in mind that, during the " age of reptiles "
(Mesozoic period), the mammalian type was but feebly represented
by certain small and humble forms, probably marsupials. As far
as we know, there were no big quadrupeds such as flourish to-day ;
therefore reptiles played their part, and in so doing acquired
some of their habits and structural peculiarities. It is difficult
for us, living in an age of quadrupeds, to realise this, and to
picture to ourselves reptilian types posing as " lords of creation,"
or, to use a homely phrase, " strutting in peacock's feathers."

We now pass on to describe two of the strangest and most
wonderful of all the Dinosaurs, recently discovered in the far
West. The first of these is the Stegosaurus,^ or plated lizard,
not wholly unknown before, because part of its skeleton was
found some years ago in a brickfield in the Kimmeridge Clay
at Swindon. It has been proved that some of the bones to which
the name Omosaurus ^ has been applied really belonged to the
former genus.

With such complete specimens now known by Professor
Marsh's descriptions, it will not be necessary to mention the
meagre remains discovered in this country, or the conclusions
arrived at by Owen and Seeley, interesting as they are.

^ Greek — stegos, roof of covering ; sauros, lizard.
2 Greek — omos, humerus, and saurosy lizard.

176 EXTINCT MONSTERS

In the year 1877 Professor Marsh described, in the American
Journal of Science, a considerable portion of a skeleton of a
Stegosaur, remarking that this genus proved to be one of the
most remarkable animals yet discovered. It was found on the
eastern flank of the Eocky Mountains, in strata of Jurassic age ;
the bones indicated an animal about twenty-five feet long, and for
this discovery Science is indebted to Professor A. Lakes and
Engineer H. C. Beckwith of the United States Navy, who found
the remains in Colorado, near the locality of the gigantic Atlanto-
saurus. The solid limb-bones seem to point to an aquatic life,
but there can be little doubt that the monster did not pass all
its time in the water. (Fig. 61 shows the skeleton.)

In 1879 Professor Marsh announced the discovery of additional
remains from several localities. The most striking feature — from
which the Stegosaur takes its name— was the presence of huge
bony plates belonging to its skin, as well as large and small
spines. Some of the plates were from two to three feet in
diameter, and they were of various shapes. Of the spines, some
were of great size and power, one pair being each over two feet
long ! The skull was remarkably small, and more like that of a
lizard than we find in most Dinosaurs ; the jaws were short and
massive. Little was known at first of the brain, but fortunately
a later discovery showed the brain-case well preserved. Later
still, more than twenty other specimens of the Dinosaur were
obtained, so that nearly every portion of the skeleton is now
known. The skulls indicate that the creature possessed large
eyes and a considerable power of smell. The jaws contain but
a single row of teeth in actual use ; but as these wore out, they
were replaced by others lodged in a cavity below. Teeth, how-
ever, were not its strong point; they indicate a diet of soft
succulent vegetation. The vertebrae have the ends of their

DINOSAURS

177

centra more or less bi-concave. Many curious features in the
skeleton can only be explained with reference to the heavy

oM

armour of plates and spines with which the Stegosaur was

N

178

EXTINCT MONSTERS

provided. Thus the vertebrse have their " neural spines "
expanded at the summit to aid in supporting part of the armour.
(See Fig. 62.) The fore limbs were short and massive, but
provided with five fingers ; the hind limbs were very much larger
and more powerful. These and the powerful tail show that the
monster could support itself on them as on a tripod, in an
upright position, and this position must have been easily assumed
in consequence of the massive hind quarters. As in Iguanodon,
there were three toes to the hind feet, and these were probably

Fia. 62. — Tail vertebrae of Stegosaurus. (After Marsh.)
1. Side view. 2. Front vievr.

covered by strong hoofs. The fore limbs could move freely in
various directions like a human arm, and were probably used in
self-defence. (See Fig. 63.) But for this purpose the tail with
its four pairs of huge spines would be very effective, and one
could easily imagine that a single deadly blow from such a tail
would be sufficient to drive away, if not kill, one of the
carnivorous enemies of the species. All the plates and spines
were, during life, protected by a thick horny covering, which

«
p

^ a. S

DINOSAURS 179

must have increased their size and weight. Such a covering
seems to be clearly indicated by certain grooves and impressions
that mark their surfaces. (See Fig. 64.) The largest plates are

Fig. 63. — Limb-bones of Stegosaurus. (After Marsh.)
1. Fore leg. 2. Hind leg.

unsymmetrical, and were probably arranged along the back, in
rows, as in our restoration, Plate XXVI. It will be noticed, by
those who are familiar with our first edition, that this Plate gives

i8o

EXTINCT MONSTERS

a somewhat different representation of the Stegosaur, in which
the length of the hind limbs is more apparent, and also they are
more free from the body.

Finally, the Stegosaur displays a rather remarkable feature;
for a very large chamber was found in the sacrum^ formed by

Fig. 64.— 1, 2. Plates of Stegosaurus. The middle figures show their thickness.

(After Marsh.)

an enlargement of the spinal cord.

The next monster to be described is one that has fortunately
left to posterity a good record of itself, and probably was
not very unlike the Hylseosaurus of Mantell. This is the

^ The sacrum may be thus defined : the Vertebrae (usually fused together)
which unite with the haunch-bones (ilia) to form the pelvis.

DINOSAURS i8i

Scelidosaunis : so named by Professor Owen from the indications
of greater power in the hind legs than in most saurians.^ It is
the only known example of an almost entire skeleton of an
English Dinosaur, and the history of its discovery is rather
curious. Some time previous to 1861, Mr. J. Harrison, of
Charmouth, obtained from the Lower Lias of that neighbourhood
portions of the hind limb of a Dinosaur, and, later on, a nearly
complete skull. These specimens were described by Owen, and
the genus was founded on them. Mr. Harrison, whose discovery
aroused great interest, continued to search on the same spot,
and was rewarded by finding all the rest of the skeleton, except
most of the neck vertebrae. This was extracted in several blocks,
and these, after careful " development " of the bones, were fitted
together so as to exhibit the whole skeleton. This most valuable
specimen can now be seen at South Kensington in a separate
glass case, and is one of the treasures of the unrivalled gallery of
fossil reptiles. (The case is placed so that both sides of the
specimen can be seen.) Its length is about twelve feet ; perhaps
the individual it represents was not fully grown, but, on account
of the absence of most of the neck vertebrse, it is impossible to
give the exact length. Both hind limbs are entire and well seen,
but of the fore limbs the hands are wanting. The former were
provided with four " functional " toes — that is, toes that were
used, — and one " rudimentary " or unused one. There were two
big spines, one placed on each shoulder, and a series of long plates
arranged in lines along the back and side.

Another Dinosaur, of considerable dimensions, which flourished
during the Wealden period was the Hylseosaurus, discovered by
Dr. Man tell, and so named by him because it came from the
Weald.

' From Greek — scelis, limb, and sauros, lizard.

l82

EXTINCT MONSTERS

Between 1832 and 1837 he discovered three specimens showing
ribs, limb-bones, vertebrae (of the tail), bony plates, and spines.
Unfortunately the skull and teeth are unknown; but the tail
appears to have been nearly six feet long. Mr. Waterhouse
Hawkins's model in the grounds of the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham,
near that of the Iguanodon, is rather a premature attempt at
restoration.

The last, and in some ways the strangest of the Dinosaurs,
was the Triceratops ^ that flourished in America at the end of the

Fig. 65. — Skull of Sterrolophus allied to Triceratops, seen from above. (After

Marsh.)

long Mesozoic era, during the Cretaceous period. The name
refers to the three horn-cores found on the skull, which probably
supported true horns like those of oxen. Whereas the Stegosaur
was provided with quite a small skull, this monster had one of
huge dimensions and remarkable shape (see Fig. 65 and Plates
XXVII. and XXVIII.). In the younger ones it was about six feet
long, but in an old individual must have reached a length of seven
or eight feet. Such a skull is only surpassed by some whales of
^ Greek — treis, three ; ceras, born ; ops, face.

1. THE LATl

2. EESTORED SKELETON OF TBICERATOPS.

Plate XXVIl.

DINOSAURS 183

the present day. Twenty different skulls of this kind have been
found, and Professor Marsh places the horned Dinosaurs in a
separate family, to which he has given the name Ceratopsidfe, or
horn-faced. Their remains come from the Laramie beds, believed
to be of Cretaceous age, but representing a remarkably mixed fauna
and flora, so that some have considered them to be Tertiary. The
strata containing these fossils are very rich in organic remains,
and have yielded not only other Dinosaurs, but Plesiosaurs,
crocodiles, turtles, many small reptiles, a few birds, fishes, and
small mammals. The Ceratops beds are of fresh-water or brackish
origin, and can now be traced for nearly eight hundred miles
along the east flank of the Eocky Mountains.

In this Dinosaur we find the fore feet larger than usual in
proportion to the hind limbs, and there can be no doubt that it
walked on all fours. Its length was about 19 feet 8 inches. The
original estimate of Professor Marsh was about 25 feet, but
Mr. Gilmore, who made the model shown in Plates XXVII. and
XXVIII., has taken out six vertebrae so that the length is now
reduced to 19 feet 8 inches. All the vertebrte and limb-bones
are solid. The brain was smaller in proportion to the skull
than in any known vertebrate.

The teeth are remarkable in having two distinct roots. The
wedge-like form of the skull is also very peculiar. The two large
horns come immediately over the eyes, and the small one above
the nose ; this Dinosaur was, therefore, well provided with
weapons of offence, such as would be highly useful in driving
away or wounding carnivorous enemies. The back part of the
skull rises up into a kind of huge crest, and this during life was
protected by a special fringe of bony plates. Such an arrange-
ment doubtless formed an effective shield to ward off blows when
one Triceratops was fighting another, as bulls or buffaloes of the

i84 EXTINCT MONSTERS

present day fight with their horns. The mouths of these Dino-
saurs formed a kind of beak, sheathed in horn.

The body as well as the skull was protected, but the nature
and position of the defensive parts in different forms cannot
yet be determined with certainty. Various spines, bones, and
plates have been found that evidently were meant for the protection
of the creature's body, and belonged to the skin. Probably some
of these were placed on the back, behind the crest of the skull ;

Fig, 66. — Bony spines possibly belonging to the skin of Triceratops.
(After Marsh.) '

some may have defended the throat, as in Stegosaurus. Alto-
gether, Triceratops is very different from any other Dinosaur. One
cannot help picturing it rather as a fierce rhinoceros-like animal.
In the restoration (Plate XXIX., Frontispiece) our artist has given
it a thick skin, rather like that of the rhinoceros, only indicating
small bony plates, etc., here and there.

Professor Marsh thinks that as the head increased in size to

^ Tliere is some doubt about these spines; for they might possibly belong to
the camivorons Dinosaur T}Tannosaunis found in the same place (see p. 139).
Mr. Bamum Brown has recently described (1906) two sternal bones, previously
unknown, but they are unlike those of Diplodocus and Brontosaurus.

DINOSAURS 185

bear its armour of bony plates, the neck first, then the fore feet,
and then the whole skeleton was specially modified to support
it; and he concludes that as these changes took place in the
course of the evolution of this wonderful Dinosaur, the head at
last became so large and heavy that it must have been too much
for the body to bear, and so have led to its destruction ! This
conclusion, if sound, is a warning against carrying " specialisation "
too far. If we wished to write an epitaph on the tomb of the
monster, it ought (according to Professor Marsh) to be, " I and
my race died of over-specialisation."

After all these various efforts to improve themselves and to
perfect their organisation so as to bring it into harmony with
their surroundings, or " environment," as the biologists say, it
seems rather hard that the Dinosaurs should have been ex-
tinguished, and their place in Nature taken by a higher type ;
but all things have their day, even Dinosaurs.

With regard to the difficulties, hardships, and dangers attend-
ing the discovery and transport of the remains, Professor Marsh's
concluding remarks may be quoted here, since they give us a
glimpse into the nature of his explorations in the far West that
have now become so famous. He says, " In conclusion, let me
say a word as to how the discoveries here recorded have been
accomplished. The main credit for the work justly belongs to my
able assistant, Mr. J. B. Hatcher, who has done so much to bring
to light the ancient life of the Rocky Mountain regions. I can
only claim to have shared a few of the dangers and hardships with
him, but without his skill little would have been accomplished.
If you will bear in mind that two of the skulls weighed nearly
two tons each, when partially freed from their matrix and ready
for shipment, in a deep desert canon, fifty miles from a railway,
you will appreciate one of the mechanical difficulties overcome.

i86 EXTINCT MONSTERS

When I add that some of the most interesting discoveries Avere
made in the hunting-grounds of the hostile Sioux Indians, who
regard such explorations with superstitious dread, you will under-
stand another phase of the problem. I might speak of even
greater difficulties and dangers, but the results attained repay all
past efforts, and I hope at no distant day to have something
more of interest to lay before you." ^

^ American Journal of Science, vol. xli. p. 17G.

CHAPTER X

SEA-SERPENTS

" Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep,
Where the winds are all asleep ;
Where the spent lights quiver and gleam ;
Where the salt weed sways in the stream ;
Where the sea-beasts, ranged all round,
Feed in the ooze of their pasture ground ;
Where the sea-snakes coil and twine,
Dry their mail, and bask in the brine."

M. Arnold, The Forsaken Merman.

It has been said that everything on earth has its double in the
water. Are there not water-beetles, water-scorpions, water-rats,
water-snakes, sea-lions, sea-horses, and a host of other living
things, whether plants or animals, bearing some sort of resem-
blance to others that live on land ? Then why not sea-serpents ?
The great controversy of the sea-serpent, that has so often been
discussed in the newspapers, need not be considered here. We
are dealing not with the present, but with the past ; and whether
or no the wonderful sailors' yarns of sea-serpents can be regarded
as authentic, even in a single case, we can offer our readers
infallible proof that during the so-called " Age of Eeptiles,"
certain monstrous saurian animals flourished in considerable
abundance, which, though not true serpents, n/3vertheless must
have borne a striking resemblance to such, as they cleaved the
waters of primaeval seas. (See Appendix II.)

The modern evolutionist believes that snakes are descended

i88 EXTINCT MONSTERS

from lizards, possessing, as usual, four legs ; that some primitive
form of lizard with very small legs appeared on the scene, and
found that it could better move along by wriggling its body and
pushing with its ribs than by walking. So, in course of time,
a race of lizards without legs arose; these, by Natural Selection,
and perhaps other means, became more and more elongated, so
that they could move faster than their ancestors, and glide out
of harm's way more effectually. Thus was the snake evolved
from a lizard.

Now, in the great geological museum of the stratified rocks,
there have been discovered skeletons of marine reptiles, which
propelled themselves chiefly by means of their tails and elongated
bodies, rather than by their limbs. The limbs were not discarded
entirely as in the case of the serpents, but were useful in their
way as the fins of fishes are. Perhaps, therefore, we may be
justified in calling these ancient monsters sea-serpents, in con-
sideration of their long thin bodies ; for they certainly would be
called by that name if now living, and their skulls are very much
like those of a modern lizard known as Varanus.

Strictly speaking, they were not serpents, but more or less like
some of the extinct saurians described in Chap. V. The name,
however, has been adopted by geologists, and is useful in so
far as it serves to remind us of their very peculiar shape and
structure. Eemains of these strange creatures have been found
both in Europe, North and South America, and New Zealand.

One of the earliest discoveries of remains of a fossil sea-serpent
was made by M. Hoffmann, a Dutch military surgeon, in the year
1770. Maestricht, a city in the interior of the Netherlands,
situated in the valley of the Meuse, stands on certain strata of
limestone and sandstone, belonging to the Upper Chalk. Exten-
sive quarries have, for many centuries, been worked in the

SEA-SERPENTS 189

sandstone, especially in the eminence called St. Peter's Mount,
whichi is a cape or headland between the Meuse and the Jaar.
This elevated plateau extends for some distance towards Liege,
and presents an almost perpendicular cliff towards the Meuse.
From the extensive works that have so long been carried on,
immense quantities of stone have been removed, and the centre
of the mountain is traversed by galleries, and hollowed by vast
excavations. Innumerable fossils, such as marine shells, corals,
crustaceans, bones and teeth of fishes, have been obtained from
this rock, but St. Peter's Mount is now chiefly celebrated for the
discovery of the bones and teeth of a huge saurian, to which Mr.
Conybeare has given the name Mosasaurus, on account of its
connection with the Eiver Meuse. M. Hoffmann had long been
an assiduous collector of fossils from this neighbourhood, and he
had the good fortune to obtain the famous specimen on which
this genus is founded.

It was at first considered by M. Faujas St. Fond to be a
crocodile ; but Cuvier and Camper formed a different and better
conclusion. Perhaps no fossil ever had such a remarkable history
as this one, as the following account, from M. Faujas St. Fond's
work on the fossils of St. Peter's Mount,^ will show.

" Some workmen, on blasting the rock in one of the caverns of
the interior of the mountain, perceived, to their astonishment, the
jaws of a large animal attached to the roof of the chasm. The
discovery was immediately made known to M. Hoffmann, who
repaired to the spot, and for weeks presided over the arduous
task of separating the mass of stone containing these remains
from the surrounding rock. His labours were rewarded by the
successful extrication of the specimen, which he conveyed in

^ Eistoire Naturelle de la Montague de St. Pierre. This account is given
by Dr. Mantell, in his Petrifactions and their Teaching, 1851.

I90 EXTINCT MONSTERS

triumph to his house. This extraordinary discovery, however,
soon became the subject of general conversation, and excited so
much interest, that the canon of the cathedral which stands on
the mountain resolved to claim the fossil, in right of being lord
of the manor ; and succeeded, after a long and harassing lawsuit,
in obtaining this precious relic. It remained for years in his
possession, and Hoffmann died without regaining his treasure, or
receiving any compensation. At length the French Ee volution
broke out, and the armies of the Republic advanced to the gates
of Maestricht. The town was bombarded ; but, at the suggestion
of the committee of savans who accompanied the French troops
to select their share of the plunder, the artillery was not suffered
to play on that part of the city in which the celebrated fossil was
known to be preserved. In the mean time, the Canon of St.
Peter's, shrewdly suspecting the reason why such peculiar favour
was shown to his residence, removed the specimen, and con-
cealed it in a vault ; but when the city was taken, the French
authorities compelled him to give up his ill-gotten prize, which
was immediately transmitted to the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris,
where it still forms one of the most striking objects in that
magnificent collection."

Dr. Mantell quotes the Frenchman's remarks on this transaction :
" La Justice^ quoigue tardive, arrive enfin avec le temps : " but adds,
" The reader will probably think that, although the reverend
canon was justly despoiled of his ill-gotten treasure, the French
commissioners were but very equivocal representatives of
Justice ! "

The beautiful cast (Fig. 67) at South Kensington (Fossil
Eeptile Gallery III., Wall-case 1) was presented to Dr. Mantell by
Baron Cuvier in 1825. It consists of both jaws, with numerous
teeth, and some other parts (see Fig. 68). The length is about

CD S

SEA-SERPENTS

191

four and a half feet. This nearly perfect head was for a time a
stumbling-block to many naturalists, some of whom were of

Fig. 67.— Skull of Mosasaicncs Hoffmanni. The original is 4 J ft. by 2 J ft.

opinion that it belonged to a whale. Cuvier and others con-
sidered it to be a kind of link between
the Iguanas and the Monitors.^

The entire backbone of the Maestricht
animal appears to have consisted of one
hundred and thirty-one vertebrae, of which
ninety-seven belonged to the tail. The
total length of the skeleton is estimated at
twenty-four feet, and the head was about
one-sixth of the total length. The tail is
only ten feet long, whereas in a crocodile

the tail exceeds the length of the body. ^^^- 68.-Teeth of Mo-

sasaurus (^ natural size).
Although in his day the limbs of the i«, 2", transverse sections

Mosasaurus were imperfectly known, Cuvier

* The Monitors are a family of large lizards inhabiting the warmer parts of
Africa and Asia. They live near the banks of rivers, and some are altogether
aquatic. They often devour the eggs of crocodiles and aquatic birds. The
Nile Monitor, or Varanus, grows to a length of six feet.

192 EXTINCT MONSTERS

rightly considered them to be adapted for swimming, and, with
his usual foresight, concluded that this monster was a marine
reptile of great strength and activity, having a large tail flattened
vertically and capable of being moved from side to side with
such force and rapidity as to be a powerful organ of propulsion,
capable of stemming the most agitated waters. The large conical
recurved teeth, the largest of which was nearly three inches long,
are well seen in Figs. 67 and 68. Dr. Mantell was fortunate
enough to find, in the year 1820, some vertebrae from the English
Chalk, near Lewes, which were identified as belonging to a
Mosasaurus. It is now known that this reptile attained the
length of forty-five feet.

In 1831 a portion of a lower jaw with large conical teeth was
discovered in the Chalk near Norwich. But these teeth were
not quite similar to those of the Maestricht specimen, and
Sir Eichard Owen therefore founded upon them the new genus
Leiodon.^ But Leiodon must have been very similar to Mosa-
saurus.

Of late years many fine specimens have been discovered in
North America, and the labours of Leidy, Marsh, and Cope have
been of the greatest service in completing our knowledge of this
strange group of saurians. In the American Cretaceous seas
they ruled supreme, as their numbers, size, and carnivorous
habits enabled them easily to vanquish all rivals. Probably
some of them were seventy-five feet in length, the smallest being
ten or twelve feet long. In the inland Cretaceous sea from
which the Eocky Mountains were beginning to emerge, these
ancient sea-serpents abounded; and many were entombed in
its muddy deposits. On one occasion, as Professor Marsh rode
through a valley washed out of this old ocean bed, he observed
1 Greek — leios, smooth, and odous, tooth.

SEA-SERPENTS 193

no less than seven different skeletons of these monsters in sight
at once ! The same authority mentions that the Museum of Yale
College contains remains of not less than 1400 distinct indi-
viduals. In some of these the skeleton is nearly if not quite
complete ; so that every part of its structure can be determined
with almost absolute certainty.

According to the late Professor Cope of Pennsylvania University,
who made a special study of this group of extinct saurians, fifty-

1 2

Fig. 69. — Lower tooth of Leiodon. 1. Side view. 2. Profile.

one species have been discovered in North America, in the States
of New Jersey, Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Mississippi,
and Nebraska. The same authority has shown that they were
characterised by a wonderful elongation of form, especially of the
tail ; that their heads were large, flat, and conical in shape, with
eyes directed partly upward ; that they were furnished with two
pairs of paddles like the flippers of a whale. With these flippers,
and the eel-like strokes of their flattened tail, they swam with

0

194 EXTINCT MONSTERS

considerable speed. Like snakes, they were furnished with four
rows of formidable teeth on the roof of the mouth, which served
admirably for seizing their prey.

But the most remarkable feature in these creatures was the
arrangement for permitting them to swallow their prey whole,
in the manner of snakes. Thus each half of the lower jaw was
articulated at a point nearly midway between the ear and the
chin, so as to greatly widen the space between the jaws, and
Professor Cope thinks that the throat must consequently have
been loose and baggy.

Professor Cope, however, in giving the name Pythonomorpha
to this ancient group, has pressed his views too far, and dwelt
unduly on their supposed relationship with serpents. Other
authorities regard them as essentially swimming lizards, with
four well-developed paddles ; and this is probably the right view
to take of them.

" If, as appears certain," says the Professor, " the Mosasauroid,
discovered by Webb, measures seventy-five feet in length, and
the M. maximus, eighty, the Leiodon dyspelor must have been the
longest reptile known, and approaches very nearly the extreme
of the mammalian growth seen in the whales, though, of course,
without their bulk. Such monsters may well excite our surprise,
as well as our curiosity, in the inquiry as to their source of food-
supply, and the character of those contemporary animals preserved
on the same geological horizon."

According to Dr. S. W. Williston, who has, of late years, dis-
covered and described most valuable specimens of Mosasauroid
reptiles, Clidastes had a skull less flattened than that shown in
some earlier restorations {e.g. in the previous edition of this book)
and the digits were curved, as in Platycarpus. Of the former
reptile, which was forty feet long, a single specimen was

SEA-SERPENTS

195

discovered by Dr. Williston, complete in nearly every detail. The
restoration of the skeleton of Platycarpus, shown in Plate XXX.,
is based chiefly on one specimen, but certain parts are supplied
conjecturally from Tylosaurus. The latter has been restored, as
to its skeleton, from three specimens found by Dr. Williston,
who was fortunate enough to find an impression of the skin,
near one of the paddles, showing small scales, rather like those
of a snake, but these were too small to be shown in our
restoration (Plate XXXI.) of Tylosaurus. Platycarpus seems to
be intermediate between Clidastes and Tylosaurus. In Clidastes
we see a very long body, and a shorter tail, but this tail must have

Fig. 70. — Superior aspect of the cranium of Platycarpus curtirostris, Cope ; from
the Upper Cretaceous of N. America (greatly reduced). (After Cope.)

been a powerful organ of propulsion. The limbs were strong
and flexible, and the movements of this Mosasauroid reptile werei
more snake-like. The vertebrae in the tail had their neural
arches lengthened, and probably the tail had a fin-like expansion
to help in propulsion, as in the case of eels.

The accounts given by Professor Cope of his explorations and
the difficulties encountered in procuring the valuable specimens
on which his conclusions are based, are most interesting, and
such as every fossil hunter will appreciate. We, in England,
who visit clay pits, stone quarries, railway cuttings, etc., during
a morning or afternoon walk, and return home at our leisure

196 EXTINCT MONSTERS

with a few small specimens in our pocket, or in a bag at our
back, can hardly realise how arduous must be the work of
finding, digging out, and transporting for such long distances,
the remains of the monsters of Kansas, and other parts of North
America.^

Leiodon proriger (Cope) was abundant in the old North
American Cretaceous sea, and reached a length of seventy-five
feet. It had a long projecting muzzle, somewhat like the snout
of a sturgeon. Platycarpus and Tylosaurus had peculiarly sharp-
pointed heads (see Figs. 69, 70, and 71).

A few words may be added here with regard to Professor
Cope's important discovery of Leiodon — a genus already alluded

Fig. 71. — Snout of Tylosaurus, palatal view. (After Marsh.)

to as having been founded by Sir Eichard Owen. The type
specimen of Leiodon dyspelor,^ which first indicated the
characters of this wonderful species, was obtained from the
yellow beds of the Niobrara epoch of the Jornada del
Muerto, near Fort McRae, New Mexico. The greater part of
the remains have been described by Professor Leidy. But a

* Mr. Charles H. Sternberg, who has spent his life collecting fossils for Cope,
Osbom, von Zittel and others, has recently published his experiences in a
delightful little volume (illustrated), under the title The Life of a Fossil
Hunter, American Nature Series, Henry Holt and Co., New York. It is a
most readable book, written with great enthusiasm.

- We retain the old spelling with the e as being nearer to the Greek, although
Professor Cope writes it " Liodou."

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SEA-SERPENTS 197

second specimen, more complete in all respects, was discovered
by Professor Cope's exploring party during an expedition
from Fort Wallace, Kansas, in 1871. This specimen he has
fully described and figured in Cope's Tertiary Vertehrata,
1875. It is a very instructive specimen, including fifty of the
vertebrae from all parts of the vertebral column, a large part
of the cranium, with teeth, as well as important limb-bones.
These precious relics were excavated from a chalk "bluff," or
high bank.

In considering the " Age of Eeptiles," we cannot but marvel
greatly at the diversity of forms assumed by the various
orders of this class, their strange uncouth appearance, their
assumptionj in some cases, of characters only known at the
present day among the mammals, their great abundance, and
the perfect state in which their remains have been preserved in
the stratified rocks of various parts of the world. And the reader
may naturally ask, "How is it that so many types have dis-
appeared altogether, leaving us out of a total of at least nine
orders, only four, viz. those represented by crocodiles, lizards,
snakes, and turtles ? " To such a question we can only answer
that the causes of the extinction of plants and animals in the
past are not yet known. Climate, geographical conditions, food-
supply, competition, with other causes, doubtless operated then
as now ; but if there is one clear lesson taught by the record of
the rocks, it is this — that there has been at work from the
earliest periods a Law of Progress, so that higher types, coming
in at certain stages, have ousted the lower types, sometimes only
partially, sometimes completely. But why the Dinosaurs, for
instance, perished entirely, while the crocodiles survived to the
present day, no one can yet explain. We can see no reason,
however, why such problems as these should not be solved

198 EXTINCT MONSTERS

in the future by the co-operating labours of naturalists and
geologists.

In the great onward and upward struggle for existence, higher
types have supplanted lower ones ; and, in accordance with this
biological truth, we find that in the next era (known as the
Tertiary or Cainozoic) the mammal held the field while the
reptile took a subordinate place.

CHAPTER XI

FLYING DRAGONS

" Geology does better in reclothing dry bones and revealing lost creations
than in tracing veins of lead or beds of iron." — Ruskin.

The great Ocean of Air was not uninhabited during the long ages
of the Mesozoic era, when fishes swarmed in the seas, and reptiles,
such as we have attempted to describe in the last five chapters,
trod the earth, or swam across lakes and rivers. With such an
exuberance of life in various forms, it would indeed have been
strange if the atmosphere had only been tenanted by humble
little insects like dragon-flies, locusts, or butterflies and moths,
all of which we know were living then.

Now, the record of the rocks tells us that one great order of
reptiles somehow acquired the power of flying, and flitted about
as bats or flying-foxes do now. Since they were undoubtedly
reptiles — in spite of certain resemblances to birds — we have
ventured to call them " flying dragons," as others have done.
The notion of a flying reptile may perhaps seem strange, or even
impossible to some persons ; but no one has a right to say such
and such a thing " cannot be," or is " contrary to Nature," for the
world is full of wonderful things such as we should have con-
sidered impossible had we not seen them with our eyes. Charles
Kingsley, in his delightful fairy tale, The Water-Babies, makes
some humorous remarks on that matter, which we may quote
here. He says, " Did not learned men too hold, till within the

200 EXTINCT MONSTERS

last twenty -five years, that a flying dragon was an impossible
monster ? And do we not now know that there are hundreds of
them found fossil up and down the world ? People call them
Pterodactyls ; but that is only because they are ashamed to call
them flying dragons, after denying so long that flying dragons
could exist."

The illustrious Cuvier observes that it was not merely in
magnitude that reptiles stood pre-eminent in ancient days, but
they were distinguished by forms more varied and extraordinary
than any that are now known to exist on the face of the earth.
Among these extinct beings of ages incalculably remote, are the
Pterodactyls,^ or " wing-fingered " creatures, which had the power
of flight, not by a membrane stretched over elongated fingers as in
bats, nor by a wing without distinct or complete fingers, as in
birds, but by a membrane supported chiefly by a greatly extended
little finger, the other fingers being short and armed with claws.

The only reptile now existing which has any power of sustain-
ing itself in the air is the little Draco volans, or " flying lizard,"
so called ; but this can scarcely be regarded as a flying animal.
Its ribs, however, are prolonged to such an extent that they
support a broad expansion of the skin, so spread out from side
to side as to perform the office of a parachute, thus enabling
the creature to spring from tree to tree by means of extended
leaps ; and this it does with wonderful activity.

Many forms of Pterodactyl are known. Some were not larger
than a sparrow ; others about the size of a woodcock ; yet others
much larger, the largest of all having a spread of wing (or rather
of the flying membranes) of twenty-five feet ! It has been con-
cluded that they could perch on trees, hang against perpendicular
surfaces, such as the edge of a cliff, stand firmly on the ground,
1 Fi'om the Greek — pteron, wing, and dactylos, finger.

FLYING DRAGONS 201

and probably crawl on all fours with wings folded. It may be
well at once to point out that the Pterodactyl had no true wings
like those of a bird, but a thin membrane similar to that of a bat,
only differently supported ; so it must be understood that, when
we use the word " wing," it is not in the scientific sense that we
are using it, but in the popular sense, just as we might speak of
the wing of a bat, although the bat has no true wing. Figs. 72,
73, 74, 75, and 77 will give the reader some idea of the various
forms presented by the skeletons of Pterodactyls, or, as some
authorities call them, Pterosaurians (winged lizards). Great
differences of opinion have existed among palseontologists as to
whether they are more reptilian than bird-like, or even mammalian.
More than a hundred years ago, in 1784, Collini, who was
Director of the Elector- Palatine Museum at Mannheim, described
a skeleton which he regarded as that of an unknown marine
animal. It was a long-billed Pterodactyl from the famous litho-
graphic stone of Solenhofen in Bavaria. The specimen was figured
in the Memoirs of the Palatine Academy. Collini was able from
this specimen to make out the head, neck, small tail, left leg, and
two arms; but beyond that, he was at a loss. His conclusion
was that the skeleton belonged neither to a bat nor to a bird, and
he inquired whether it might not be an amphibian.

In 1809 this specimen came into Cuvier's hands, who at once
perceived that it belonged to a reptile that could fly, and it was
he who proposed the name Pterodactyl. Until the oracle at Paris
was consulted, the greatest uncertainty prevailed, one naturalist
regarding it as a bird, another as a bat. Cuvier, with his pene-
trating eye and patient investigation, combated these theories,
supported though they were by weighty authorities. The
principal key by means of which he solved the problem, and
detected the saurian relationship of the Pterodactyl, seems to

202 EXTINCT MONSTERS

have been a certain bone belonging to the skull, known as the
quadrate bone.

Pterodactylus macronyx, or, as it is now called, Dimorphodon
macronyx (Fig. 72), was about the size of a raven. It was dis-
covered in 1828 by the late Miss Mary Anning, the well-known
collector of fossils from the Liassic rocks that form the cliffs along
the coast of Dorsetshire, near Lyme Eegis. This important speci-
men was figured and described by Dr. Buckland, in the Trans-
actions of the Geological Society. He suggested the specific name
macronyx on account of the great length of the claws.

This authority pointed out an unusual provision for giving

Fig. 72. — Skeleton of Dimorpliodon macronyx. (After Owen.)

support and power of movement to the large head at the extremity
of a rather long neck, namely, the occurrence of fine long tendons
running parallel to the neck-vertebrae. This does not occur in
any modem lizards, whose necks are short, and require no such
aid to support the head. The restoration of the skeleton seen in
the figure is by Professor Owen. It is probable that this Ptero-
dactyl could walk on the ground with its wings folded, and
perhaps it was also capable of perching on trees, by clinging on to
their branches with its feet and toes. When the flying membrane
was stretched out it must, on account of the long tail to which it
was also attached, have presented a triangular shape, somewhat
like a boy's kite.

FLYING DRAGONS 203

Another genus, also from the lithographic slate of Bavaria,
namely, Scaphognathus (so called on account of its large beak
and jaws), had a very short tail, and its skeleton looks
somewhat clumsy for a creature adapted to fly through the air
(Fig. 73).

Pterodactylus spectabilis, from the same strata, also possessed
a very short tail, but has a more elegant and bird-like skull.
This pretty little flying dragon was only about as large as a

Fig. 73. — Skeleton of Scaphognathus crassirostris. { natural size.

sparrow (see Fig. 74). Its neck is comparatively short, with but
few joints. The long slender beak was probably sheathed in
horn, and the skull in several ways approaches that of a bird.
Since there are no teeth in the jaws, we may suppose that it
devoured dragon-flies or other insects, such as we know were in
existence during the period when the lithographic stone of Bavaria
was being deposited. Those forms that were provided with teeth
probably devoured such fishes as they could catch by swooping
down upon the surface of the water.

204 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Cuvier thought, from the magnitude of their eyes, that Ptero-
dactyls were of nocturnal habits. " With flocks of such creatures
flying in the air, and shoals of no less monstrous Ichthyosauri and
Plesiosauri swarming in the ocean, and gigantic crocodiles and
tortoises crawling on the shores of the primaeval lakes and rivers

Fig. 74. — Skeleton of Pterodactylus spectabilis.

— air, sea, and land must have been strangely tenanted in these
early periods of our infant world." ^

It was thought at one time that Birds differed from Pterodactyls
in the absence of teeth; but this only holds good for modern
birds. If we go back to the Mesozoic age, we find that birds
at that time did possess teeth. The oldest known bird, the
Archseopteryx, had teeth in its jaws, and presents some very
striking points of resemblance to reptiles (see p. 215). But if

* Bucklaud, Bridgewater Treatise.

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FLYING DRAGONS 205

we compare the skeleton of a Pterodactyl (such as the P. specta-
bilis, now under consideration) with that of a bird, we shall see
in its fore limbs certain very obvious differences.

In the first place the arm or wing of a bird has only two, or
three, bones, instead of four, or five, as here ; secondly the outer
finger, which corresponds with the human " little finger " is
enormously elongated for the purpose of supporting the thin
flying membrane. In two ways, however, the skeleton of a
Pterodactyl does resemble that of a bird, for the bones are more
or less pneumatic (according to von Zittel) ; and also the position
of the skull at right angles to the axis bone (on the top of the
neck vertebrae) is a bird-like arrangement. Again, natural casts
of the brain cavity prove that the brain was decidedly avian,
though smaller in proportion to the size of the skull. The orbits
(for the eye) are very large and surrounded by a ring of small
sclerotic plates (see Fig. 74).

In order to give rapid movement to their wings during flight,
they had powerful muscles in the region of the chest. These
were attached to a shield-like breast-bone provided with a keel
— as in birds. But this bird-like feature is only a necessary
provision to enable them to fly, and does not point to any
relationship.

In the year 1873 was discovered, in the lithographic stone of
Bavaria, at Eichstadt, a very beautiful new form of Pterodactyl.
This was the Khamphorhynchus phyllurus. The specimen is in a
remarkable state of preservation ; for the bones of the skeleton
are nearly all in position, while those of both wings show very
perfect impressions of the membranes attached to them. Its
long tail supported another small leaf-like membrane, which was
evidently used as a rudder in flight (see Fig. 75). The discovery
of this valuable specimen attracted much attention at the time.

2o6

EXTINCT MONSTERS

It was bought, by telegram, for Professor Marsh, and so secured
for the Yale College Museum ; but a cast may be seen at South
Kensington.

Any one who looks carefully at the beautiful impressions of
the wings of this specimen can see that they must have been
produced by a thin smooth membrane, very similar to that of
bats. When this elegant little creature was covered up by the
fine soft mud that now forms the lithographic stone, its wings
were partly folded, so that the membranes were more or less
contracted into folds, like an umbrella only partly open. These

Fig. 75. — Skeleton of Bhamplwrhynchtis phyllurus, with delicate impressions of
the flying membranes. (After Marsh.)

appear to have been attached all along the arm and to the end of
the long finger. They then made a graceful curve backward to
the hind foot, and probably were continued beyond the latter so
as to join the tail. With its graceful pointed wings and long
tail, this little flying saurian must have been a beautiful object,
as it slowly mounted upwards from some cliff overlooking the
Jurassic seas. (See Plate XXXII.)

Like those already described, it was provided with three short-
clawed fingers, as well as the one which mainly supported its

FLYING DRAGONS

207

wing. Some of the Continental museums contain good collections
of fossil Pterodactyls ; but the largest collection in the world is
that of Yale College, where Professor Marsh declares there are

Fig. 76.— Skull of Pteranodon. 1. Side view. 2. Top view. (After Marsh.)

the remains of six hundred individuals from the American
Cretaceous rocks alone !

Some of the fragmentary remains from our Cambridge Green-
sand formation indicate Pterodactyls of enormous size. Thus
the neck-vertebrse of one species measure two inches in length,
while portions of arm-bones are three inches broad. It is

Fig. 77. — Skeleton of a toothless Flying Reptile {Pteranodon occidentalis), from
the Upper Cretaceous of Kansas, U.S.A. Natural History Museum.

probable that the creatures to which these bones once belonged
measured eighteen or twenty feet from tip to tip of the wings.
Other also fragmentary remains from the chalk of Kent testify to
the existence of Pterodactyls during that period fully equal in
size.

208

EXTINCT MONSTERS

But the largest Pterodactyls hail, like so many other big
things, from America, Professor Marsh tells us of monsters

in his famous collection with a spread of wings of eighteen

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FLYING DRAGONS 209

feet.^ Plate XXXIII., shows a restoration of the largest known •♦
form, viz. Pteranodon, which has been described by Dr. S. W.
Williston of the Chicago University. Its wing was nine feet
long, and the skull, which is principally beak, was nearly four feet
long, the beak being very long, pointed, and quite toothless, which
suggests that this Pterodactyl dived after fishes.

Whether Pterodactyls were cold-blooded or warm-blooded is
a question on which the authorities are not agreed. Professor
Owen argued from the absence of feathers that they could not
have been warm-blooded. But, in spite of this great authority,
who has defended his opinion somewhat strongly, there are others
who argue that the amount of work involved in sustaining a
Pterodactyl in the air makes it highly probable that it was warm-
blooded. Such, at least, is the view of the late Professor H. G.
Seeley, who says of the Cambridge specimens : " That they lived
exclusively upon land and in air is improbable, considering the
circumstances under which their remains are found. It is likely
that they haunted the sea-shores, and, while sometimes rowing
themselves over the water with their powerful wings, used the
wing-membranes, as the bat does, to enclose their prey and bring
it to the mouth.

"The large Cambridge Pterodactyls probably pursued a more
substantial prey than dragon-flies. Their teeth are well suited
for fish, but probably fowl and small mammals, and even fruits,
made a variety in their food. As lord of the cliff, it may be
presumed to have taken toll of all animals that could be conquered
with tooth and nail. From its brain it might be regarded as an
intelligent animal. The jaws present indications of having been
sheathed with a horny covering."

1 Certain books still repeat the over-estimate of Marsh and state that the
length from tip to tip was twenty-five feet. This is wrong.

2IO EXTINCT MONSTERS

Probably the large Pterodactyls of the Cretaceous period,
soarmg like albatrosses and giant petrels over the surface of the
ocean, co-operated with the marine reptiles, such as Ichthyosaurs,
Plesiosaurs, crocodiles, and others, as those sea-birds now do with
the whales, porpoises, and dolphins, in reducing the excessive
numbers of the teeming tribes of fishes, and in maintaining the
balance of oceanic life.

With regard to the place of Pterodactyls in the animal kingdom,
Professor Seeley placed them as a distinct sub-class, side by side
with birds, and between mammals and reptiles, thus —

Mammalia.

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Eeptilia.

The name Ornithosauria (bird-lizards) is frequently used instead
of the other name, because it expresses the idea of their being
partly saurian and partly bird-like.

They flourished from the period of the Lias to that of the
Chalk ; and then, like so many other strange forms, seem to have
suddenly disappeared.

CHAPTER XII

ANCIENT BIRDS

"Nor is the value of the doctrine of Evolution to the philosophic thinker
diminished by the fact that it applies the same method to the Hving and the
non-living world ; and embraces in one stupendous analogy, the growth of
a solar system from molecular chaos, the shaping of the earth from the
nebulous cubhood of its youth, through innumerable changes and immeasurable
ages, to its present form, and the development of a living being from the
shapeless tnass of protoplasm we term a germ." — The late Pbofessor Huxley.

Fossil birds are but rarely met with in the stratified rocks;
hence our knowledge of the bird life of former ages is com-
paratively slight. But this is only what might have been
expected; for it must be remembered that birds are protected
by their powers of flight from perishing in such ways as other
animals frequently do. And even should they die on the water,
their bodies are not likely to be submerged ; for, being light and
feathery, they do not sink, but continue floating until the body
rots away, or is devoured by some creature, such as a hungry
pike.

When did the bird make its first appearance, or dehd, on the
earth? in other words, when did that primitive, but as yet
unknown reptile from which the feathered tribe came, first take
to itself feathers and assume both the habits and appearance
of a bird? This is one of those interesting questions which
remain to be solved by the labours of the palaeontologist — or,
more probably, of a generation of palaeontologists. We have

212 EXTINCT MONSTERS

already alluded (see p. 126) to Professor Huxley's theory that
birds are descended from Dinosaurs; but though there is much
to be said in favour of the idea, we prefer, for our part, to wait
and see what evidence may yet turn up on this subject, and, like
the Irishman, to "prophesy after the event," i.e. when further
discoveries have been made. Sir E. Owen never favoured the
theory, and, for all palaeontologists can tell, it may just as well
be that both birds and pterodactyls (flying reptiles) are descended
from a common stock ; the one line choosing to fly by means of
a thin membrane attached chiefly to a single long finger, while
the others thought they could do quite as well — in fact better —
by growing feathers on their arms and fingers. All great
problems in Nature are solved slowly, by the patient accumulation
of evidence ; and the one above alluded to is no exception to the
rule.

Palaeontologists are not without evidence bearing on this
subject ; so perhaps we cannot do better than state briefly what
that evidence is, in order to show how near, or how far, we are
from a final answer to our question. Though no one can yet
say what the very first bird-type was like, we can, at all events,
describe the oldest known fossil bird. This is the famous
Archseopteryx.^

Time was — and that within the memory of living geologists —
when no fossil birds were known in rocks older than the Tertiary
deposits ; but the discovery of Archseopteryx has changed all that,
and we now trace back the bird line to the middle of the great
Secondary or Mesozoic Era. This bird was found in the
Solenhofen limestone of Bavaria, which is supposed to represent
the lower part of our English Kimmeridge clay. First, only the
impression of a single feather was known, to which the late
^ Greek — Archios, ancient ; pterux, wing.

ANCIENT BIRDS

21

Professor H. von Meyer gave the name Archseopteryx lithographica
(because this stone is much used by lithographers). Later on
came the discovery of a magnificent and almost complete speci-

FiQ. 79. — The Berlin Archceopteryx. (After Dames.)
From the Solenhofen Limestone.

men, with beautiful impressions of the feathers. This was named
by Owen A. macrura, on account of its long tail. The specimen
is to be seen in the Natural History Museum; it was only

214

EXTINCT MONSTERS

acquired for the nation by the strenuous efforts and liberality
of the late Sir K. Owen (see preface). More recently a still finer
specimen, with the head complete, has turned up, and this is now
in the Berlin Museum (see Fig. 79). A very good idea of it may

Fig. 80. — Restoration of Arclueopteryx, the oldest known bird. By W. P. Pycraft.
Skull of same.

be gathered from the fine drawing presented by the late Professor
Dames, which is to be seen at the Natural History Museum, also
a cast. Some of those who first studied the creature's anatomy
took it for a reptile ; and they may well have been puzzled by

ANCIENT BIRDS 215

its curiously " mixed " characters. It is certainly one of the most
anomalous types of ancient life that has ever been discovered.

Palaeontologists are now agreed that it was a bird ; for it had
feathers and claws, as birds have. But what can we say to
a bird with teeth in its jaws, and with a long, lizard-like tail
such as reptiles have now, except that this tail was provided with
feathers attached in a very peculiar way, contrary to all bird's
tails of the present day ? A naturalist acquainted only with the
avian life of to-day, would certainly say that it upsets nearly all
his ideas of what a bird oiught to be ; but that only shows how
useless it is (as we have previously pointed out, see pp. 105 and
199) to lay down rules for Nature. Its vertebrae are bi-con-
cave, like those of fishes and some extinct Saurians. Another
very reptilian feature is the presence of " sclerotic plates " in the
eye. A pair of feathers sprang from each joint in the tail, which
is quite a different arrangement to that in the tail of living birds.
The leg-bone and foot are similar to that of modern perching
birds, but then we have seen that some of the Dinosaurs, such
as the little Compsognathus, had very bird-like feet. The wing
shows three free digits or fingers. In form and position these
three finger bones are just what may be seen in some young
birds of to-day. It has been claimed by some that the fore limb
of Archaeopteryx is reptilian, but Mr. W. P. Pycraft has shown
that it is more bird-like than some people thought, for it much
resembles that of a young chick, and still more that of a primitive
bird known as Opisthocomus. Another point, established by Marsh,
is that the bones of the pelvis are separate — not united, as in
modem birds. In the London specimen (where the skull is lost)
there remains a cast of what is supposed (perhaps wrongly) to be
the brain cavity. Were it not for the feathers, perhaps no
one would at first have thought of calling it a bird. It combines

2i6 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the features, or characters, of birds and reptiles in a most
remarkable way. In size it was about as large as a rook. Are
we to call it a Pterodactyl with feathers ? That would be to
dub it a reptile ; and since the leading authorities agree in calling
it a bird, we must abide by their decision. Names, however, are
sometimes misleading; the main fact we have to remember is,
that in former ages some classes of animals which are now sharply
marked off from each other were by no means so separated.

A good deal of discussion has arisen with regard to the true
interpretation of the Berlin specimen, as far as the wing is
concerned. The question is, how the feathers were attached;
and there can be but little doubt, that in this respect the drawing
from which Fig. 79 is taken is wrong. Look at the impressions
of the long " primary " feathers, and you will see that at first they
curve towards the three fingers, but then turn downwards and
bend towards the two bones of the fore-arm. This is due to
a mistake, and the first curve of the feathers, as seen in the
left-hand corner, should have been continued. But in other
respects Fig. 79 gives a fair idea of the Berlin specimen.

One cannot help wondering whether this very ancient bird
could sing ; but, although doubtless the gift of song was not in
those Jurassic days so marvellously perfected as it is now, yet
we would fain believe that Archseopteryx at least tried to sing.
If, as seems probable, it lived among trees, one would think that
some means of communication with its fellows was almost a
necessity; besides, even lizards and some amphibians make a
kind of music of which the song of birds seems to be a develop-
ment.

The next evidences of former bird life are met with in the
Cretaceous rocks, and here we find the Hesperornis. This bird
was a gigantic diver, and its length from the point of the bill to

ANCIENT BIRDS 217

the end of the toes must have been between five and six feet (see
Plate XXXIV.). Its habits are clearly indicated by the skeletons
described by Professor Marsh in his splendid monogi'aph on The
Extinct Toothed Birds of North America. No living birds possess
teeth in their jaws, so that the presence of such in Hesperomis

Fig. 81. — Skeleton of Hesperomis regalis, from Cretaceous strata, North America.

(After Marsh.)

and other birds of the Cretaceous period at once separates them
from those of the present day. It cannot be doubted that this
antique diver was carnivorous ; it probably devoured fishes. The
teeth were set in a groove, and old ones were replaced by young
ones growing up from inside the fang. The breast-bone (sternum)
was entirely without a keel. The single thin wing-bone (humerus)

2i8 EXTINCT MONSTERS

indicates that its wings were "rudimentary," and quite useless
either for flying or swimming (see Fig. 81). Modern penguins
use their wings with great effect while swimming under water,
but the Hesperornis was compensated for the want of wings by its
broad tail, which was much expanded horizontally, and doubtless
served as an organ of propulsion in diving. (The tail in our
restoration is too small.)

The brain was diminutive, and very like that of a reptile. It
is impossible, in the absence of feathers, to say exactly what
appearance the skin of this bird presented, but in the restoration,
Plate XXXIV., our artist has to some extent taken a modern diver
as his model. The skeleton of this bird presents several interesting
points of resemblance with reptiles ; but it will not be necessary
to enter into anatomical details here. The remains were dis-
covered by Professor Marsh, in certain marine Cretaceous strata
along the eastern slope of the Eocky Mountains, which have
also yielded mosasauroid reptiles, Pliosaurs, and Pterodactyls.
The valuable specimens on which Professor Marsh's descriptions
are based were not procured without considerable trouble and
hardship. His exploring parties in the plains of Kansas and
Colorado suffered, at one time, from extreme heat, causing
sunstroke and fever, by which the guides and explorers alike
were weakened and discouraged; at other times, from extreme
cold, to say nothing of the danger from hostile Indians. But
fortunately, the latter enemies to science were kept in check by
escorts of soldiers.

Hesperornis, as we have seen, was an admirable diver; while
the long neck, with its capabilities of rapid flexure, and the long
slender jaws armed with sharp recurved teeth, formed together a
perfect instrument for the capture and retention of the most agile
fish. As the lower jaws were united in front only by cartilage, as

ANCIENT BIRDS 219

in the serpents, and had on each side a joint which admitted of
some motion, the power of swallowing was doubtless equal to
almost any emergency.

Fig. 82. — Skeleton of Ichthyornis victor, from Cretaceous strata, North America.

(After Marsh.)

Another bird discovered by Professor Marsh in the same region,
also with strangely blended characters, is the Ichthyornis (Fig. 82).
Unlike the big diver above described, it had well-developed wings

220 EXTINCT MONSTERS

and a starongly keeled sternum for the attachment of muscles with
which to work its wing. It was about the size of a rock-pigeon.
The jaws were armed with teeth placed in distinct sockets, as in
some extinct reptiles. The wing bones show that it possessed
considerable powers of flight. Here we may note that the Cre-
taceous birds at present known (some twenty species or more)
were apparently all aquatic forms, which, of course, are most
likely to be preserved in marine deposits, while the Jurassic
Archseopteryx was a land bird.

Eemains of Cretaceous birds were first found in the Upper
Greensand of Cambridge, and on these bones the genus Enaliornis
has been founded. In its head and neck it resembled the divers.

Several portions of fossU. birds have been discovered in the
London Clay deposit of the Isle of Sheppey. One of these, the
Dasornis, represented by a single skull, was as large as an ostrich,
and probably closely related to that bird. Another, the Argillornis,
rivalled the albatross in size. A third, the Odontopteryx (toothed
bird), has a powerful serrated bill, well adapted for seizing its
fishy prey. In the same case in the Natural History Museum
may be seen casts of the limb-bones of a large bird, the
Gastornis parisiensis, from Eocene strata near Paris; also casts
of two leg-bones of another equally large bird, allied to the
above, discovered in the Eocene strata near Croydon, viz.
Gastornis Klaasseni. A restoration of the French bird's skeleton
is shown in Fig, 83. The genus must have been as large
as an ostrich, but more robust, with some signs of affinity with
geese, as well as to ratite birds such as the ostrich.

Many other orders of birds are more or less represented by
fossil remains from Tertiary strata, but in most cases not so
perfectly as to warrant description here. For instance, the
Pliocene strata of the Sivalik hills have yielded bones of

I J

^

ANCIENT BIRDS 221

giant storks. Leaving these, we now pass on to say a few
words about the Dodo, and some other birds that lived in historic
times.

Every one has heard of that singular bird, now totally extinct,
the Didus ineptus (or Dodo), which formerly inhabited the islands
of Mauritius and Bourbon (see Plate XXXV.). The last record
of its appearance dates from the
year 1681. It was a large and
heavy bird, bigger than a swan, and
entirely unlike the pigeons, with
which, however, it seems clearly to
be allied. Its wings were so small
as to be quite useless for flight. The
legs were short and stout, with four
toes on each foot, and the tail was
extremely short, carrying a tuft of
soft plumes. The beak was decidedly
hooked, as in birds of prey.

Visitors to the Natural History

Museum will see, in the same case

with the remains of the gigantic

iS^pyornis from Madagascar, some of

the bones of tliis remarkable bird. Fig. 83.— Restored skeleton of
, ,T .,1 i. -i. r ij a l&Tge hiii, Gastornis Edwardsii,

together with a portrait from an old from Eocene strata near Paris and

painting. The Oxford Museum once Rteims. (After M. le Docteur

Lemoine.) Height over 7 feet.

possessed a complete stuffed speci-
men, but now, alas ! only the head and one foot remain.

In the reports of numerous voyagers who visited the islands of
Mauritius, Bourbon, and Eodriguez, from the end of the fifteenth
century to the middle of the seventeenth, we have many accounts
of the appearance and habits of this bird, evidently sketched from

222

EXTINCT MONSTERS

life. Some of the descriptions are very quaint ; as, for example,
the graphic sketch of old Sir Thomas Herbert, who saw the bird in
his travels in the year 1634. In a second island of the Mascarene
group, viz. that known as Eodriguez, early explorers found the
Solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria), a near relative of the Dodo, with
longer legs and neck.*

From Patagonian strata (perhaps of Miocene age) we have a
skull and lower jaw of a huge carina te bird, the Phororhachos
(see Fig. 84). The skull is twenty-three inches long and seven

Fig. 84. — Restored skull and lower jaw of Phororhachos lojigissimus, from the
Santa Cruz Formation of Patagonia ; I natural size.

inches deep. These measurements far exceed those of any living
bird. No quite complete skull is known, but enough to justify
the construction of a model skull and lower jaw as seen in our
figure. Possibly this feathered giant was carnivorous, as his
pointed beak rather suggests. He probably stood some seven feet
high, but his relationships are doubtful at present. In Plate
XXXVI. we have a restoration by Mr. Charles Knight showing
very small wings which would be useless for flight.

Of all the monsters that ever lived on the face of the earth, the
* See the writer's Creatures of Other Days, p. 166.

PHORORHACOS, A PATAGONIAN GIANT OF THE MIOCENE PERIOD.
From a drawing by Charles R. Kuight.
From " Animals of the Past," by Prof. F. A. Lucas, by permission of Messrs. Doubleday,
Plate XXXVI. ^^^^ *"^ ^°- ^^"^ '^^°^^-

ANCIENT BIRDS 223

giant birds were perhaps the most grotesque. An emu or a
cassowary of the present day looks sufficiently strange by the side
or ordinary birds ; but " running birds " much larger than these
flourished not so very long ago in New Zealand and Madagascar,
and must at one time have inhabited areas now sunk below the
ocean waves.

The history of the discovery of these remarkable and truly
gigantic birds in New Zealand, and the famous researches of
Professor Owen, by which their structures have been made known,
must now engage our attention.

In the year 1839 Professor Owen exhibited, at a meeting of
the Zoological Society, part of a thigh-bone, or femur, 6 inches in
length, and 51 inches in its smallest circumference, with both
extremities broken off. This bone of an unknown struthious bird
was placed in his hands for examination, by Mr. Rule, with the
statement that it was found in New Zealand, where the natives
have a tradition that it belonged to a bird now extinct, to which
they give the name Moa. Similar bones, it was said, were found
buried on the banks of the rivers.

A minute description of this bone was given by che professor,
who pointed out the peculiar interest of this discovery on account
of the remarkable character of the existing fauna of New Zealand,
which still includes one of the most extraordinary birds of the
struthious order (" running birds "), viz. the Apteryx, and also
because of the close analogy which the event indicated by the
present relic offers to the extinction of the Dodo in the island of
Mauritius. On the strength of this one fragment he ventured to
assert that there once lived in New Zealand a bird as large as the
ostrich, and of the same order. This conclusion, which some
naturalists strongly opposed at the time, was more than con-
firmed by subsequent discoveries, which he anticipated ; and.

224 EXTINCT MONSTERS

as we shall see, his estimate was a most moderate one, for the
extinct bird turned out to be considerably larger than the ostrich.

Later on he received from a friend in New Zealand news of the
discovery of more bones. In 1843 a collection of bones of large
birds was sent to Dr. Buckland, Dean of Westminster, by the
Rev. William Williams, a zealous and successful Church mis-
sionary, long resident in New Zealand.

The leg- bones sent to London greatly exceeded in bulk those of
the largest horse. The leg-bone of a tall man is about 1 foot
4 inches in length, and the thigh of O'Brien, the Irish giant, whose
skeleton, eight feet high, is mounted in the Museum of the Royal
College of Surgeons, is not quite two feet. But some of the leg-
bones (tibiae) of Moas measure as much as thirty -nine inches.

In 1846 and 1847 Mr. Walter Mantell, eldest son of Dr.
ManteU, who had resided several years in New Zealand, explored
every known locality within his reach in the North Island. He
also went into the interior of the country and lived among the
natives for the purpose of collecting specimens, and of ascertaining
whether any of these gigantic birds were still in existence ; re-
solving, if there appeared to be the least chance of success, to
penetrate into the unfrequented regions, and obtain a live Moa.
The information gathered from the natives offered no encourage-
ment to follow up the pursuit, but tended to confirm the idea that
this race of colossal bipeds was extinct. He succeeded, however,
in obtaining a most interesting collection of the bones of Moa,
belonging to birds of various species and genera, differing con-
siderably in size. This collection was purchased by the trustees
of the British Museum for £200. Another collection was made by
Mr. Percy Earle from a submerged swamp, visible only at low water,
situated on the south-eastern shore of the Middle Island. This
collection also was purchased by the trustees for the sum of £130.

THE LATE SIB EICHAED OWEN AND A SKELETON OF MOA, DINOBNIS MAXIMUS.
Plate XXXVII. \{From a photograph.)

ANCIENT BIRDS 225

The total number of species of Moa once inhabiting New
Zealand was probably at least fifteen, and, judging from the
enormous accumulations of their bones found in some districts,
they must have been extremely common, and probably went about
in flocks. " Birds of a feather ^oc^ together."

Not only was the number of individuals very large, but they
belonged (according to Mr. F. W. Hutton) to no less than seven
genera, containing twenty-five different species, a remarkable fact
which is unparalleled in any other part of the world. The species
described by Professor Owen in his great work,^ vary in size from
3 feet to 12 or even 14 feet in height, and differ greatly in their
forms, some being tall and slender, and probably swift-footed like
the ostrich, whilst others were short and had stout limbs, such as
Dinornis elephantopus (Fig. 85), which was undoubtedly a bird of
great strength, but very heavy-footed. Dinornis crassus also had
stout limbs.

The Natural History Museum at South Kensington contains
a valuable collection of remains of Moa. These skeletons may
be seen in Gallery No. 2. In D. giganteus the leg-bone (see
Fig. 85) attains the enormous length of three feet, and in an allied
species it is even thirty-nine inches ! The next bone below
(cannon bone) is sometimes more than half the length of the leg-
bone (tibia). (See Plate XXXVII.)

A skeleton in one of the glass cases has a height of about
10| feet, and it is concluded that the largest birds did not stand
less than 12 feet, and possibly were 14 feet high !

Dinornis parvus (the dwarf Moa) was only three feet high.

1 Memoir on The Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand. London, 1878.
The beautiful drawing by Mr. Smit (Plate XXXVII.) is from a photograph
in this valuable work representing the late Sir Richard Owen standing in
academic robes by the side of a specimen of the skeleton of the great Dinornis
maximus.

226 EXTINCT MONSTERS

In 1882 was obtained, from a cave in Otago, the head, neck,
two legs, and feet of a Moa (D. didinus), having the skin, still
preserved in a dried state, covering the bones, and some few
feathers of a reddish hue still attached to the leg. The ring
of the windpipe may be seen in situ, the sclerotic plates of the

Fig. 85. — A. Skeleton of the Elephant-footed Moa, Dinornis eleplmntcpus,
from New Zealand. B. Leg-bones of Dinornis (jigantetis, representing a bird
over 12 feet high.

eye, and the sheaths of the claws. One foot also shows the
hind claw still attached.

From traditions and other circumstances it is supposed that the
present natives of New Zealand came there not more than about

S?i%^ ^-..^i^n.

'-"■A

. 1

■ri

Ci O

o 5 ij

ANCIENT BIRDS 227

six hundred years ago, and there is reason to believe that the
ancient Maoris, when they landed, feasted on Moa as long as
any remained. Their extermination probably only dates back
to about the period at which the islands were thrice visited by
Captain Cook, 1769-1778. The Moa is mixed up with their
songs and stories, and they even have a tradition of caravans
being attacked by them. Still, some people believe that they were
killed off by the race which inhabited New Zealand before the
Maoris came. But they must have been there up to a time not
far removed from the present. It is even said that the " runs "
made by them were visible on the sides of the hills up to a few
years ago ; and possibly they may still be visible. The charred
bones and egg-shells have been found mixed with charcoal where
the native ovens were formerly made, and their eggs are said to
have been found in Maori graves. Mr. Hutton considers that in
the North Island they were exterminated three or four centuries
ago, while in the South Island they may have lingered a century
longer. (See Plate XXXVIII.)

The nearest aUy of the Moa is the small Apteryx, or Kiwi, of
New 2fealand, specimens of which may be seen at the Natural
History Museum, at the end of the long gallery devoted to living
birds. This bird, however, has a long pointed bill for probing in
the soft mud for worms, whereas the bill of the Moa was short
like that of an ostrich.

Another difference between the two is that, while the Kiwi
still retains the rudiments of wing-bones, the Moa had hardly a
vestige of such.

In Australia the remains have been found of a bird probably
related to the Cassowaries, but at present imperfectly known.
To this type of struthious, or running bird, the name Dromornis
has been given.

228 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Now, it is a remarkable fact that remains of another giant bird
and its eggs have been found on the opposite side of the great
Indian Ocean, namely, in the island of Madagascar, the existence
of which was first revealed by its eggs, found sunk in the swamps,
but of which some imperfect bones were afterwards discovered.
One of these eggs was so enormous that its diameter was nearly
fourteen inches, and was reckoned to be as big as three ostrich
eggs, or 148 hen's eggs ! This means a cubic content of more
than two gallons ! The natives search for the eggs by probing
in the soft mud of the swamps with long iron rods. A large
specimen of an egg of this bird will fetch a good price.
What the dimensions of -^pyornis were it is impossible to say,
and it would be unsafe to venture a calculation from the size of
the egg.^ The reader who wishes to see some of the remains
of this huge bird may be referred to the Natural History
Museum. In Wall case No. II., Gallery 2, may be seen a
tibia and plaster casts of other bones; also two entire eggs,
many broken pieces, and one plaster cast of an egg found in
certain surface deposits in Madagascar. In the same case may
be seen bones of the Dodo from the Isle of Mauritius.

It will thus .be seen that we have three distinct groups of giant
land birds — the Moas, the Dromornis, and the ^Epyornis, —
occupying areas at present widely separated by the ocean.

This raises the difficult but very interesting question, how they
got there; and the same applies to their living ancestors. The
ostrich proper, Struthio camelus, inhabits Africa and Arabia ;
but there is evidence from history to show that it formerly
existed in Beluchistan and Central Asia. And, going still further

^ From the size of a femur and tibia of j3Epyomis preserved in the Paris
Museum, it could not have been less in stature than the Dinomis maximus of
New Zealand.

ANCIENT BIRDS 229

back, the geological record informs us that, in the Pliocene
period, they inhabited what is now Northern India. In Australia
we have the Cassowary (Casuarius) and the Emeu (Dromaius) ;
in New Zealand, the Apteryx (or Kiwi). Now, as none of these
birds can either fly or swim, it is impossible that they could
have reached these regions separated as they now are; and it
is hardly likely that they arose spontaneously in each district
from totally different ancestors. But the doctrine of evolution
affords a key to the problem, and tells us that they all sprang
from a common ancestor, of the struthious type (probably
inhabiting the great northern continental area), and gradually
migrated south along land areas now submerged. In this way
we get some idea of the vast changes that have taken place in
the geography of the world during later geological periods.
Perhaps they were compelled to move south, until they reached
abodes free from carnivorous enemies. Having done so, they
evidently flourished abundantly, especially in New Zealand, where
there are so few mammals, only those recently introduced by
man.

In North America Professor Cope has reported a large wingless
fossil bird from the Eocene strata of New Mexico. In England
we have two such — namely, the Dasornis, from the London Clay
of Sheppey (Eocene period), and the Gastornis, from the Wool-
wich beds near Croydon, and from Paris (also Eocene).

Lake Callabonna in Australia (see p. 310) has yielded the bones
of some huge ratite birds, e.g. Genyornis, with very slender toes.
It lived with the Diprotodon. In South America the living
Ptheas were preceded by such large birds as Brontornis, of
which casts of limb-bones are to be seen in the Natural History
Museum. The famous Sivalik strata of India have yielded
remains of an ostrich, Struthio asiaticus, and these may be seen in

230 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the above Museum, with the skeleton of a modem ostrich, among
the fossil birds. The Fayum of Egypt (see p. 262) has also yielded
a portion of a limb-bone of some large struthious bird.

It will thus be seen that big struthious birds have a long
history, going far back into the Tertiary era, and that they once
had a much wider geographical range than they have now.
Doubtless, future discoveries will tend to fill up the gaps between
all these various types, both living and extinct, and to connect
them together in one chain of evolution. Possibly the bird
evolved from an arboreal reptile.

CHAPTER XIII

SOME EARLY MAMMALS AND THE STORY OF THE HORSE

" Geology, in the magnitude and sublimity of the objects of which it treats,
ranks next to astronomy in the scale of the sciences." — Sir John F. W.
Hekschel.

It has often been said that the Primary era was an "Age of
Fishes," the Secondary era an "Age of Eeptiles," and the
Tertiary an " Age of Mammals." There is, however, a danger
lest beginners should be deceived by broad statements of this
kind, which must not be pressed too far. All that is meant in
this case is, that, first of all, fishes were the dominant type ; then
reptiles, and then mammals.

Fishes abounded in the waters of the Primary or Palaeozoic
era, while air-breathing amphibians appeared towards its close ;
reptiles flourished vigorously all through Secondary or Mesozoic
times : and now we are about to show that a marvellous outburst
of mammalian life appears to have taken place very early in
the Tertiary or Cainozoic era. All this is in accordance with the
" Law of Progress " throughout past times, and strongly confirms
the theory of Evolution (see pp. 84, 106, 125, and 264).

The student of geological history soon discovers that mammals

of some kind, or kinds, did exist throughout the Secondary era —

although, judging from their imperfect remains, they must have

been of a low type.^ But the great advance in our knowledge of

' Perhaps some of the jaw-bones from Triassic and Jurassic strata represent
creatures as low down in the scale as the Monotremes, represented at the
present day by the Duck-bill Platypus and the Echidna of Australia.

232 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the world's extinct races which has taken place during the last
quarter of a century ought to make us careful with regard to
broad statements of the above kind, which may require to be
modified by future discoveries.

Now, the tendency of all the later results of Palaeontology is
to show that some of the higher types of life appeared on the
earth a good deal earlier than was formerly supposed. Thus
the discovery of the jaw-bones of small mammals (possibly
marsupials) in the Purbeck strata, in 1854, and afterwards in the
Stonesfield slate (both of Jurassic age), came as a surprise to
most geologists. Again, it is not long since birds were believed
to have come into existence only in Tertiary times : now we
have the Jurassic bird Ai'chseopteryx (see p. 212), and Professor
Huxley has recorded his opinion that some of us may live to see
a fossil mammal of the remote Silurian age ! It is, therefore,
only prudent for geologists to be on their guard against assuming
that all the Secondary mammals were of low types and few in
numbers, as might be inferred from the phrase " Age of Mammals."
That mammals, however, developed vigorously in many directions
during the Tertiary era cannot be doubted. So, far, then the
expression conveys important truth ; but in science, as in other
things, the *' unexpected " often happens, so it is better to be
prepared for surprises.

It would be impossible within the limits of a single chapter to
give an account of all the leading orders of Tertiary mammals.
We must therefore limit our present remarks to two or three,
or more, reserving others for future chapters.

The discovery, in the early part of the present century, of the
rich treasures embedded in the Tertiary strata of the Paris basin,
and the consummate skill with which they were interpreted and
restored by the immortal Cuvier, gave a very great impulse to the

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 233

study of Geology. His restorations became patterns for others,
like Owen, Huxley, Marsh, Cope, Gaudry, and many more, who
have worked on the lines he laid down. The mammalian remains
brought to Cuvier by numerous collectors were very imperfect and
fragmentary — detached bones and teeth, with occasionally some
portion of a skeleton. The success with which he put them into
order, and built up therefrom the long-lost types of Eocene days,
was due largely to his wonderful knowledge of living animals,
but partly also to his Law of CmTclation (see p. 7).

One of Cuvier's triumphs was the restoration of the Palseo-

FiG, 86. — Skeleton of a tapir-like animal, PalcBotherium magnum, from Eocene
strata, near Paris. (After Gaudry.)

therium,^ a tapir-like animal, from fragmentary remains found in
the strata of the Paris basin, chiefly at Montmartre ; his con-
clusions being afterwards verified by the discovery of a nearly
complete skeleton (see Fig. 86). The molar teeth of this animal
somewhat resembled those of the rhinoceros. The skull shows
that it had a short proboscis. The toes, of which there were
three on each foot, ended in small hoofs, the middle toes being

1 Greek — palaios, ancient ; therion, wild beast.

234 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the largest. Its eye was small, and the head rather large.
Several species have been determined, varying from the size of
a sheep (P. curtum) to that of a horse (P. magnum), and it had
much in common with both the horse and the rhinoceros.
P. medium was rather smaller than an American Tapir : P. minus
was a small and elegant species, of which the fresh-water Eocene
beds of the Isle of Wight have yielded remains.

A complete specimen, discovered in 1874, with the outline of
the body indicated in the rock, was of a slenderer build, and with
a longer neck than in Cuvier's restoration, on which our artist's
drawing in Plate XXXIX. is based ; but the earlier discoveries do
not agree with this, and the reader can easily see for himself that
the skeleton shown in Fig. 86 could not have had a longer neck
without at the same time having longer legs, and probably thinner
bones. We have therefore adhered to the now familiar outline
of the PalaBothere as restored by Cuvier and since copied into
almost every book on Geology. Doubtless there were many
species existing at the time, and this later discovery probably
represents one of the slenderer sort.

Such then, in aU probability, was the Palasothere, a creature
which lived in herds in the valleys of the plateau surrounding
the ancient lake-basins of Orleans and Argenton; in the de-
partment of Gironde ; in the Isle of Wight : and in various parts
of Europe.

Its contemporary, the Anoplotherium,^ so called from its
apparently defenceless state, is represented in the same Plate.
This animal was of a lighter and more elegant form, and its
limbs ended each in two digits, only terminating in hoofs. As in
the Palaeothere, the jaws contained forty-four teeth, but there
was no interval in the series. There are suggestions in its frame-
' Greek — alpha, privative ; Tiopla, arms ; therion, beast.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 235

work of the modern ruminant type ; ^ thus it resembled the ox
in having an equally divided hoof, or rather two hoofs. Fig. 87,
in which the skeleton is seen, shows that it possessed a long tail.
In size it was about equal to a fallow deer, and the long tail
has been supposed, perhaps erroneously, to indicate aquatic
habits. Small and more delicate species have been taken to
represent distinct genera.

"Judging from its habits of swimming and diving," said

Fig. 87. — Skeleton with restored outline of AiwplotJierium commune, from
Eocene strata. (After Cuvier.)

Cuvier, "the Anoplotherium would have the hair smooth like
the otter; perhaps its skin was even half naked. It is not
likely, either, that it had long ears, which would be incon-
venient in its aquatic kind of life ; and 1 am inclined to think
that, in this respect, it resembled the liippopotamus and other

' Cuvier divided all the hoofed animals (ungulates) into two orders,
pachyderms and ruminants. The former is a heterogeneous order, and has
since been abandoned ; but the ruminants have been regarded as one of the
most distinct of mammalian orders, for they are separated from all other
animals by having horns and hoofs in pairs, the absence of upper front teeth,
complex stomachs, and the habit of ruminating or " chewing the cud."
Professor Owen showed that imgulates should be classified by the structure of
their feet. He therefore divided them into odd-toed (perissodactylate) and
even-toed (artiodactylate), and he placed elephants in a separate order — the
Proboscidia.

236 EXTINCT MONSTERS

quadrupeds which frequent the water much." But was it really
aquatic ?

Xiphodon,* so named by Cuvier on account of the shape of
its teeth, was a small and delicate animal, long, with slenderer
limbs than the Anoplotherium ; its feet were provided with two
toes, and the tail was short (see restoration in Plate XXXIX.).
X. gracilis was obtained from the lignites of Debruge, near
Apt. It was some three feet high, and of about the size of a
chamois, but lighter in form, and with a smaller head. Cuvier
says of this creature, " Its course was not embarrassed by a long
tail ; but, like all active herbivorous animals, it was probably
timid, and with large and very mobile ears, like those of the
stag, announcing the slightest approach of danger. Neither is
there any doubt that its body was covered with smooth hair, and
consequently we only require to know its colour in order to paint
it as it formerly existed in this country, where it has been dug
up after so many ages." Instead of resorting to rivers and lakes,
this graceful little creature probably kept to the dry land and fed
upon aromatic herbs.

Discoveries, chiefly made since Cuvier's day, have shown that
these ancient herbivorous mammals had carnivorous enemies,
which doubtless kept down their numbers — not lions and tigers,
but certain lower and less " specialised " creatures, from some of
which the latter are descended.

The nearest living ally of our Palseothere, that once inhabited
Europe in great numbers, must be sought for a long way from
home ; and it is highly instructive to observe that the further we
wander away from the present down " the corridors of time,"
the further we must travel, geographically, to find creatures at
all matching those that lived in early ages of the world's history.
1 Greek — xiphos, sword ; odous, odontos, tooth.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 237

Thus, the Tapir from Sumatra, or Central and South America,
is the nearest living relative of the Palaeothere ; while, if we go
back still further — into Jurassic times, — we must fetch mar-
supials from Australia to match some of the little mammals
whose jawbones are found in some of the deposits of that age.
To the geologist and naturalist, South America and Australia
are countries which have, as it were, lagged behind; for their
faunas are not " up to date," as the saying is ; and thereby hangs
a long story — into which we must not be led now, — and one
which shows how closely the sciences of Geology, Natural
History, and Geography are interwoven.

As already stated, Cuvier's great results in restoring Eocene
animals were due, in a large measure, to the use he made of his
principle of " correlation ; " of which he writes : " I doubt whether
I should ever have divined, if observation had not taught me,
that the ruminant hoofed beasts should all have the cloven foot,
and be the only beasts with horns on the frontal bone." ^ Again,
it is found — though no one knows why — that only those hoofed
animals which have their hoofs in one or two pairs, have horns
in one or two pairs on the frontal bones : whilst those with
three hoofs, if they have horns at all, have either one or two
placed one behind the other (example, the Indian rhinoceros with
one horn and the African two-horned rhinoceros). There must
be secret reasons for these curious facts — who shall win im-
mortality by discovering them ? Other relationships, such as
that between teeth and hoofs, might be given ; but the above
example is sufficient for our present purpose (see p. 7j, In
dealing with this subject, however, it should be mentioned that
Cuvier's law is not infallible, and does not always apply to some
of the ancient and generalised types discovered since his day.
^ Ossemens Fossiles, torn. i. p. 184. (1834.)

238 EXTINCT MONSTERS

The great theory of Evolution was first dimly suggested by
Greek philosophers, such as Anaximander (b.c. 610), who may
have derived the idea from Egyptian, Babylonian, or Hindu
sources ; then revived, in a more scientific form, by Lamarck
last century. Fifty-two years ago it was placed on a truly
scientific basis by the illustrious Charles Darwin, and is now
generally accepted by naturalists and palaeontologists. Indeed,
it is hard to be a palaeontologist in these days without being also
an evolutionist — so abundant is the evidence derived from a
study of extinct animals. Year by year the evidence is accumu-
lating, and many workers in various parts of the world are dis-
covering long-lost types which appear to link together some of
the branches of the great Tree of Life. Marsh and Cope in
America ; Owen, Huxley, and others in England ; have all been
directing our ideas in the same course. At Pikermi in Attica ;
in the far Western States in America ; at Sansans, Allier,
Leberon and other localities in France, such great and important
additions have been made of late to our knowledge, that it is
now possible to make out certain lines of evolution in the
Mammalia since their first important outburst at the beginning
of the Tertiary period.

We now propose to trace, in the light of recent discoveries,
the history of one important living group, as represented by the
horse.

The series of fossil horses now known is so complete, that
hardly a single important gap is left between the original five-
toed ancestor, and the horse of to-day, with only one toe to each
foot ! Here, then, we have the most perfect evidence of the
evolution of an animal from distant ages in the earth's history
that has ever been presented to the world! Professor Cope's

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 239

researches on the history of camels as illustrated from fossil
remains have brought to light another line of evolution equally
interesting if not quite so complete. According to the latter
palaeontologist, the very earliest ancestor of all the hoofed
animals (and therefore of the horse) was the Eocene Phenacodus,
with five toes. But this conclusion is not generally accepted
now.

We pass on to consider the true fossil horses, as worked
out by Professors Huxley and Marsh, and others. The modern
horse, and that which was known to man in the days before
history was written, we may regard as a product of the latest
geological period — the Pleistocene. The development of the
horse from a primitive five-toed ancestor seems to have taken
place along two separate lines, one in Europe and one in America.
The latter is the most complete ; for it so happens in that country
the physical conditions which prevailed throughout nearly the
whole of the Tertiary Era were singularly favourable to the
preservation of the skeletons of those creatures which lived on
land. The various members of the horse tribe that roamed over
North America all through these long ages of the past were
specially numerous in what is now the Eocky Mountain region,
and their remains are sealed up in the strata of these regions.

Here in Wyoming and Utah is found one of the oldest direct
ancestors of the horse, the Orohippus of Marsh. During the
middle Tertiary, or Miocene period, two other lakes existed on
either side of the great Eocene basin. The largest of these, to
the east of the Eocky Mountains, extended over portions of
what are now Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. The clays
deposited in this lake form the " Bad Lands " of that region,
so well known for their fossil treasures. The other Miocene
lake was west of the Blue Mountains, where eastern Oregon

240 EXTINCT MONSTERS

now is, but, having since been overflowed by a vast sheet of
basalt, its thickness is unknown. In this basin the Miohippus
of Marsh first makes its appearance.

During the later Tertiary, or Pliocene period, a vast develop-
ment of the horse tribe took place, so that great numbers of
these animals left their remains in the lake-deposits of that
time. The largest of these lakes had the Eocky Mountains for
its western border, and extended from Dakota to Texas, its
northern part covering the bed of the older Miocene basin.
Another Pliocene basin, of unknown limits, extended over the
older Tertiary strata of Eastern Oregon, and evidence of yet
others may be seen in Idaho, Nevada, and California. In all of
these fossil horses have been found; but the most important
localities are the region of the Niobrara Eiver east of the
mountains, and the valley of the John Day Eiver in Oregon (see
sketch-map, p. 253).

It will thus be seen how abundant is the material for tracing
the evolution of the horse in America. In that country the
Equus fraternus of Leidy is believed to be almost, if not entirely
identical with the Equus caballus (Linn.) of the old world.

Only in the upper Pliocene deposits does the true horse
appear, and then the genealogy is complete. It roamed over
the whole of North and South America, and soon after seerns
to have become extinct. There is no doubt that man and the
horse were contemporaneous in early days ; but it can be proved
beyond doubt that, at the time of the Spanish conquest, few
if any horses were left. It has been thought, from certain
references contained in old narratives, that at least in South
America the animal may possibly have still lingered on after
the coming of the Europeans. What cause can have led to its
extermination, it is impossible to say. The present race of wild

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 241

horses, which roam in such vast herds on the Pampas, are not
the descendants of the fossil horse of South America, but have
sprung from those introduced by the Spaniards more than three
hundred years ago.

A great deal of fresh material has been collected since the
present writer, in the year 1894, published, in his Creatures of
Other Days, some account of the evolution of the horse as told
by the late Professors Marsh and Cope, and others ; and some
of the old conclusions have to be abandoned. Professor H. F.
Osbom,^ of the American Museum of Natural History, has taken
up this line of research, and obtained important results. One
of the trustees of the above museum, the late Mr. W. C. Whitney,
generously provided funds for explorations. These expeditions
began in the year 1890, and up to the year 1904, the American
Museum Collection has been enriched by the more or less com-
plete remains of 771 fossil horses, of which 146 were secured by
Mr. J. W. Gidley, who took up this work under Professor
Osborn. Five complete skeletons are now to be seen mounted
in the above museum. All the other museums of the world
together have only three complete mounted skeletons, and from all
this wealth of material Professor Osborn has been able to find
out three or four collateral lines of descent, some of which are
mixed up with the pedigree published years ago by the late
Professor Marsh.

According to Professor Osborn the line of evolution of the
horse is, very briefly, as follows : — First we have the little
Eohippus (or " dawn horse ") only eleven inches (or two and
three-tenths hands) at the withers, with its wrist or knee near
the ground. The hand was still short, with four little hoofs,

' See his article in the Century Magazine for November, 1904, on the
evolution of the horse in America (illustrated).

B

242

EXTINCT MONSTERS

and part of a fifth. It had a wide range in America and Europe.
The next stage is seen in the Hyracotherium (see Fig. 88), also

known as Protorohippus. Its skuU and forefoot are shown in
Fig. 89. A nearly complete specimen was found by Dr. J. L.
Wortman in the Big Horn Mountains of North Wyoming. It

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 243

was a graceful little creature about fourteen inches (four and

^^

1.

\

J J

Fig. 89. — Skulls and bones of fossil horses showing evolution of the horse,
from casts in the Natural History Museum, London.
1. Protorohippus (= HyracotJierium.) 2. MesoJiippus. 3. Protohippus.
4. Hipparion. 5. Equus caballus.

a half hands) high at the withers. The next stage is seen in

244 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the Mesohippus (see Fig. 90). One finger has been dropped,
and the skull is decidedly bigger. Here we see the middle
or third digit getting larger. Unfortunately the skull of
Protohippus, which is the next stage, is unknown; but we
have the feet, of which a fore foot is shown in Fig. 89. Here
the centre digit is much bigger, and this increase becomes
still more striking in the Hipparion : until at last, in the
modern horse, this one digit is supreme, and the others are
only represented by the two feeble " splint bones " that were
for so long a puzzle to anatomists. Now we see in them the
vestiges of former digits no longer used for walking on. The
outline restorations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, in Fig. 90, may be studied
in connection with the bones in Fig. 89. Hipparion was of the
size of a donkey.

South America had some peculiar horses of its own ; for further
information the reader should consult the G-uide to the Horse
Family, by Mr. E. Lydekker, F.E.S., to be obtained at the Natural
History Museum (price one shilling).

Speaking of these changes, the late Sir William Flower said,^
" Short, stout legs and broad feet, with numerous toes, spreading
apart from each other when the weight of the creature is borne on
them, are sufficiently well adapted for plodding deliberately over
marshy and yielding surfaces, and the tapir and the rhinoceros,
which in the structure of their limbs have altered but little from
the primitive Eocene forms, still haunt the borders of streams and
lakes and the shady depths of forests, as was probably the habit of
their ancient representatives ; while the horses are all inhabitants
of the open plains, for life upon which their whole organisation
is in the most eminent degree adapted. The length and mobility
of the neck, position of the eye and ear, and great development of
* The Horse: A Study in Natural History. (London, 1891.)

SOME EARLY MAMMALS

245

1. Hyracotherium
= Protorohippus.

2. Orohipptis.

3. Mesohippus
allied to the
Anchitherium.

4. Merychippus
(Protohippus).

5, Pliohippus.

6. Equus caballus.

Fig. 90. — The Evolution of the horse. 1-5, ancestors of the horse restored in

outline from fossil remains from the Lower Eocene to recent times.

(H. S. Lull, American Jour. Science, vol. xxiii.)

246 EXTINCT MONSTERS

the organ of smell, give them ample means of becoming aware of
the approach of enemies ; while the length of their limbs, the
angles different segments form with each other, and especially
the combination of firmness, stability, and lightness in the reduc-
tion of all the toes to a single one, upon which the whole weight
of the body and all the muscular power are concentrated, give
them speed and endurance surpassing that of almost any other
animal." ^ At the same time that these changes were taking place
(and in accordance with the " Law of Correlation ") certain
important changes in the structure and mode of growth of the
teeth were being developed, the consequence of which was that
they were able to masticate and grind up their food much more
perfectly, and thus, no doubt, to obtain therefrom more vital
energy with which to supply their muscles and nerves for working
their limbs more rapidly as they became fitted to attain higher
speed. They gained a grinding tooth for each toe that they lost.
Of these ancient horses it may well be said they " ran the race
that was set before them " or, perhaps we might say, which they
set before themselves ; and the victory was to the quickest
runners — those who could " beat the record " made by their
predecessors! It is a wonderful story, this, of the evolution of
that noble and useful animal to which man is so much attached ;
and one cannot help sometimes wondering whether to some extent
the will of an animal may not be an important factor in Evolution,
although it is the fashion to ignore it, and to attribute organic
changes to Natural Selection, or the "survival of the fittest."
Mind has a powerful influence over matter, and can we not

' Visitors to the Natural History Museum will do well to examine the
admirable set of casts and actual bones of fossil horses in Gallery No. 1.
Complete casts of Phenacodus and Hyracotherium are there exhibited. In the
hall may be seen the skeleton of a man and of a horse side by side, in the same
relative position, also casts of bones represented in Fig. 89.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 247

conceive that the earliest ancestors of the horse, finding (perhaps
for the first time in the world's history) boundless grassy plains
before them, were impelled by a strong desire to run ?

It is a well-known fact that young horses are occasionally born
with small extra toes on their feet. Suetonius^ has given an
account of the famous steed of Julius Caesar. According to the
historian, Csesar " used to ride a remarkable horse, which had feet
that were almost human, the hoofs being cleft like toes." This
account clearly indicates the presence of extra digits, and the
occurrence is more frequent than is generally supposed. Pro-
fessor Marsh has made a study of this subject, since it has an
important bearing upon the history of the evolution of the horse
as given above ; for in the light of modern teaching such occur-
rences are but " reversions " to older types that lived ages ago.
He has therefore examined a large number of living animals with
this peculiarity, and several interesting specimens of the same
character have been sent to him : he has likewise received photo-
graphs, drawings, and detailed descriptions of various other
examples, the authenticity of which cannot be questioned. The
various cases he has come across may be summed up as follows : —

Sometimes there is only one extra digit on one foot. This is
always much smaller than the main or third digit, the largest he
has seen being about one-half its size, and the smallest very
diminutive. This extra toe is almost invariably on the inner side
of the main digit, and usually on the fore foot. Sometimes it is
entirely hidden beneath the skin, the only external evidence of
its presence being a prominence, which, on close examination, may
be found to contain, below the " splint-bone," two or more bones
corresponding to the finger-joints of our own hands. Sometimes
a corresponding extra toe is developed on the other fore foot. At
1 De Vita. Ccesarts, Ixvi.

248 EXTINCT MONSTERS

other times a second extra digit has been found, as well as those
above mentioned, which may be either smaller or larger.

Coming now to the hind feet, we find that an extra toe may
sometimes be present on one or both of them, and always on the
inside. As a rule, however, these posterior toes are much smaller,
and often concealed beneath the skin. Fig. 91 is a drawing of a

Fia. 91. —Eight-toed Cuban horse. (After Marsh.)

horse from Cuba, in which the extra toe is well developed on all
four limbs. This animal was examined by Professor Marsh during
its lifetime.

Occasionally the hind feet have two extra toes, while the fore
feet have only one, as in the horse from Texas, figured by
Marsh ; ^ but in rare cases both the fore and hind feet may each
^ Ame7'ican Journal of Science, vol. xliii. p. 344.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 249

have two extra toes fairly well developed, and all nearly of the
same size. In such cases the result is something very like the
feet of the ancient American type Protohippus, and the European
Hipparion.

We have pointed out previously that the mammals of early
Tertiary days had small brains, and the oldest ancestors of the
horse are no exception to the rule. Professor Marsh has clearly
proved that during this era a gradual increase in the size of
the brain took place. It is interesting to find that the growth
was mainly confined to the cerebral hemispheres, or higher
portion of the brain. In most groups of mammals the brain
has gradually become more convoluted, and thus increased
in quality, as well £is in quantity. In the long struggle for
existence during the whole of Tertiary times the big brains won,
as they do now. Applying this to our ancestral horses, it is easy
to see that, as they acquired greater speed, and so roamed over
larger tracts of country, they had to use their brains more.

We pass on now to give a brief account of a strange elephantine
creature that lived in Eocene times, both in America and Europe,
the Coryphodon^ (so named from its teeth), a restoration of
which is seen in Plate XL. The complete skeleton, as restored
by Professor Marsh, is shown in Eig. 92,^ The history of
this remarkable animal, so long shrouded in obscurity, is worth
recording here. The specimen on which the genus was founded
by Sir E. Owen, in 1846, is unique, and was dredged up
from the bottom of the sea, between St. Osyth and Harwich,
and consists of the right branch of the lower jaw. This dis-
tinguished naturalist confessed that he had seldom felt more

^ Greek— korufe, a ridge ; odous, odontos, tooth,

- From Professor Marsh's paper, Amer. Journ. Science, xlvi. (1893), p. 325,
a copy of which he kindly sent to the author.

250 EXTINCT MONSTERS

misgiving in regard to a conclusion based on a single tooth or
bone than that which he arrived at after a careful study of
this specimen. Its smaller and less obvious features carried
conviction to him against the showing of the larger and more
catching ones. But although some naturalists for a time thought
he had mistaken the fore for the back part of the jaw, yet his
conclusion proved to be correct. His experience taught him that
the less obvious points, which require searching out, frequently,
when their full meaning has been grasped, guide to a right

Fig. 92. — Skeleton of Coryphodon Immatus. (Restored, after Marsh.) Length

about 6 feet.

interpretation of the whole. " It is as if truth were whispered,"
he says, " rather than outspoken by Nature."

The first additional evidence which Sir E. Owen obtained of
the true nature of this ancient mammal was furnished by a fossil
canine tooth brought up from a depth of a hundred and sixty feet
out of the Plastic Clay during the operation of sinking a well in
the neighbourhood of Camberwell, near London. This circum-
stance caused Sir E. Owen to remind his readers of the old
proverb, "Truth lies at the bottom of a well." It was nearly
three inches long, and evidently belonged to a large hoofed
mammal. With regard to the teeth, he remarked that their broad-

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 251

ridged and pointed grinding surfaces indicate that they were
intended to be applied to the coarser kinds of vegetable substances.

According to Owen, certain fossils from the lignite deposits of
Soisson, Laon, and Meudon, in France, belong to Coryphodon,
Speaking of a tooth from Soisson, Cuvier said that the entire
skeleton was found indicating an animal almost as large as a bull,
but that the workmen employed in the sand-pit (saUiere) unfor-
tunately preserved only that one tooth. The first specimen of
Coryphodon discovered in America was found in 1871, near
Evanston, Wyoming, by Mr. William Cleburne, while engaged
as surveyor for the Union Pacific Kailroad, who secured chiefly
its teeth and vertebrae. More or less perfect specimens were
afterwards obtained by Cope during his explorations in New
Mexico, under the survey of Captain Wheeler. Eegarded merely
as a fossil, it is characteristic of the Lower Eocene of Europe and
America ; in North America it is confined to the Wasatch and
Wind Eiver epochs, and is absent from the Upper Eocene of both
countries.

Coryphodon is particularly interesting on account of the primi-
tive features of its skeleton ; the brain was very small and of a
low type. Professor Cope places it, with its allied forms, in a
separate order, to which he gives the name Amblypoda, on
account of their elephantine limbs and probable ambling gait.*

C. hamatus was about six feet long ; while some species were
no larger than a tapir, others were as big as an ox (see Plate XL).

Professor Cope thinks that in general appearance the Corypho-

dons resembled the bear more than any other living animal, with

the important exception that in their feet they were like elephants.

' Mr. Charles Earle, after a careful revision of this family, has suggested that
Cope's species should be greatly reduced in number, many of them in his
opinion being only due to differences of age and sex. Bathmodon, Metalo-
phodon, Ectodou, Manteodon may all be included in the genus Coryphodoft.

252 EXTINCT MONSTERS

The artist and author, however, in making the accompanying
restoration, have been guided by the evident relationship between
Coryphodon and the Tinoceras. " The movements of the Corypho-
dons," says Professor Cope, "doubtless resembled those of the
elephant in its shuflfling and ambling gait, and may have been
even more awkward from the inflexibility of the ankle. But in
compensation for the probable lack of speed, these animals were
most formidably armed with tusks. These weapons, particularly
those of the upper jaw, were more robust than those of the
camivora, and generally more elongate." There is no evidence
that they had a proboscis — in fact, it is practically impossible.
We may suppose from the nature of the teeth, and from other
evidence, that they were vegetable feeders, but not restricted
to any particular class of food; to a large extent they were
omnivorous, like the hogs of to-day.

It is a little difficult to follow the curious interpretation arrived
at by Professor Osborn and Dr. Wortman that " the positions of
the fore and hind feet were absolutely different," the former being
like those of the elephant (where only the tips of the toes touch
the ground); the latter, in their opinion, like those of a bear
and spreading out to rest on the ground (plantigrade).^ This
is not borne out by Professor Marsh's figure. Much valuable
material for the study of the anatomy of this primitive mammal
was collected by these two gentlemen, in spite of the many
difficulties with which they had to contend, during their expedi-
tion, in the summer of 1891, into the Big Horn and Wind River
regions, where the Wasatch strata are found.

The sketch-map shown in Fig. 93 will give the reader
a general idea of the positions of the different geological

^ Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. iv. (1892),
p. 121.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS

253

" basins " ^ in Western North America, where the strata have
been found to yield so many valuable relics of ancient Tertiary
life.

American geologists tell us that a long time ago (during the
Eocene period) there was a great tropical lake in the Wyoming
territory, on the borders of which roamed, amidst luxuriant

Fig. 93. — Map of North America in Tertiary times, showing roughly the outline
of the coast, and sites of the principal fresh-water lakes.

vegetation, a large number of strange and primitive quadrupeds,
together with many other forms of life. The most wonderful
group of animals that haunted the shores of this lake, or perhaps
river valley, was the Dinocerata so fully described by Professor
Marsh, in his exhaustive monograph.^ The name implies that

' When strata have been bent downwards into a kind of trough going far
below the surface, they are said to lie in a " basin." Examples : the London
basin, the Paris basin.

^ The Dinocerata, a monograph by 0. C. Marsh, United States Qeological
Survey, vol, x.

254 EXTINCT MONSTERS

they were terrible horned monsters, but whether Nature provided
them with true horns, like those of horned cattle to-day, is at
least open to doubt.

Fig. 94 shows the skeleton of one of these, namely, Tinoceras
ingens. Its length was about twelve feet without the tail. Its
weight, when alive, was calculated to have been six thousand
pounds, or about two tons and three quarters.

Plate XLI. is a restoration of the Tinoceras, made by our artist,
after much consideration and careful study of the valuable cast

Fig. 94. — Skeleton of Tinoceras ingens. (After Marsh.)

exhibited in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington,
which was generously presented by Professor Marsh.

Looking at the skeleton, one is struck with a certain resem-
blance to the rhinoceros on one hand, and to the elephant on the
other. The legs are very elephantine, and the feet must have
been covered with thick pads, but the body reminds one more of
the rhinoceros. The eye was small and deep set, as in the
rhinoceros. In the upper jaw the two canine teeth are developed
into dagger-shaped tusks, the use of which can only be con-
jectured. In the females these are but slightly developed.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 255

It is quite clear, then, that we cannot place the Dinoceras
in any order of living mammals. It is what palaeontologists call
a " generalised type ; " that is to say, it presents certain characters
seen in several groups of living quadrupeds, and not any of those
elaborated or highly developed parts which we see in such
animals to-day. Thus the proboscis of the elephant is the result
of great elongation of the cheeks and nose of its ancestor (see

Pig. 95.— Skull of Dinoceras mirabile. (After Marsh.)

p. 269) ; in other words, the elephant is highly " specialised " in
that direction, whereas our Dinoceras had no proboscis, or only a
very slight one.

Again, the six remarkable bony protuberances of the skull
served to some extent as horns, and probably were covered with
thick bosses of skin, and did not support true horns like those
of our modern oxen and other ruminants. Speaking of these
protuberances. Professor Marsh says, " None of the covering of

256 EXTINCT MONSTERS

these elevations, or horn-cores, has, of course, been preserved ; yet
a fortunate discovery may perhaps reveal their nature by the
form of a natural cast, as the eyeball of the Oreodon is sometimes
thus clearly indicated in the fine Miocene matrix which envelops
these animals." It looks rather as if we have here an early stage
in the evolution of horns, and it may be that in the course of
subsequent ages such prominences as those developed into true
" horn cores," such as sheep or goats have, while the thick bosses
of skin that covered them slowly developed into the true horns
that are attached to these cores. If this is so, then we have here
another instance of a " generalised " structure. Again, the limbs
with their five toes tell us at once that the creature's place in
Nature is outside of those two great groups of modern ungulates,
or hoofed quadrupeds, the odd-toed and the even-toed, represented
on the one hand by the horse, rhinoceros, and tapir, on the other
by the pig, camel, deer, ox, and many other forms. Probably the
two groups had not at this early period branched off from the
primitive ungulate stock with five toes in each foot, of which
the elephant is a living descendant, and from which also the
Dinoceras must have come.

The limbs were strong and massive, but the brain was
remarkably small, so that our Dinoceras cannot be credited with
any high degree of intelligence: and here again we see an
absence of " specialisation " compared with the sagacious elephant.
Professor Marsh has taken casts of its brain-cavity (see Fig. 96).
These casts show that the brain was smaller (in proportion to
the size of the animal) than in any other mammal, whether livinof
or extinct — and even less than in some reptiles ! In fact, it was
a decidedly reptilian kind of brain. Perhaps it may seem hardly
credible, but so small was the brain of Dinoceras mirabile, that
it could have been pulled through the apertures (neural canal)

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 257

of all the neck vertebrae ! In certain marsupials of the present
day we find an approach to this kind of brain. It seems to be
an established fact, according to Professor Marsh, that all the
Eocene or earlier Tertiary mammals had small brains. His
researches among fossil mammals have led him to the important
conclusion that, as time went on, the brains of mammals grew
larger ; and thus he has been able to establish his law of brain-
growth during the Tertiary period, a law which appears to be
plainly recorded in the fossil skulls of succeeding races of ancient
mammals. The importance of a discovery such as this cannot

Fig. 96. — Cast of brain-cavity of Dinoceras mvrahile. (After Marsh.)

fail to strike the imagination of even the most unlearned in
geology as being singularly suggestive and instructive. It is not
difficult to picture these dull, heavy, slow-moving creatures
haunting the forests and palm jungles around the margin of the
great Eocene lake, into the waters of which their carcases from
time to time found their way — perhaps swept down by floods.
No footprints have been discovered as yet.

The Dinocerata were very abundant for a long time during
the middle of the Eocene period. The position of their remains
suggests that they lived together in herds, as cattle do now,
and they probably found an abundance of food in the shape of

258 EXTINCT MONSTERS

succulent vegetation round the great lake. Geological evidence
points to their sudden extinction before the close of the Eocene
period ; but it is difficult to understand this.

In the museum at Yale College are collected the spoils of
numerous expeditions to the West, and the many tons of bones
lying there are believed to represent the remains of no less than
two hundred individuals of the Dinocerata. So perfectly have
these bones been preserved by Nature that, even if the creatures
had been living now, the material for studying their skeletons
could hardly be more complete. Professor Marsh recognises
three distinct types in this strange group of quadrupeds, on each
of which a genus has been founded. The first and oldest form
is the Uintatherium, which takes its name from the Uinta
Mountains. This, as might be expected, is the most primitive
or least specialised form, and comes from lower strata. The most
highly developed or specialised form is the Tinoceras, and this
is found at the highest geological level or " horizon."

Between these two extremes, and from an intermediate horizon,
comes the Dinoceras,^ so that in tracing these animals through
the strata in which they occur the geologist finds that he is
following for a while the course of their evolution. Doubtless
there were many slight differences presented by the members of
this group, but at present it has not been found possible to
determine the number of species, although about thirty forms
more or less distinct have been recognised. Professor Marsh
says that the specimen of the skull of Dinoceras mirabile, on
which the whole order Dinocerata was founded, is, fortunately,
in a very perfect state of preservation, and that it belonged to
a fully adult animal. Moreover, it was embedded in so soft a

^ The Dincoeras of Marsh is the same form as Eobasileus of Cope. Uinta-
therium was discovered by Leidy.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 259

matrix that the brain-cavity and the openings leading from it
could be worked out without difficulty.

It is about forty-one years since the wonderful forms of life
sealed up within these Eocene lake-deposits first became known
to science. Long before then, however, the wandering Indian
had been accustomed to seeing strange-looking skulls and
skeletons that peeped out upon him from the sides of canons and
hills, as the rocks that enclosed them crumbled away under the
influence of atmospheric agents of change — the ceaseless working
of wind, rain, heat, and cold. To his untrained mind no other
explanation suggested itself than the idea that these were the
bones of his ancestors, which it would be highly impious to
disturb. Bequiescant in pace I So he left them in peace.
Perhaps he believed in a former race of human giants ; if so,
these would be their bones. Long before Professor Marsh's
expeditions, the earliest squatters, trappers, and others used to
bring back news of marvellous monsters grinning from the ledges
of rock beneath which they camped. At last these tales attracted
the notice of some enthusiastic naturalists in the eastern States.
Professor Leidy obtained a number of bones, from which he was
able to bring to light an extinct creature at that time unknown
to science, namely, the Uintatherium. Professor Cope also
described some extinct animals disinterred by himseK from the
same region.

But our knowledge of the Dinocerata is chiefly due to Professor
Marsh, who has despatched one expedition after another, and
who, after many years of laborious research both in the western
deserts and in his wonderful collection at Yale College, has
published a splendid monograph on the subject. No trouble
and no expense have been spared in order to obtain material for
this great work, and all geologists must feel grateful to Professor

26o

EXTINCT MONSTERS

Marsh for so liberally devoting his time and his private resources
in order to advance the science of Palaeontology.

In the country east of the Eocky Mountains, including the
states of Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and part of Colorado,
Professor Marsh has discovered the remains of yet another
strange group of large quadrupeds. The best known of these is
Brontops, of which the skeleton is seen in Fig. 97. These animals
lived after the Dinocerata, namely, in the Miocene period, and

Pig. 97. — Sktioooii oL L^ontops robustiis. (After Marsh.)
were the largest American mammals of that period.

They

constitute a distinct family more nearly allied to the rhinoceros
than to any other living form. The skeleton on which Fig. 97
is founded was the most complete of any yet discovered by
Professor Marsh. Portions of it were exhumed at different times,
but it was first found in 1874. Our artist has made the restora-
tion seen in Plate XLII. from this skeleton, as figured by Professor
Marsh.

This strange group of creatures flourished in great numbers on

SOME EARLY MAMMALS

261

the borders of an old lake of Miocene age. The Brontops was a
heavy, massive animal, larger than any of the Dinocerata, with a
length of twelve feet, not including the tail, and a height of eight
feet. The limbs are shorter than those of the elephant, which
it nearly equalled in size. As in the tapir, there were four toes
to the front limbs, and three to the hind limbs. Its skull was of

Fig. 98. — Side and top views of skull of Titanotherium, from Miocene

strata, North America.

a peculiar shape, shallow, and very large. That of Brontops
ingens is thirty-six inches long, and twenty inches between the
tips of the two horns, or protuberances. The creature was
probably provided with an elongated, flexible nose, like that of
the tapir, but not longer, because the length of the neck shows
that it could reach the ground without the aid of a trunk such as

262

EXTINCT MONSTERS

the elephant's. This creature has also been described under the
name of Titanotherium. (See Plate XLIII.)

One of the strangest of quadrupeds ever discovered by geologists
was the huge and fierce beast known as Arsinoetherium of which

Fig. 99. — Skull and lower jaw of Arsinoetherium, from the Upper Eocene of the

Fayiim, Egypt.

the skull is shown in Fig. 99, and a restoration in Plate XLIII.
The remains were found by Mr. Beadnell of the Egyptian
Geological Survey in the Upper Eocene Sands of the Fayum^
district. The only parts missing appear to be the ribs and the
toes. The skull was nearly three feet long, and although some

* See Catalogue of the Tertiary Vertehrata of the Fayum, Egypt. By
C. W. Andrews, D.Sc. Published by Trustees of British Museum.

SOME EARLY MAMMALS 263

bones are still missing, enough is known to justify a tentative re-
storation such as is shown in our Plate XLIII. See the specimens
in the Fossil Mammal Gallery, Natural History Museum. Dr. C.
W. Andrews proposes a new order, viz. the Barypoda (or heavy-
footed beasts), to distinguish this creature from such of its allies
as the Dinoceras and the Elephants. The affinities of Arsinoe-
therium are at present unsettled, but it may possibly be related
to the order of ungulates known as Hyracoidea, and at the present
day represented by the Syrian Hyrax or coney. It is an isolated
and a primitive group, probably related to the Phenacodus, as
well as to the order Amblypoda. Queen Arsinoe, a Greek Queen
of Egypt, had her palace near where the bones were found ; hence
the name. The horn-cores in the skull are formed by a hollow
shell of bone. The height of the creature was 5 feet 9 inches at
the withers, and the length about 9 feet 9 inches from the snout
to the rump.

CHAPTER XIY

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS

'' Yes, where the huntsman winds his matin horn,

And the couched hare beneath the covert trembles ;
Where shepherds tend their flocks, and grow their corn,

Where fashion in our gay Parade assembles —
Wild horses, deer, and elephants have strayed,
Treading beneath their feet old Ocean's races."

Horace Smith.

The science of Palseontology is always advancing, sometimes by
leaps and bounds, at other times slowly but surely. It is our
pleasant duty to record here a great step in advance made some
seven years ago chiefly by the researches in Egypt of Dr. C. W.
Andrews, F.E.S. His discoveries in the district known as the
Fayum have enabled him to solve a very important and interesting
problem, namely, the evolution of the Elephant, the only living
representative of that strange order known to naturalists and
palaeontologists as the Proboscidia, because they are all provided
with trunks. The relationships of the group are still partly
wrapped in mystery,^ but as if to compensate for this loss, we
can now tell how the elephant got his trunk ! We can almost see
it growing as we look at those wonderful skulls obtained from
Egypt, showing, among other things, the great increase in size
which took place. This is surely a great result, the problem of

^ According to Dr. C. W. Andrews, and others, they seem to be related to the
Sirenia or sea-cows, an order very unlike in external appearance, but for all that
the anatomist finds certain common characters.

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THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 265

the evolution of the Proboscidia is solved at last ! It will not be
necessary to go into many details in our attempt to explain this
wonderful story. If the reader should go to the Natural History

Fig. 100. — Skull and lower Jaw of Mceritherium lyonsi, Middle Eocene of the
Fayum, Egypt. (After C. W. Andrews.)

Museum at South Kensington he wUl be able to inspect the
models of restored skulls which have been made at the Museum.

Fig. 101. — SkuU and lower jaw of Palceomastodon beadnelli, from the Upper
Eocene of the Fayum, Egypt. (After C. W. Andrews.)

These are to be seen close to the elephant skeletons in the
gallery devoted to fossil mammals.

The four stages in the history of Elephants may be best
illustrated by the four skulls shown in Figs. 100 to 103. The first
belongs to the Mceritherium, which takes its name from the old

266

EXTINCT MONSTERS

Egyptian Lake Moeris. " Can it be possible," the reader may
well ask, " that this skull once belonged to a creature which was
the forerunner of Elephants ? " Well, so it seems, although the
differences are very great. The shape of the skull gives no sug-
gestion at all of anything elephantine, nor does the large number of
teeth with their sharp pointed ridges. The Mceritherium, accord-
ing to Dr. Andrews,^ was about the size of a tapir, which it much
resembled, and it probably frequented the marshes of the period

Fig. 102. — Skull and lower jaw of Tetrabelodon augustidens, from Middle
Miocene of Sansan, France. (After G. W. Andrews.)

(Middle Eocene), see Plate XLIV. The length of the skull is only
about sixteen inches ; the limbs are partly known. The next beast,
the Palseomastodon beadnelli was larger and more adapted to a
terrestrial life. Its skull, shown in Fig. 101, was about three feet
long, and now we see something really elephantine. The whole
face, nose, and cheeks began to be pushed forward, its forehead
slopes upward, and there is a large opening for the nose, the teeth

* Catalogue of the Tertiary Vertebrata of the Fayum Egypt. Published by
Trustees of the British Museum,

x^

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THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 267

are reduced in number. The canines and the first premolars are
lost. The lower jaw is considerably elongated. We begin to see
signs of a trunk. Now, this creature probably looked like a rather
long-necked elephant (see Plate XLV.), but its trunk was not
flexible, being supported by the long lower jaw, for which it partly
formed a covering. Probably it could reach the ground with its
lower incisors, and the end of the snout may have been prehensile.
In size it was about as big as a half-grown Indian Elephant.
Now, in the next stage, represented by Tetrabelodon augustidens

Fig. 103. — Skull and lower jaw of Elephas (Stegodon) ganesa, from Lower
Pliocene of Sivalik Hills, N. India.

(see Fig. 102), we have something much more like an Elephant.
To begin with, it is bigger. Then see how much more elongated
is the lower jaw. The upper incisors have greatly increased in
size ; only two molars are left in each jaw. The opening for the
nose is further back. Plate XL VI. is a restoration. In size this
creature also resembled the Elephant, being about as big as a
moderate-sized elephant of the present day. In the later Miocene
period this long lower jaw got shortened, and so an approach was
made to the modern type. Fig. 103 shows us the last stage in
this strange history, when the lower jaw rather suddenly contracted

268

EXTINCT MONSTERS

and the proboscis greatly increased in size, being left entirely free
and unsupported. These remarkable changes have been well
summed up by Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.R.S,, in the following
words: — "They gradually increased in size without essentially
altering their limbs and body ; but as their legs lengthened and
their neck shortened, their face and chin gradually became
elongated to reach the ground for browsing. When this strange
adaptation had reached its maximum degree, the chin suddenly
shrivelled, leaving the flexible, toothless face without any support.

Fig. 104. — Skeleton of Mastodon arvemensis, Pliocene, Enxope.

Thus arose the unique proboscis of the Elephants, which has
become prehensile by stages which cannot be traced, because soft
parts are not preserved in ordinary geological formations."

During the Miocene period there lived a strange kind of
elephant known as the Dinotherium. No complete skeleton is
known, but the skull, limb-bones, vertebras, etc., have been found.
The skull was discovered at Eppelsheim, in Hesse-Darmstadt, and
other remains in France, Greece, and Asia Minor, also closely
allied forms in India, but none in America. We learn from the

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ELEPHANT, THIBD STAGE, TI:ti;ai;EI.(|J loN.
MIOCENE PERIOD. EGYPT.
Plate XLVI. Height about 7 or 8 feet at the shoulder.

Illustration lent by H. R. Knipe (from Nebula to Man).

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 269

X,

Fig. 105. — Evolution of the Elephant.

1. MceritJierium. 2, Palceomastodon.
3. Tetrabelodon. 4. Elephas africamis.

270

EXTINCT MONSTERS

skull of this creature that it had a fairly large proboscis, but,
unlike other elephants of the present time, the two tusks are in
the lower jaw and curve downwards instead of upwards. Dean

Buckland came to the conclusion
that this creature was largely
aquatic in its habits, but this is
not certain. However, the aquatic
habits of the tapir, a distant rela-
tion of the elephant, show that
this conclusion is by no means an
impossible one. It is not easy to
imagine how such tusks were used
under water, as Buckland sug-
gested, to grub up aquatic plants;
Fig. 106. — Skull of Dinotherium but on land they could certainly

giganteum, from Eppelsheim. The i n ■, •

lower jaw is a cast. An examination ^e used for raking Up the ground,

of the skull at the top wiU show that ^nd perhaps in pulling down the
it is considerably crushed in.

branches of trees. A length of

eighteen feet has been attributed to this creature, of which the

skull is shown in Fig. 106, but this is probably an over-estimate.

A restoration is shown in Plate XLVII.

THE MAMMOTH

Many are the traditions and tales that have clustered round
the Mammoth.^ He is, however, no fabulous product of the

* The word Mammoth is thought by Pallas and Nordenskiold to be of
Tartar origin. The former asserts that the name originated in the word
mamma, which signifies earth (the Mammoth being found frozen in the earth).
It was introduced into the languages of Western Europe about two centuries
ago, from the Russian. But other writers have attempted to prove that it is a
corruption of the Arabic word Behemoth, or "great beast," which in the Book

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 271

imagination, like the dragon, for he has actually been seen in the
flesh, and not only seen, but eaten, both by men and animals !
But, for all that, men's minds have been busy for centuries past
making up tales, often of the wildest description, about him ; and
it is little wonder that a creature whose bones are found in the
soils and gravels, etc., over more than haK the world, and whose
body has been seen frozen in Siberian ice, should have given rise
to many tales and superstitions. To students of folk-lore these
legends are of considerable interest, and to some extent also to
men of science. To the latter, however, one of its many points
of interest is that palaeontology may be said to have been founded
on the Mammoth. Cuvier, the illustrious founder of the science
of organic remains, was enabled, by his accurate and minute
knowledge of the structures of living animals, to prove to his
astonished contemporaries that the Mammoth bones and teeth,
so plentifully discovered in Europe, were not such as could have
belonged to any living elephant, and consequently that there
must have existed, at some previous period in the world's history,
an elephant of a different kind, and quite unknown to naturalists.
This was a new idea, and accordingly one that met with opposition
as well as incredulity.

It was thought in those days that whatever animals lived in the
past must have resembled those now inhabiting the world, and
the idea of extinct types unknown to man, and unknown to the
regions where their bones were found embedded below the soil,
was of so novel and startling a character as to appear incredible.
Besides, the Mosaic account of Creation made no direct reference to
extinct animals, and therefore the notion was not to be entertained!

of Job signifies an unknown animal. In an ancient Chinese work, of the fifth
century before Christ, it is spoken of under the name tien-schu, that is to say,
" the mouse which hides itself."

272 EXTINCT MONSTERS

It is amusing to note the devices to which people resorted
in order to combat this revolutionary teaching. Thus, when
Cuvier first announced the discovery of the fossH remains of
the elephant, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros in the superficial
deposits of continental Europe, he was gravely reminded of
the elephants introduced into Italy by Pyrrhus in the Eoman
wars, and afterwards in the Roman triumphal procession or the
games at the Colosseum.

It was only by means of minute anatomical differences that he
was able to show that the bones and teeth of these elephants
must have belonged to a species unlike those now living. But
these differences proved too subtle for even scientific men to
appreciate, so slight was their knowledge of anatomy compared
with his ; so that they were either disallowed or explained away.

But he was not to be beaten, and appealed to the fact that
similar remains occurred in Great Britain, whither neither Eomans
nor others could have introduced such animals. These are his
words : " If, passing across the German Ocean, we transport
ourselves into Britain, which in ancient history by its position
could not have received many living elephants besides that one
which Caesar brought thither, according to Polycenus ; we shall,
nevertheless, find these fossils in as great abundance as on the
Continent."

Another crushing answer to the absurd explanations of Cuvier's
countrymen was added by the sagacious Dean Buckland, who
pointed out that in England, as on the Continent, the remains
of elephants are accompanied by the bones of the rhinoceros and
hippopotamus, animals which not even Eoman armies could have
subdued or tamed! Owen also adds that the bones of fossil
elephants are found in Ireland, where Caesar's army never set foot.

It was in 1796 that Cuvier announced that the teeth and bones

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 273

of the European fossil elephants were distinct in species from
both the African and the Indian elephant, the only two living
species (El. africanus and El. indicus). This fundamental fact
opened out to him new views about the creation of the world
and its inhabitants, and a rapid glance over other fossil bones in
his collection showed him the truth and the value of this great
idea (namely, the existence of extinct types), to which he con-
secrated the rest of his life. Thus palaeontology may be said to
have been founded on the Mammoth.

The fossil remains of elephants have, on account of their
common occurrence in various parts of the world, attracted
a great deal of attention, both from the learned and the
unlearned. In the north of Europe they have been found in
Ireland, in Germany ; in Central Europe, in Poland, Middle and
South Eussia, Greece, Spain, Italy; also in Africa, and over a
large part of Asia. In the New World they have been found
abundantly in North America. But in the frozen regions of
Siberia their tusks, teeth, and bones are met with in very great
abundance. According to Pallas, the great Eussian savant, there
is not in the whole of Asiatic Eussia, from the Don to the
extremity of the Tchutchian promontory, any brook or river on
the banks of which some bones of elephants and other animals
foreign to these regions have not been found. The primaeval
elephants (Mammoth, Mastodon, etc.) appear to have formerly
ranged over the whole northern hemisphere of the globe, from the
fortieth parallel to the sixtieth, and possibly to near the seventieth
degree of latitude.

Just as the North American Indian regards the great bones of
Professor Marsh's extinct Eocene mammals that peep out from
the sides of buttes and canons, as belonging to his ancestors,
so we find that in all parts of the world the bones of extinct

T

\

274 EXTINCT MONSTERS

elephants have, on account of their great size (and partly from
a certain resemblance, in some, to bones of the human skeleton),
been regarded as testifying to the former existence of giants,
heroes, and demigods. To the present day the Hindoos consider
such remains as belonging to the Eakshas, or Titans, — beings that
figure largely in their ancient writings. Theophrastus, of Lesbos,
a pupil of Aristotle, appears to have been the first to record the
discovery of fossil ivory and bones. These were probably obtained
by the country people from certain deposits in the neighbourhood,
and are mentioned five hundred years later by Pausanias. Several
Greek legends and traditions appear to be founded on such
discoveries.

We will now put before the reader the true accounts given by
Adams .^

In 1799 a Tungusian, named Schumachoff, who generally
went to hunt and fish at the peninsula of Tamut after the
fishing season of the Lena was over, had constructed for his
wife some cabins on the banks of the lake Oncoul, and had
embarked to seek along the coasts for Mammoth tusks. One
day he saw among the blocks of ice a shapeless mass, but did
not then discover what it was. In 1800 he perceived that this
object was more disengaged from the ice, and that it had two
projecting parts ; and towards the end of the summer of 1801
the entire side of the animal and one of his tusks were quite
free from ice. In 1803 the enormous mass fell by its own
weight on a bank of sand. It was a frozen Mammoth ! In 1804
Schumachoff came to his Mammoth, and having cut off the
tusks, exchanged them with a merchant for goods. Two years
afterwards Mr, Adams, the narrator of the story, traversed these

^ Abridged from Memoirs of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St.
Petersburg, vol. v. London, 1819.

r

REMAINS OP A MAMMOTH EXCAVATED BY THE MEMBERS OP AN EXPEDITION
PROM ST. PETERSBURG IN 1902 ON THE BANKS OP THE BEROSOWKA (JAKUTSK).
From a papeFby Dr. Hertz, Bulletin Imp. Academy, St. Petersburg, April, 1902, old style.
Plate XLVIIf.

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 275

distant and desert regions, and found the Mammoth still in
the same place, but sadly mutilated. The people of the neigh-
bourhood had cut off the flesh, and fed their dogs with it during
the scarcity. Wild beasts, such as white bears, wolves, and
foxes, also had fed on it, and the traces of their footsteps were
seen around. The skeleton was complete all except one leg, but
the flesh had almost all gone. The head was covered with a dry
skin, one of the ears was seen to be covered with a tuft of hairs.
All these parts suffered more or less injury in transport for a
distance of 7330 miles to St. Petersburg, yet the eyes have been
preserved. This Mammoth was a male, with a long mane on
its neck, but both tail and proboscis had disappeared. The skin
is of a dark grey colour, covered with a reddish wool and black
hairs. The entire carcase was nine feet four inches high. The
skin of the side on which the carcase had lain was detached
by Mr. Adams, for it was well preserved, but so heavy was
it that ten persons found great difficulty in transporting it to
the shore. The white bears, while devouring the flesh, had
trodden into the ground much of the hair belonging to the
carcase, but Mr. Adams was able by digging to procure about
sixty pounds' weight of hair. In a few days the work was
completed, and he found himself in possession of a treasure
which amply compensated him for the fatigues and dangers of
the journey as well as the expense of the enterprise. When
first seen, this Mammoth was embedded in clear pure ice, which
forms in that coast escarpments of considerable thickness, sloping
towards the sea, the top of which is covered with moss and
earth. If the account of the Tungusians can be trusted, the
carcase was some way below the surface of the ice when first
seen. Arrived at Takutsk, Mr. Adams purchased a pair of tusks
which he believed to belong to this Mammoth, but there is

276 EXTINCT MONSTERS

reason to doubt whether he did get the right tusks. They are
nine feet six inches long.

The skeleton of this specimen, the fame of which may be said
to have spread all over the world, is now set up in the Museum
of the St. Petersburg Academy, and the skin still remains
attached to the head and feet. A part of the skin and some of
the hair were sent by Mr. Adams to Sir Joseph Banks, who
presented them to the Museum of the Koyal College of Surgeons.^
A photograph of the skeleton as it now stands, may be seen
on the wall of the Geological Gallery at South Kensington
near the specimens of Mammoth tusks. But it should be
pointed out that the tusks are put on the wrong way ; for they
curve outwards instead of inwards, thus presenting a some-
what grotesque appearance. For this reason we have not
reproduced the familiar woodcut based on an engraving in the
memoir already referred to.^ But we give, instead, a sketch
taken from a photograph (also on the wall in Gallery No. 1.) of
a fine skeleton in the Brussels Museum (Fig. 107). Here the
tusks are seen correctly inserted. We must also draw the
reader's attention to the remarkably fine specimen consisting
of the skull and both tusks complete, found at Ilford in Essex.
Plate XL VIII. shows a more recent discovery in Siberia.

Adams's specimen was. Dr. H. Woodward thinks, an old
individual, and its tusks had curved upwards so much as to be

^ A specimen of the hair of a mammoth may be also seen at the Natural
History Museum in a tall glass jar. It came from frozen soil, Behring Strait.
By the side of this will be seen, in a glass box, a portion of the skin of a
mammoth, from the banks of the river Alaseja, Province of Yakutsk, Siberia.
It exhibits the under fur, the long hair having entirely disappeared.

2 Fig. 42 in the Guide to the Fossil Mammals and Birds in the Department
of Geology and Palxontology in the British Museum {Natural History), Crom^
well Road, 1904. This most useful guide should be consulted by the reader.
Also A Guide to the Elephants, 1908. Each Qd.

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 277

of little use. In younger ones they were less curved. The hair
that still remains on the skin of the St. Petersburg specimen is
of the colour of the camel, very thick-set and curled in locks.
Bristles of a dark colour are interspersed, some reddish, and
some nearly black. The colour of the skin is a dull black, as
in living elephants (see restoration, Plate XLIX.).

Eemains of the Mammoth (Elephas primigenius) have been
found in great numbers in the British Isles. Mr. Samuel

Fig. 107. — Skeleton of Mammoth, Elephas primigenius (partly restored), in the
Museum at Brussels. Drawn (from a photograph) by J. Smit.

Woodward calculated that upward of two thousand grinders of
elephants have been dredged up during a period of thirteen years
upon the oyster-bed off Hasborough, on the Norfolk coast. But
many of these doubtless belong to other species of older date,
such as Elephas antiquus.

Dr. Bree, of Colchester, says that the sea-bottom off Dunkirk,
whence he has made a collection, is so full of mammalian remains
that the sailors speak of it as " the Burying-ground."

278 EXTINCT MONSTERS

The remains of the Mammoth occur over a very large geo-
graphical area — fully half the globe.

By far the most important discovery of a frozen Mammoth is
that of a young Eussian Engineer, Benkendorf by name, who
was an eye-witness of its resurrection, though, most unfortunately,
he was unable either to procure his specimen, as Mr. Adams did,
or to make drawings of it. A full account was given in our
previous edition, p. 204.

With regard to the food of the Mammoth, Benkendorf's dis-
covery is of great service in solving the question how such a
creature could have maintained its existence in so inhospitable
and unpromising a country. The presence of fir-spikes in the
stomach is sufficient to prove that it fed on vegetation such as is
now found at the northern part of the woods as they join the low
treeless tundra in which the body lay buried.

Before this discovery the food of the Mammoth was unknown,
and all sorts of theories were devised in order to account for its
remains being found so far north. Some thought that the
Mammoth lived in temperate regions, and that the carcases were
swept down by great floods into higher and colder latitudes.
But it would be impossible for the bodies to be hurried along a
devious course for so many miles without a good deal of injury,
and probably they would fall to pieces on the way. But, as
Professor Owen has so convincingly argued, there is no reason
why herds of Mammoths should not have obtained a sufficient
supply of food in a country like the southern part of Siberia,
where trees abound in spite of the fact that during a great part
of the year it is covered with snow. And this is his line of
reasoning. The molar teeth of the elephant show a highly com-
plicated and peculiar structure, and there are no other quad-
rupeds that feed to such an extent on the woody fibre of the

in ^

" « a

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 279

branches of trees. Many mammals, as we know, eat the leaves
of trees ; some gnaw the bark ; but elephants alone tear down
and crunch the branches. One would think there was but little
nourishment to be got from such. But the hard vertical plates
of their huge grinders enable them to pound up the tough vege-
table tissue and render it more or less palatable. Of course, the
foliage is the most tempting, but where foliage is scarce some-
thing more is required.

Now, in the teeth of the Mammoth the same principle of
construction is observed, only with greater complexity, for there
are more of these grinding plates and a larger proportion of
dense enamel. Hence the inference seems unmistakable that
the extinct species fed more largely on woody fibre than does the
elephant of to-day. Forests of hardy trees and shrubs still grow
upon the frozen soil of Siberia, and skirt the banks of the Lena
as far north as the sixtieth parallel of latitude.

If the Mammoth flourished in temperate latitudes only, as
formerly suggested, then its thick shaggy coat becomes super-
fluous and meaningless ; but if it lived in the region where its
body has been found, then the argument from its teeth, and the
fir-spikes found in its stomach, is confirmed by the nature of its
skin, and all the old difficulties vanish. Sir Bichard Owen con-
sidered that we may safely infer that, if living at the present day,
it would find a sufficient supply of food at all seasons of the
year in the sixtieth parallel, and even higher. Perhaps it
migrated north during the summer ; and, judging from the
present limits of arboreal vegetation, it may have been able
to subsist even in latitude 70° north, for at the extreme points
of Lapland pines attain a height of sixty feet.^

> Sir Henry Howorth, in his Mammoth and the Flood, su^ests another
theory, and gives much valuable information.

28o EXTINCT MONSTERS

It is often no easy matter to form conclusions with regard to
the habits of extinct animals ; and we must not rely too much
on arguments derived from the habits of their living descendants
or relatives. The older geologists fell into this mistake, as did
even Cuvier. Modern elephants are at present restricted to
regions where trees with perennial foliage flourish ; and therefore
it was argued that there must have been a change of climate,
either gradual or sudden in the country of the mammoth. The
late Sir Eichard Owen, however, did not share these views, as the
following extract shows : " The fact seems to have been generally
overlooked that an animal organised to gain its subsistence
from the branches or woody fibre of trees, is thereby rendered
independent of the seasons which regulate the development of
leaves and fruit; the forest food of such species becomes as
perennial as the lichens that flourish beneath the winter snows
of Lapland ; and were such a quadruped to be clothed, like the
reindeer, with a natural garment capable of resisting the rigours
of an arctic winter, its adaptation for such a climate would be
complete. . . . The wonderful and unlooked-for discovery of an
entire Mammoth, demonstrating the arctic character of its natural
clothing, has, however, confirmed the deductions which might
have been legitimately founded upon the localities of its most
abundant remains, as well as upon the structure of its teeth,
viz. that, like the Eeindeer and Musk Ox of the present day, it
was capable of existing in high northern latitudes." ^

The problem of the extinction of the Mammoth is not an
easy one to solve. We can hardly accoimt for its disappearance
by calling in geographical changes by which its range became
restricted and its food supply diminished, so that in the

1 A History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds, by Richard Owen,
F.R.S., etc. London, 1846.

THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANTS 281

competition with other herbivorous animals this primaeval giant
" went to the wall," as the saying is. Nor does Lyell's appeal to
a change in climate, by which the cold of Siberia became too
intense even for the Mammoth, seem quite satisfactory, espe-
cially when we remember how very far north fir trees range
(p. 279).

The Mammoth, probably, was endowed with a fairly tough
constitution. See Plate XLIX. In Siberia it fed on fir trees. In
Kentucky it fared better, and was surrounded by such vegetation

Fig. 108. — Figure of the Mammoth, engraved on Manamoth ivory by cave-men
of La Madelaine, France.

as now flourishes in that temperate region. In the valley of the
Tiber (where also its remains are found), though during the
" Glacial period " the temperature was, doubtless, lower than at
present, we cannot imagine that an arctic climate prevailed. Thus
we see that it was capable of flourishing in various and widely
separated regions where the conditions of climate and food supply
could hardly have been similar.

Professor Boyd Dawkins, whose views we are adopting here,^
considers that the Mammoth was exterminated by man — a simple

^ Popular Science Review, vol. vii. p. 275 (1868).

282 EXTINCT MONSTERS

solution of the question, which seems to present no difficulties.
That it was hunted by the primitive folk of "the Eeindeer
period " in France, is proved by its remains in the caves where
men dwelt, and by a drawing cut by a hunter of the Older Stone
Age on one of its own tusks (see Fig. 108). A cast of this most
interesting relic may be seen in the pre-historic galleries at the
British Museum, Bloomsbury.

CHAPTER XV

GIANT SLOTHS AND AKMADILLOS

" Injecta monstris terra dolet suis."

Horace, Odes, book iii.

It would have been strange, considering how much we owe
to North America, had the great South American continent not
enriched our knowledge of past forms of life on the globe. But
such is not the case. The honours are, as it were, divided,
although it must be admitted that the North American extinct
forms at present known are far more numerous. There are,
however, two or three " Extinct Monsters " of very great interest
which once had a home in South America — in that strange region
of the Pampas, where the naturalist of the present day finds so
much to excite his interest. Of these the present chapter treats.

The Megatherium ^ (Cuvier) was a gigantic mammal allied to
sloths and ant-eaters, and perhaps to the armadillos. In its skull
and teeth this colossus of the past resembled the sloths, in its
limbs and backbone it resembled the ant-eaters, while in size it
surpassed the largest rhinoceros (Plate XLI.). The famous, but
imperfect, specimen at Madrid was for a long time the principal
if not the only source of information with regard to this extinct
genus, and for nearly a century it remained unique.

Later on, however, the zeal and energy of Sir Woodbine
Parish, his late Majesty's charge-d' affaires at Buenos Ayres,

^ Greek — megas, great ; therion, beast.

284 EXTINCT MONSTERS

greatly helped to augment the materials for arriving at a just
conclusion with regard to its proper place in the animal kingdom.
According to one writer, Spain formerly possessed considerable
parts of three different skeletons. The first and most complete
is that which is preserved in the royal cabinet at Madrid. This
was sent over in 1789, by the Marquis of Loreto, Viceroy of
Buenos Ayres, with a notice stating that it was found on the
banks of the river Luxan. In 1795 a second specimen arrived
from Lima, and other portions, probably not very considerable,
were in the possession of Father Fernando Scio, to whom they
had been presented by a lady from Paraguay. But two German
doctors, Messrs. Pander and D' Alton, who published in 1821 a
beautiful monograph on the subject, state that they were unable
in 1818 to find any traces of either the Lima specimen or that
which had belonged to Fernando Scio.

The remains collected by Sir Woodbine Parish were discovered
in the river Salado, which runs through the flat alluvial plains
(Pampas) to the south of the city of Buenos Ayres, after a
succession of three unusually dry seasons, "which lowered the
waters in an extraordinary degree, and exposed parts of the
pelvis to view as it stood upright in the bottom of the river." ^

This and other parts having been carried to Buenos Ayres by
the country people, were placed at the disposal of Sir Woodbine
Parish by Don Hilario Sosa, the owner of the property on which
the bones were found. A further inquiry was instituted by Sir
Woodbine; and on his application, the governor granted assist-
ance, the result of which was the discovery of the remains of
two other skeletons on his Excellency's properties, at no great

^ " Some Account of the Remains of the Megatherium sent to England from
Buenos Ayres, by Woodbine Parish, Jun., Esq., F.R.S.," by Wm. Clift, Esq.,
F.R.S., Oeological Transactions, second series, vol. iii., p. 437.

Plate L.

CAST OF A SKELETON OF MEGATHERIUM AMERICANUM.
Set up in the Natural History Museum, London.

GIANT SLOTHS AND ARMADILLOS 285

distance from the place where the first had been found. It
was in the year 1832 that Sir Woodbine Parish sent his valuable
collection of bones from Buenos Ayres, and presented them to
the Eoyal College of Surgeons. These specimens formed the
subject of Mr. Clift's memoir above quoted. But even then the
materials were not complete for a thorough knowledge of the bony
framework of the Megatherium, and it was not till 1845, when
more remains (discovered near Luxan, 1837) reached this country,
that Sir Eichard Owen was able to clear up one or two doubtful
details. These were purchased by the trustees of the British
Museum, and casts of the bones were taken. Among the various
writings by learned men on the subject, Owen's masterly descrip-
tion stands pre-eminent ; indeed, he was the only one to solve
the riddle, to thoroughly explain the structure of this giant sloth,
and to show how its food was obtained.^ Neither Cuvier, nor the
German doctors, nor Mr. Clift had succeeded in so doing.

In the Natural History Museum is a cast representing the
animal nearly erect, and grasping a tree. This magnificent cast
(see Plate L.) represents an animal eighteen feet in length,
and its bones are more massive than those of the elephant. For
instance, the thigh-bone is nearly thrice the thickness of the same
bone in the largest of existing elephants, the circumference being
equal to the entire length. To a comparative anatomist several
striking indications of great strength present themselves; thus,
not only the very forms of the bones themselves mean strength,
but their surfaces, ridges, and crests are everywhere made rough
for the firm attachment of powerful muscles and tendons. In
the fore part of the body the skeleton is comparatively slender,

^ His views are expounded in his Memoir on the Megatherium, or Giant
Ground Sloth of America, 1861, which is beautifully illustrated. The Eoyal
Society gave £100 (part of a Government grant of £1000) to enable Professor
Owen to carry out this important work.

286 EXTINCT MONSTERS

but the hind quarters show enormous strength and weight com-
bined. The tail, also, is very powerful and massive. The fore
limbs are long, and evidently constructed for the exertion of
great force. How this force was applied we shall see presently.
In both sets of limbs we notice powerful claws, such as might
be used for scratching up the ground near the roots of a tree,
and it was at one time thought that this was the way in which
the creature obtained its leafy food, namely, by digging up trees
by the roots and then devouring the leaves. But Owen had
another explanation.

As in the living sloths and armadillos (edentata ^), there are no
teeth in the fore part of the jaw. The molar teeth, of which there
are five on each side of the upper jaw, and four in the lower, are
hollow prismatic cylinders, straight, seven to nine inches long,
and implanted in deep sockets.

On looking at the model so skilfully set up at South Kensing-
ton, and especially at the front part of the skull, it will be seen
that the snout and lips must have been somewhat elongated,
possibly into a slight proboscis like that of the tapir. The
specimens of the lower jaw in the wall-case close by show that
it was much prolonged and grooved. This fact must be inter-
preted to mean that the creature possessed a long and powerful
tongue, aided by which it could, like the giraffe, strip off the
small branches of the trees which it had broken or bent down
within its reach.

A bony shield (or carapace) of a great armadillo was found
with one of the specimens described by Mr. Clift, and Buckland
and others thought it belonged to the Megatherium ; but Owen
afterwards showed, by most clear and convincing reasoning from

* This word, which means toothless, is misleading. All the Pleistocene and
existing edentata, however, agree in having no front, or incisor, teeth. Some
forms from Santa Cruz have front teeth.

X ■&

GIANT SLOTHS AND ARMADILLOS 287

the skeleton, that the Megatherium could not have been protected
as armadillos are by such a shield (see p. 291).

And now we come to the question how it obtained its food.
The idea of digging round trees with its claws in order to uproot
them, must be partly, if not entirely, given up; for Owen has
proved, by a masterly piece of reasoning, that this cumbrous
creature, instead of climbing up trees as modern sloths do,
actually pulled down the tree bodily, or broke it short off above
the ground by a tour de force, and, in order to do so, sat upon
its huge haunches and tail as on a tripod, while it grasped the
trunk in its long powerful arms ! Marvellous as this may seem,
it can be shown that every detail in the skeleton agrees with the
idea. Of course there would be limits to possibilities in this
direction, and the larger trees of the period must have been proof
against such Samson-like attempts on the part of the Mega-
therium; but when the trunk was too big, doubtless it pulled
down some of the lower branches. Plate LI. is a restoration,
by our artist, of the South Kensington skeleton.

Sir Woodbine Parish thought that the Megatherium fed on the
Agave, or American aloe.

Another form of extinct sloth found in the same region is the
Mylodon. Though of smaller sisse, it was much bigger than any
living sloth, and attained a length of eleven feet. It has the
same general structure, but the head and jaws are somewhat
different, and more like the recent forms. A nearly perfect and
original skeleton of Mylodon gracilis has been set up beside its
huge relative's cast in the same gallery at the Natural History
Museum. The crowns of its molar teeth are flat instead of being
ridged ; hence its name, which signified " mill-toothed."

Yet another was the Scelidotherium ^ with its long limbs.

' Greek — scelis, limb ; therion, beast.

288 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Darwin obtained an almost entire skeleton of one of these. It
was as large as a polar bear. Speaking of his discovery, he says,
" The beds containing the fossil skeletons consist of stratified
gravel and reddish mud ; a proof that the elevation of the land
has been inconsiderable since the great quadrupeds wandered
over the surrounding plains, and the external features of the
country were then very nearly the same as now. The number of
the remains of these quadrupeds embedded in the vast estuary
deposits which form the Pampas and cover the granitic rocks
of Banda Oriental must be extraordinarily great. I believe a
straight line drawn in any direction through the country would
cut through some skeleton or bones. As far as I am aware, not
one of these animals perished, as was formally supposed, in the
marshes or muddy river-beds of the present land, but their bones
have been exposed by the streams intersecting the subaqueous
deposit in which they were originally embedded. We may con-
clude that the whole area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of
these extinct gigantic quadrupeds." ^

The genus Scelidotherium comprises a number of species and
presents characters more or less intermediate between Mega-
therium and some other genera. The skull is low and elongated,
and shows an approach to that of the modem ant-eater. The
feet also are different from those of Megatherium (see Fig. 109).

These monster sloths inhabited South America during the
latest geological period, known as the Pleistocene. During part
of that time North America, as well as Northern Europe and
Asia, were invaded by a great ice-sheet, and an arctic climate
prevailed. It is therefore very probable that while the mammoth
and the mastodon were roaming over North America, giant sloths
and armadillos were monarchs of the southern continent. What

* Jowmal of Researches.

GIANT SLOTHS AND ARMADILLOS 289

cause, or causes, led to the extermination of the giant sloths and
armadillos is still a matter of speculation. One writer suggests
an explanation that seems to deserve consideration. The southern
parts of this great continent are even now subject to long-
continued droughts, sometimes lasting for three years in succes-
sion, and bringing great destruction to cattle. In fact, the
discoveries related above were rendered possible by several
successive dry seasons. It is argued that the upright position
of most of the skeletons found in situ seems to suggest that the
creatures must have been mired in adhesive mud sufficiently firm

Fig. 109. — Skeleton of Scelidotherium. (After Capellini.)

to uphold the ponderous bones after the flesh had decayed. A
long drought would bring the creatures from the drained and
parched country to the rivers, reduced by want of rain to slender
streams running between extensive mud-banks ; and it is possible
that, in their anxious efforts to reach the water, they may have
only sunk deeper and deeper in the mud until they were engulfed.
This idea is strengthened by information supplied to Mr. Darwin
when in these parts (recorded in his Journal). An eye-witness
told him that during the gran seco, or great drought, the cattle in
herds of thousands rushed into the Parana, and, being exhausted

u

290 EXTINCT MONSTERS

by hunger and thirst, were unable to crawl up the muddy banks,
and so were drowned.

In the last great drought, from 1830 to 1832, it is probable
(according to calculations made) that the number of animals that
died was over one million and a half. The borders of all the
lakes and streamlets in the province were long afterwards white
with their bones.

It does not seem probable that the small sloths of to-day are
descended from these big ones ; but it may be that some of the
arboreal forms forsook their trees and took to the ground. But
nobody can say why they became so enormous.

There can now be no doubt that in the southern part of
South America the giant sloths survived until the human period ;
for in the Argentine Eepublic their remains have been found
together with human bones and stone weapons. Dr. A. Smith
Woodward, the Keeper of Geology in the Natural History
Museum, thus describes this highly interesting find. " The most
important discoveries, however, which appear to prove this survival,
were made in 1897, and subsequent years, by Dr. F. P. Moreno,
Dr. E. Hauthal, Baron Erland Nordenskiold, and others, in a
cavern near Consuelo Cove, Last Hope Inlet, Patagonia, between
the 51st and 52nd degrees of south latitude. Here, in an abso-
lutely dry and powdery deposit on the floor of the large cavern,
were found numerous broken bones of several individuals of a
ground-sloth, Grypotherium, which was nearly as large as
Mylodon, and only differed from the latter in minor features.
With the bones were several pieces of skin, evidently of the
same animal, which showed marks of tools, and seemed to have
been stripped off the carcase by man. There were also large
lumps of excrement, besides masses of cut grass, which may have
been intended for fodder. With the Grypotherium were found

THE LATE SIE RICHARD OWEN.

SKELETON OF GLYPTODON CLAVIPES (IMMATURE, WITHOUT CARAPACE)
From the Pampas formation, Buenos Aires, La Plata Museum. (After Lydekker.)
Plate LII.

GIANT SLOTHS AND ARMADILLOS 291

bones of other extinct animals; and in the saine cavern were
implements of stone and bone, remains of fires, and even the
bones of man himself. The Argentine explorers, in fact, con-
cluded that the Grypotherium had actually been kept in the
cavern and fed by man, who eventually killed the animals for
food." At the Natural History Museum may be seen a series of
specimens illustrating this discovery. The pieces of skin are
covered with coarse hair on the outside, and on the inside are
small nodules of bone. These bony nodules (found with other
skeletons in the Pampas formation) are of special interest: first,
because their presence had never before been even suspected, and
secondly, because they serve to some extent to strengthen the
bonds of relationship between Sloths and Armadillos, which
have a heavy armour (see p. 292). An extinct horse was also
found in this cave.

We now pass on to the old gigantic representative of the
armadillo, the Glyptodon.^ To the eye it resembles more or less
an armadillo, and has a huge cuirass, or large plate of armour,
covering the whole of the body, but allo^ving the head to show in
front, while the legs come out beneath. Both head and tail were
also protected with armour. The great shield, or carapace, in
most of the extinct armadillos, is composed of bony plates of
regular shape, closely united at their edges (sutures) so as to
form a solid piece. It is evident, therefore, that this creature,
having no movable bands, as living armadillos have, could not
roll itself up into a ball. The fore feet have thick, short toes,
instead of long ones, such as their modem representatives have ;
and from this we may infer that they were not in the habit of
burrowing or of seeking their food underground. The family of

' So named by Sir R. Owen, in reference to the sculptured aspect of the
grinding surface of the teeth. Greek — glupho, I carve ; odous, odontos, tooth.

292 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Glyptodonts seem to have been chiefly confined to the continent
of South America, but some species are known to have extended
their range as far as Mexico, and Texas into North America. A
good deal of confusion has arisen with regard to the classification
of these old-fashioned armadillos, on account of the fact that
isolated specimens of their tails have often been found, and these
cannot always be referred to the right carapaces. For example, it
should be pointed out here that the tail represented in Plate LI II.
really belongs to another genus, known as Hoplophorus.^

In Glyptodon asper the scutes of the carapace had a beautiful
rosette-like sculpture, while the sheath of the tail was entirely
composed of a series of movable rings, ornamented with large
projecting tubercles. The vertebrse of the backbone are almost
entirely fused together into a long tube, and also are joined to
the under surface of the great shield, to which the ribs are
united. The cheek-teeth are sixteen in number, four above and
four below on each side. These are channelled with two broad
and deep grooves, which divide the surface into three distinct
lobes. Hence the name of the animal.

Plate LII. represents Glyptodon clavipes (Owen) from the Pleis-
tocene deposits of Buenos Ayres ; but the reader will gain a much
better idea of the animal by inspecting the splendid specimen of
Glyptodon asper in the Natural History Museum, near the centre
window at the East end of the Gallery of fossil mammals.

Plate LIII. is a restoration of another species by our artist.*^

In the Museum of the Koyal College of Surgeons (which the
reader is recommended to visit) there are several most valuable
specimens of these extinct armadillos from South America.

* Greek — Hoplon, armour ; phero, I bear.

2 This plate is based on a beautiful drawing in a Spanish work, Anales del
Museo puhlico de Buenos Aires. G. Burmeister, M.D., Phil. D. Tomo Segundo.

'Ck'^ t||:

s a

GIANT SLOTHS AND ARMADILLOS 293

Armadillos belong, with sloths and ant-eaters, to the same
family of so-called toothless animals (edentata) with no front
teeth, though one or two forms really are toothless. Those of
the present day have their bony armour divided up into a series
of bands, so that they can roll themselves up, more or less, into
balls. They burrow under the ground, where they get their food
to a certain extent, and live a safe life, protected by their casque
of mail. Their only enemies seem to be the monkeys, and one
of the tricks of the young monkeys in the American forests is,
when they find an armadillo away from home, to pull its tail
unmercifully, and try to drag it about. Snakes cannot hurt them.
Mr. W. H. Hudson, in his most interesting book, A Naturalist in
La Plata, narrates how he watched an armadillo kill a snake and
then devour it.

If we examine the anatomy of the armadillo, we shall find that
its bones greatly resemble those of the sloth, but still there are a
few differences. It is a burrowing animal, and therefore requires
great power of scratching and tearing the ground. Why the
colossal forms of armadillo should have become extinct and only
small ones survived to the present time, is one of the many and
perplexing problems presented by the study of extinct animals.
One would have thought from its size and strength that the
Glyptodon had been built, like Eome, for eternity.^

1 The reader who is interested in evolution is strongly recommended to read
the very interesting and suggestive address of Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.R.S,,
to the Geological section of the British Association, 1909 (Winnipeg Meeting).
In this paper the writer speaks of the symptoms of old age in races. One of
these is loss of teeth, shown in tortoises, birds, monotreme mammals of
Australia, and in the Ichthyosaurs. Another is degeneration into eel-like
forms, and another is a superfluity of dead matter in the shape of spines or
bosses, armour plate, and big horns, like those of the Irish deer (Cervus
giganteus).

CHAPTER XVI

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS

" The earth from her deep foundations unites with the celestial orbs that roll
through boundless space, to declare the glory and show forth the praise of their
common Author and Preserver; and the voice of Natural Rehgion accords
harmoniously with the testimonies of Revelation, in ascribing the origin of the
Universe to the will of One eternal and dominant Intelligence, the Almighty
Lord and supreme First Cause of all things that subsist, ' the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever.' " — Dean Buckland.

It would not be safe to venture any positive statement or opinion
as to when the great cetacean order of mammals, which includes
such creatures as whales, dolphins, and porpoises, first appeared
on the earth. But as far as the geological record is known at
present, it would seem as if they were ushered in at the com-
mencement of the Tertiary era, at the same time with many other
new forms of life. The original ancestor of all these marine
mammals may, for all we know, have been evolved some time
before then ; say in the Cretaceous period, or perhaps during that
great and partly unknown interval between the Secondary and
Tertiary eras. What we do know for certain is, that fossil
evidence of their existence first comes to light in the Eocene strata
of North America.

The oldest known whale is the curious Zeuglodon, from the
marine Eocene strata of Alabama. At Claiborne, according to
Sir Charles Lyell, there occur numerous species of shells, besides
many sea-urchins (echinoderms) and abundance of sharks' teeth, v
But the mo3t remarkable remains found there are those of the

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 295

extinct whale, known as Zeuglodon cetoides/ and so called from
the yoke-like form of its double-fanged molar teeth, which are six
inches in length. It has also been found in Mississippi, Georgia,
South Carolina, and Egypt. No strata of later date than the
Eocene period contain its remains, as far as we know ; and it
has never been found out of the Northern Hemisphere. Zeuglodon
must certainly have been a very remarkable creature, and it is
to be hoped that palaeontologists will some day meet with a
complete skeleton, such as may afford the material for showing
its entire bony structure. Unfortunately, although a great many
iinds have been made in Alabama, no complete skeleton has yet
been got together. The remains of at least forty individuals
have been met with, so that we may venture to say that this
ancient cetacean once flourished vigorously. So numerous are
the vertebrae in the above-mentioned locality that it is said they
are used for making fences, and that farmers even bum the
bones in order to get rid of them ! How little they know that
hundi-eds of museum curators all over the world would be only
too glad to procure some of this " rubbish " ! With the spread
of education, and an increasing desire to learn a little about the
former history of our world, let us hope that in time agriculturists
will endeavour to co-operate with men of science in rescuing
from destruction the fossilised remains of the earth's former
inhabitants.

Sir E. Owen declared the Zeuglodon to have been " one of the
most extraordinary of the Mammalia which the revolutions of
the globe have blotted out of the number of existing beings."
Some of the vertebrae found in Alabama have a length of eighteen
inches, and a diameter of twelve inches, while the whole of the
backbone, or vertebral column, has been found undisturbed.

^ Greek — zeugle, yoke ; odous, odontos, tooth.

296 EXTINCT MONSTERS

Sir Charles Lyell said : " The vertebral column of one skeleton
found by Dr. Buckley at a spot visited by me, extended to a
length of nearly seventy feet, and, not far off, part of another
backbone, nearly fifty feet long, was dug up. I obtained
evidence, during a short excursion, of so many localities of
this fossil animal within a distance of ten miles, as to lead
me to conclude that they must have belonged to at least forty
individuals."

This animal is particularly interesting as marking the first
appearance of the very distinct order of cetaceans, so unlike any
other order, except the Sirenia (Manatee and Dugong).

Professor D'Arcy Thompson thinks that Zeuglodon and other
members of its family are related to the seals, and have no direct
affinities with the cetacea ; their teeth certainly are very similar,
but unfortunately we do not at present know what their limbs
were like — though one would expect, from the long pointed head
of Zeuglodon, that the body also was long like a whale's, and
adapted for rapid progress through the water, rather than for
progression on land. One cannot easily picture a creature with
such a skull walking on the land, even in the awkward manner
of a seal ; but we must wait for further evidence on this point.
A portion of a skull of Zeuglodon was found in the Barton Clay,
an Eocene deposit in Hampshire.^

We have already recorded one or two cases in which curious
mistakes have been made by palaeontologists; but the student
soon finds how many and great are the difficulties that have to
be overcome by those who study lost forms of life, difficulties
which in most cases are due to the imperfection of the material

^ The late Professor Dames, of Berlin, has described certain bony plates
found with Zeuglodon remains, which probably indicate that its back was pro-
tected by an armour of scutes (see Natural Science, vol. iv. p. 175).

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 297

at their command, or the bad state of preservation in which the
specimens are often found. The old saying, "Humanum est
errare," is particularly true of palaeontological workers. But, at
least, it can be said of them that they are honest, and never
attempt to delude the public. There have, however, occasionally
arisen enterprising persons, more desirous of making money than
of furthering scientific truth, who have, for a time, succeeded in
the grossest deceptions. Matzuyer, about 1613, exhibited some
Mastodon bones as those of a human giant (Teutoboccus rex) and
made a great stir in France ; and now we have to record another
case in connection with Zeuglodon.

In the year 1845, Dr. Albert Koch exhibited a large skeleton
of a fossil animal, under the name Hydrarchos Sillimani, the
former of which would mean " King of the Sea," while the latter
seemed to indicate the approval of Professor Silliman. (The name
is tempting to a punster.) These remains consisted of a head and
vertebral column, measuring in all one hundred and fourteen feet,
a few ribs and parts of some supposed paddles. Dr. Koch made the
public believe that all the bones had been found together in such a
way as to prove that they belonged to a single individual, and that
the numerous vertebree formed a connected series. This, however,
was a mere fabrication, as was shown by Professor Wyman, who
says "these remains never belonged to one and the same
individual," and that the anatomical characters of the teeth
prove them to be, not those of a reptile, but of a warm-blooded
mammal. He came to the conclusion that the gi-eater part of
the bones belonged to the genus Basilosaurus (King-saurian)
of Harlan, a name which the American geologists still retain
for Zeuglodon. This skeleton represented at least two separate
individuals.

The following letter on the subject, from the well-known

298 EXTINCT MONSTERS

geologist, Dr. G. A. Mantell, appeared in The Illustrated London
News of November 4, 1848 : —

" Sir,

" Will you allow me to correct a statement that appeared
in the last number of your interesting publication ? The
fossil mentioned at the conclusion of the admirable notice of
the so-called sea-serpent, as having been exhibited in America
under the name Hydrarchos Sillimani, was constructed by the
exhibitor, Koch, from bones collected in various parts of Alabama,
and which belonged to several individual skeletons of an extinct
marine cetacean, termed Basilosaurus by the American naturalists,
and better known in this country by that of Zeuglodon, a term
signifying yoked teeth. Mr. Koch is the person who, a few years
ago, had a fine collection of fossil bones of elephants and masto-
dons, out of which he made up an enormous skeleton and exhibited
it in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, under the name Missourium.
This collection was purchased by the trustees of the British
Museum, and from it were selected the bones which now consti-
tute the matchless skeleton of a mastodon in our National Gallery
of organic remains [then in the British Museum]. Not content
with the interest which the fossils he collected in various parts of
the United States possess, Mr. Koch, with the view of exciting
the curiosity of the ignorant multitude, strung together all the
vertebrae he could obtain of BasUosaurus, and arranged them in a
serpentine form, manufactured a skull and claws, and exhibited
the monster as a fossil sea-serpent, under the above-mentioned
name, Hydrarchos. But the trick was immediately exposed by
the American naturalists, and the true nature of the fossil bones
pointed out,^

^ After this, Koch's sea-serpent was carried to Dresden.

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 299

" Bones of the Basilosaurus have been found in many parts of
Alabama and South Carolina, in greensand belonging to a very-
ancient Tertiary formation ; hundreds of vertebrae, bones of the
extremities, portions of the cranium and of the jaws with teeth
have from time to time been collected. Eemains of species of
the same genus have also been found near Bordeaux and in
Malta.

"Professor Owen has shown that the original animal was a
marine cetacean, holding an intermediate position between the
Cachalots and the herbivorous species. It must have attained
a length equal to that of the largest living whales, for a series

Pig. 110. — Head of Squalodon, from Miocene strata, Bavaria.

of vertebrae was observed in situ that extended in a line sixty-five
feet. . . .

"Gideon Algernon Mantell.
" 19, Chester Square, Pimlico, Oct. 31, 1848."

Squalodon (see Fig. 110) represents another extinct genus of
cetaceans, of which very little is known beyond the teeth and
skull. It was formerly classified with Zeuglodon, but its skull is
more like that of a dolphin, although the teeth are somewhat like
those of the former. Teeth and fragments of skulls of Squalodon
have been frequently found in the marine European deposits of
Miocene age— especially in the Vienna basin, many parts of
France, and the Crag formations of Antwerp and of Suffolk ; also

300 EXTINCT MONSTERS

in strata of corresponding age in North America and New
Zealand. A few isolated teeth occur in the cave-deposits of
Italy. The Natural History Museum contains an excellent
reproduction of the skull of Squalodon.

The researches of Dr. C. W. Andrews (see his catalogue
referred to on p. 266) and Dr. E. Fraas in Egypt have revealed
several earlier ancestors of the whales. Of these Protocetus
appears to be derived from the Creodonts (early ancestors of the
Carnivora). This is followed by Prozeuglodon.

Remains of the gigantic Sperm Whale or Cachalot (Physeter
macrocephalus) are found in the Forest-bed of Cromer, and also

Fig. 111. — Skull of thick-toothed Grampus, Pscudorca crassideiis. (Owen.)
Fen, Lincolnshire.

in a later deposit in South America. A number of Miocene and
Pliocene forms allied to the Cachalot have been described under
various names. Eemains of the curious Narwhal, with its long
spear-like tusk, have been found in the Norfolk forest-bed.
Owen has described the skull of a thick-toothed Grampus
that was found beneath the turf in the gi-eat fen of Lincoln-
shire, in the year 1843 (see Fig. Ill), It belongs to the existing
Pseudorca crassidens, but Owen thought it differed from the
present dolphins of our own coasts. Extinct genera of dolphins
are known to occur in some of the later Tertiary deposits of
Europe and America.

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 301

That whales were contemporary with the mammoth in this
country is proved by an interesting discovery made in the year
1828, in a cliff near Brighton, under the following circumstances.
On the face of the cliff, in the ancient shingle which lies immedi-
ately upon the chalk, some fishermen had observed a huge bone
that had been laid bare by an unusually high tide, and now pro-
jected two or three feet beyond the face of the cliff. Unable to
remove it, they broke off the extremity, and sent a fragment of it
to Dr. Mantell, who went to the spot a few days afterwards, and
found that they had demolished a considerable portion of the bone
in their attempts to remove it from its bed, and had only desisted
from fear of being buried beneath the overhanging cliff, which is
composed of loose materials. At last, and not without some
danger, the entire specimen was left exposed. It proved to be the
front nine feet of the left branch of the lower jaw of a whale-bone
whale. On attempting to remove the specimen it broke into a
thousand pieces. So, as the tide was approaching, this interesting
find had to be abandoned. It must have belonged to a whale
from sixty to seventy feet long.

Some of the ancient kangaroos of Australia, that lived during
the Pleistocene period, were very much larger than those we see
now in that country. One of the most remarkable of the extinct
marsupials of Australia was the Diprotodon, of which a skull,
measuring nearly three feet in length, may be seen in the Natural
History Museum, and it was so named on account of its two front
teeth. The creature itself was probably even larger than a rhino-
ceros of the present day (standing six feet high), and is believed

302

EXTINCT MONSTERS

to have resembled a modern Wombat. The restored skeleton
shown in Plate LV, will be presently explained. The history
of the gradual discovery of this strange marsupial may now be
briefly given, since it serves to show how little ground there is for
the popular belief that a Cuvier or an Owen could "restore" a
whole animal from a jaw, or even a single tooth ! Sir E. Owen
himself was obliged to admit that his first conclusion, drawn from

Fia. 112. — Skull of Diprotodon, a kind of Wombat, from Pleistocene strata,
Australia. A man's skull placed for comparison.

part of a jaw of Diprotodon, was quite wrong, as we shall see from
the following account.

The name ^ was given by Owen to part of a lower jaw of the
creature, obtained by Sir Thomas Mitchell in the Wellington
Caves, New South Wales. Five years later, a drawing of part of
a jaw with teeth reached England from the same source, and this
Sir E. Owen believed to represent a kind of Dinotherium, indi-
cating, for the first time, the occurrence of primitive elephants in
Australia ! In the same year, a portion of a molar tooth, associated

^ Greek — dis, twice ; protos, first ; odous, tooth.

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 303

with part of a thigh-bone and other fragments, was also received,
and Owen wrote : " The fossils which my friend has now trans-
mitted incontestably establish the former existence of a huge
proboscidian pachyderm in the Australian continent, referable
either to the genus Mastodon or DinotheHum (!)."

Only a year later, however (1844), this prophecy proved to be
incorrect; and, within a short time, Sir R. Owen was able, not
merely to describe correctly most of the Diprotodon's skeleton, but
also to distinguish another allied genius, the Nototherium. The
feet alone remained unknown, and part of these were described as
the toes of that fabulous monster, the "Great horned Lizard of
Australia " !

In 1863 our late distinguished friend, Dr. George Bennett, wrote
from Sydney to Owen, saying that his son, then in Queensland,
had written home to say that he found a place where a whole
skeleton lay : the bones were immense ; the head, he said, had
been sent to Sydney some years previously (this may be the one
now in the Natural History Museum). Owen wrote to Sir Henry
Parkes, in 1867, suggesting that his administration should send
an exploring party to the limestone caves in Wellington Valley,
discovered in 1832, and from which fossil remains were brought
sufficient to show that the marsupial type of mammal formerly
prevailed in that country as it does now. Consequently, a vote
of two hundred pounds was passed, and a most valuable collection
of fossils obtained.

The following passage, from a now historic paper by Sir R.
Owen, will serve to show with how great enthusiasm he pursued
his most fruitful researches in palaeontology. " Of no existing
animal," he says, " of which a passing glimpse, as it were, had
thus been caught, did I ever feel more eager to acquire fuller
knowledge than of this huge Marsupial. No chase can equal

304

EXTINCT MONSTERS

the excitement of that in which, bit by bit, and year after year,
one captures the elements for reconstructing the entire creature
of which a single tooth or fragmentary bone may have initiated
the quest ; in the course of which one fully realises, with more
or less exactitude, the picture which the laws of correlation had
led one to frame of an animal which may have passed out of
existence long ages ago." ^ Owen's restoration, published in the

Fig. 113. — Skeleton of a huge extinct marsupial, Diprotodon australis.
(Restored after Owen.)

above paper, is shown in Fig. 113. But, in the year 1893, a
wonderful find was reported from Australia, which will, doubt-
less, in time lead palaeontologists to a complete and thorough
knowledge of this great and mysterious marsupial. The first
announcement was a brief telegram in Th,e Times ; but, later on,
a letter appeared in The Scotsman, of September 14th, from
Mr. William Kinmont. In the same enterprising newspaper

* Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 160 (1870), p. 519.

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 305

appeared a few days afterwards (September 25th), extracts from
an Australian account of the matter, the South Australian Register
of August 12th. It seems that only a small portion of the area
known to contain fossil remains has as yet been explored, and
there is little doubt that a complete examination will yield
results even surpassing those already made.
Mr. Kinmont wrote as follows : —

'* Birksgate, Glenosmond, Adelaide, S.A., August 9, 1893.

"SiK,

" Some two months ago a discovery of mammoth fossil
bones was made at Lake MulKgan in South Australia, which
promises to be of incalculable value to science, and the ' record '
discovery of the kind for the century. As the subject is one
of world-wide interest, I propose to give you in brief, from my
own knowledge and observation, the facts and particulars of the
discovery.

"Lake Mulligan is situated in the central district of South
Australia, and a more apparently uninteresting and forsaken
spot than this locality could not be found in the colony. When
the famous Australian explorers. Captain Sturt and Mr. John
M'Douall Stuart, went north-west from Menindie on the river
Darling, in 1844, they came into a great stony desert lying to
the eastward of Lake Frome, and the party endured the most
terrible hardships from the frightfully barren nature of the
country, and the extraordinary heat of the weather. . . .

" What a different picture of the past history of this country
is brought to light by the recent discoveries! On the sides of
these mountains lying between Lake Frome and Lake Torrens
must have been grown huge trees, and all around there must have
been a dense tropical growth, exceeding iu luxuriance the forests

X

3o6 EXTINCT MONSTERS

of the eastern slopes of the Andes in South America. Every
form of life was at that period huge and uncouth. On the grassy
plains at the foot of the mountains roamed the Diprotodon, a
gigantic animal allied to the kangaroo in its structure and habits,
but of the size of an elephant.

"But to return to the recent discovery of the actual bones.
The South Australian Museum, represented by the honorary
director. Dr. E. C. Stirling, C.M.G., F.E.S., took the matter in
hand, and despatched a party of competent men to excavate.
These men have now been at work for some four months
removing the gravel that buries the bones, and the discovery
has been proved to be even greater than was anticipated, and
already many new discoveries of the first importance have been
made. For the first time in the history of palseontological science
the complete skeleton of Diprotodon australis has been made
known — this being a huge marsupial considerably exceeding the
rhinoceros in size. The bones of this magnificent treasure, in
the interests of science, are now in the Adelaide Museum.
Eemains also of a giant wombat as large as a half-grown bullock,
of two or three kinds of gigantic birds equalling the Moa of New
Zealand in size, several species of colossal kangaroos, as well as
the head of what is undoubtedly a new species of Diprotodon,
have been discovered, excavated, and brought to Adelaide. Over
seventy different extinct animals and birds, hitherto unknown,
are represented in the two thousand bones which have been dug
out of the valley at Lake Mulligan.

" There can, in fact, be no doubt but that this discovery is
the most remarkable one of its kind that has ever been made in
Australia, and perhaps in the world. The South Australian
Museum, with its limited funds, has done what it could, but with
the work only fairly commenced the directors found themselves

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 307

in the position of having to abandon the search for lack of means
to go on. Sir Thomas Elder, however, the distinguished initiator
and promoter of Australian exploration expeditions, with his
usual liberality to the cause of science, and with a desire to
advance the scientific reputation of South Australian work, has
come to the assistance of the museum in this matter, and has
enabled the directors to continue this most important and
extensive work. Dr. Stirling proposes to start for Lake Mulligan
himself this week, with a view of personally superintending
operations; and there can be little doubt but that work in the
future will yield results even surpassing those already made.

" I am, etc.,

"William Kinmont."

The following is part of the article above alluded to from the
South Australian Register : —

" Sii- Thomas Elder, G.C.M.G., has once more placed South
Australia under deep obligations to him by coming forward with
the monetary help necessary to enable further explorations to be
made of the area at Lake Mulligan, in which immense quantities
of fossil remains of extinct animals and birds are known to exist.
The generous assistance thus rendered has come at the nick
of time. The authorities of the South Australian Museum,
recognising the importance of the discovery in the interests of
science, have already done much to secure specimens of the bones
which have been preserved from destruction ; but the funds at
their disposal are limited, and, unaided, they would have been
unable to have carried on excavations except upon a very
moderate scale. Owing to the munificence of Sir Thomas Elder,
the search party, under charge of Mr. Hurst, which has succeeded
in sending down a sufficient number of specimens to whet the

3o8 EXTINCT MONSTERS

appetite of scientists, and even of the curious public, who have
no special knowledge of palaeontology, for more, will now be
reinforced by Dr. Stirling, Mr, Zietz, and another member of the
Museum staff. More than that, provision will now be made for
the conveyance to Adelaide of larger portions of the remains than
it has hitherto been possible to despatch.

" Mr. Hurst has laboured under great disadvantages in the
past, owing to the lack of facilities for transporting to the city
the results of his excavations. It is to be borne in mind that the
fossils are spread over a large tract of country embracing several
square miles in extent. Moreover, this singular burial-place of
the marsupial and other monsters, which were wont to roam over
the continent of Australia, is situated in a remote and com-
paratively waterless region, so that the difl&culties in the way of
disinterment and removal are exceedingly great. It is only
fitting that those officials of the Museum, who are most skilled
in natural history, should be on the spot to superintend operations,
and we may rest satisfied that everything that can be done to
secure the best illustrations obtainable of the fossil remains wiU
be done. The object to be aimed at is to procure complete
specimens, and, from what has been said by those who have
visited the locality, it should be practicable to achieve this.
Obviously no pains or expense should be spared to bring together,
bone to his bone, the framework of the gigantic creatures belong-
ing to a bygone age, whose relics are embedded in the hardened
mud and debris of what were once the huge swamps of the Far
North-East."

The late Professor Newton, of Cambridge, also received a letter
from Dr. Stirling, which was published in The Proceedings of the
Zoological Society for May 2, 1893. From this letter we learn
that Diprotodon has five well-developed toes; the bones of the

— , CO

.= <

.- <

I «

., O

.= O

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 309

marsupium, or pouch, have been found, and several distinct
impressions of the skin of the fore foot were obtained. The
locality is six hundred miles north of Adelaide, and, during the
dry season, all the carting and travelling has to be done by
camels, with a temperature of 111° Fahr. in the shade! — to say
nothing of myriads of flies and frequent sandstorms.

With regard to the geological formation of this salt-lake
district of South Central Australia, Lake Mulligan is a vast
level expanse of salt-encrusted, black mud, only becoming
filled after very heavy rains (see Plate LIV.). It is about
eight miles wide, and the bones are found somewhere about
midway between the east and west edges. Usually the salt
crust is not firm enough for bullock traffic, and it is probable
that thousands of bullocks have at different times been bogged
in crossing or attempting to cross.

Several skeletons of a large wombat, about the size of a bullock,
have been unearthed, probably Phascolomys gigas ; also another
slender creature about the size of a sheep, which is as yet an
unknown animal. The meaning of this great find of bones
would appear to be that immense herds of Diprotodon and other
creatures, in seeking for water in a dry season, got bogged, just
as cattle do now in the North, by hundreds. Crocodiles and
alligators inhabited the fresh- water lakes that once covered parts
of the district, either in the Pliocene or Pleistocene period — or
both.

It now only remains to relate very briefly the progress
made since the present writer published the above account
in the year 1894. Palseontologists have for years anxiously
awaited the reconstruction of Diprotodon by Dr. E. C. Stirling,
Mr. Zietz, and their colleagues of the South Australian Museum,
at Adelaide.

3IO EXTINCT MONSTERS

Since the year 1893 numerous complete skeletons have been
found. However, very great difficulties have to be overcome in
digging out these very fragile (and crushed) bones, and trans-
porting them on the backs of camels ; so that even now some
parts of the skeleton are more or less unknown. As the result of
years of labour, a " restoration " of the skeleton has been set up in
the South Australian Museum, of which a plaster copy was pre-
sented to the Cambridge Museum of Zoology. The authorities
of the former Museum have also been good enough to present to
the Natural History Museum a set of actual limb-bones, and
vertebrae of the tail, together with enough plaster casts to make
the highly interesting restoration shown in Plate LV. In this
specimen the head and the vertebrae from the neck to the sacral
region {i.e. to where the hind limbs are situated) are exact copies
of the Adelaide reconstruction. The skull, unfortunately, is not
to be relied upon, being only a reconstructed model based on
specimens from Lake Callabonna, which are all sadly crushed.
Hence we are still in ignorance of the precise shape of the skull.
A recent examination of the specimen from Queensland described
by Owen shows that nearly all the brain-case is wanting, and that
the skull was four or five inches shorter than Owen supposed.
The two scapulae, or shoulder blades, in the London model, are
casts from two actual specimens from Queensland ; and the feet
are also casts from actual specimens. Possibly before long the
whole model may be reconstructed. Meanwhile, palaeontologists
will await with a lively interest, the publication of a promised
memoir by Dr. Stirling and Dr. Zietz. Mr. DoUo has suggested
that possibly the ancestors of Diprotodon were arboreal creatures,
a conclusion based on the evidence of the feet.

In conclusion, it only remains to express a hope that the reader
may have been interested in our humble endeavours to describe

EXTINCT WHALES AND WOMBATS 311

some of the largest, most strange, and wondertul forms of life that
in remote ages have found a home on this planet. And perhaps
a few of our readers may be induced to add a new and never-
failing interest to their lives by searching in the stony record for
traces of the world's " lost creations." If so, our labour will not
have been in vain.

APPENDIX I

Table of Stratified Eocks

1

Systems.

Formations.

J

03

a

RECENT
200 ft.

PLEISTOCENE

450 ft.

Terrestrial, Alluvial, Estuarine,
and Marine Beds of Historic, Iron,
Bronze, and Neolithic Ages

Peat, Alluvium, Loess

Valley Gravels, Brickearths

Cave-deposits

Raised Beaches

Boulder Clay and Gravels

Dominant
type, Man

d
(— 1

O

i

<

/

r

■■s

Eh

r

V

PLIOCENE 1

1500 ft. j

MIOCENE

1000 ft.

OLIGOCENE

600 ft. .
EOCENE

800 ft. ^

Norfolk Forest-bed Series
Norwich and Red Crags
Coralline Crag (Diestian)
(Eningen Beds Freshwater, etc.

Fluvio-marine Series

Bagshot Beds 1 (Nummulitic
London Tertiaries / Beds)

Dominant
types.
Birds and
Mammals

I— t

CRETACEOUS

2500 ft.

Maestricht Beds

Chalk

Upper Greensand

Gault

Lower Greensand ) xt^,. ^ •

Wealden | Neocomian

OJ
Q

o
o

JURASSIC )

5000 ft.

Purbeck Beds
Portland Beds
KimmeridgeClay{(Solenhofen

Corallian Beds
Oxford Clay
Great Oolite Series
Inferior Oolite Series
Lias

Dominant

type,
Reptiles

N
03

TRIASSIC

3000 ft.

Rhsetic Beds
Keuper
Muschelkalk
Bunter

314 APPENDIX

Table of Stratified Eocks — Continued

Systems.

Formations.

O
t— I
O

CS3

o

<

Pi

PS

o

PEEMIAN or

DYAS I

(1500 ft.) I

CARBONIFEROUS f

(12,000 ft. >

DEVONIAN & OLD I
RED SANDSTONE

(5000 ft.) '

SILURIAN j

(7000 ft.) I

ORDOVICIAN

(15,000 ft.)

CAMBRIAN

(12,000 ft.)

Red Sandstone, Marl > Zech-

Magnesian Limestone, etc. S stein
Red Sandstone and Conglomerate

Rothliegende
Coal Measures and Millstone Grit
Carboniferous Limestone Series
Upper Old Red Sandstone
Devonian

Lower Old Red Sandstone
Ludlow Series
Wenlock Series
Llandovery Series
May Hill Series
Bala and Caradoc Series
Llandeilo Series
Llanvim Series
Arenig and Skiddaw Series
Tremadoc Slates
Lingula Flags
Menevian Series
Harlech and Longmynd Series

Dominant
type,
Fishes

Dominant
type, In-
vertebrates

EOZOIC—

ARCH^AN

(50,000 ft.)

Pebidian, Arvonian, & Dimetian
Huronian and Laurentian

The total is 117,500 feet. Estimates in years of geological time,
often given in Newspapers, are quite misleading. No geologist can
say how many years ago the Eocene, or any other period, began. We
only know that over 100,000 feet of rocks have been deposited ; and,
by taking a rough average (1 foot in 1000 years), we get as the result
of multiplying 100 million years. But this is only a very rough estimate.
The world may be much older than that, it can hardly be less since
geological time began.

APPENDIX 315

APPENDIX II

THE GBEAT SEA-SERPENT

Mr. Henry Lee discusses the question of " The Great Sea-Serpent "
in an interesting little book, entitled Sea Monsters Unmasked, illustrated
(1883), published as one of the Handbooks issued in connection with
the International Fisheries Exhibition. He goes fully into the history
of the subject, and shows how some of the appearances described may
be accounted for ; but yet is inclined to think that there may exist
in the sea animals of great size unknown to science, and concludes as
follows : —

" This brings us face to face with the question, ' Is it, then, so im-
possible that there may exist some great sea creature, or creatures,
with which zoologists are hitherto unacquainted, that it is necessary
in every case to regard the authors of such narratives as wilfully
untruthful or mistaken in their observations, if their descriptions are
irreconcilable with something already known ? ' I, for one, am of the
opinion that there is no such impossibility. Calamaries or squids of
the ordinary size have, from time immemorial, been amongst the
commonest and best known of marine animals in many seas ; but
only a few years ago any one who expressed his belief in one formi-
dable enough to capsize a boat or pull a man out of one was derided
for his credulity, although voyagers had constantly reported that in
the Indian seas they were so dreaded that the natives always carried
hatchets with them in their canoes, with which to cut off the arms or
tentacles of these creatures, if attacked by them. We now know that
their existence is no fiction ; for individuals have been captured
measuring more than fifty feet, and some are reported to have
measured eighty feet in total length. As marine snakes some feet
in length, and having fin-like tails adapted for swimming, abound
over an extensive range, and are frequently met with far at sea, I
cannot regard it as impossible that some of these also may attain to
an abnormal and colossal development. Dr. Andrew Wilson, who
has given much attention to this subject, is of the opinion that ' in
this huge development of ordinary forms we discover the true and

3i6 APPENDIX

natural law of the production of the giant serpent of the sea.' It
goes far at any rate towards accounting for its supposed appearance.
I am convinced that whilst naturalists have been searching amongst
the vertebrata for a solution of the problem, the great unknown, and
therefore unrecognized, Calamaries, by their elongated cylindrical
bodies and peculiar mode of swimming, have played the part of the
sea-serpent in many a well-authenticated incident. In other cases,
such as those mentioned by ' Pontoppidan ' {History of Norivay), the
supposed vertical undulations of the snake seen out of water have
been the burly bodies of so many porpoises swimming in line— the
connecting undulations beneath the surface have been supplied by
the imagination. The dorsal fins of basking sharks, as figured by
Dr. Andrew Wilson, may have furnished the ' ridge of fins ; ' an
enormous conger is not an impossibility ; a giant turtle may have
done duty, with its propelling flippers and broad back ; or a marine
snake of enormous size may really have been seen. But if we accept
as accurate the observations recorded (which I certainly do not in all
cases, for they are full of errors and mistakes), the difficulty is not
entirely met, even by this last admission, for the instances are very
few in which an Ophidian proper — a true serpent — is indicated.
There has seemed to be wanting an animal having a long snake-
like neck, a small head, and a slender body, and propelling itself by
paddles.

"The similarity of such an animal to the Plesiosaurus of old was
remarkable. That curious compound reptile, which has been com-
pared with 'a snake threaded through the body of a turtle,' is
described by Dean Buckland as having *the head of a lizard, the
teeth of a crocodile, a neck of enormous length resembling the body
of a serpent, the ribs of a cameleon, and the paddles of a whale.' In
the number of its cervical vertebrae (about thirty-three) it surpasses
that of the longest-necked bird, the swan.

*' The form and probable movements of this ancient Saurian agree
so markedly with some of the accounts given of ' the great sea-serpent,'
that Mr. Edward Newman advanced the opinion that the closest
affinities of the latter would be found to be with the Enaliosaurians,
or Marine Lizards, whose fossil remains are so abundant in the
Oolite and the Lias. This view has been taken by other writere, and
emphatically by Mr. Gosse. Neither he nor Mr. Newman insist that
* the great unknown ' must be the Plesiosaurus itself. IMr. Gosse

APPENDIX 317

says, ' I should nob look for any species, scarcely for any genus, to be
perpetuated from the Oolitic period to the present. Admitting the
actual continuation of the order Enaliosauria, it would be, I think,
quite in conformity with general analogy to find some salient features
of several extinct forms.'

"The form and habits of the recently recognized gigantic cuttles
account for so many appearances which, without knowledge of them,
were inexplicable when Mr. Gosse and Mr. Newman wrote, that I
think this theory is not forced upon us. Mr. Gosse well and clearly
sums up the evidence as follows : ' Carefully comparing the inde-
pendent narratives of English witnesses of known character and
position, most of them being officers under the Crown, we have a
creature possessing the following characteristics : (1) The general
form of a serpent ; (2) great length, say above sixty feet ; (3) head
considered to resemble that of a serpent ; (4) neck from twelve to
sixteen inches in diameter ; (5) appendages on the head, neck, or
back, resembling a crest or mane (considerable discrepancy in details) ;
(6) colour, dark brown or green, streaked or spotted with white ; (7)
swims at surface of the water with a rapid or slow movement, the head
and neck projected and elevated above the surface ; (8) progression
steady and uniform, the body straight, but capable of being thrown
into convolutions ; (9) spouts in the manner of a whale ; (10) like a
long " nun-buoy." ' He concludes with the question, ' To which of
the recognized classes of created beings can this huge rover of the
ocean be referred ? '

" I reply, ' to the Cephalopoda.' There is not one of the above
judiciously summarized characteristics that is not supplied by the
great Calamary, and its ascertained habits and peculiar mode of
locomotion.

" Only a geologist can fully appreciate how enormously the balance
of probability is contrary to the supposition that any of the gigantic
marine Saurians of the secondary deposits should have continued to
live up to the present time. And yet I am bound to say that this
does not amount to an impossibility, for the evidence against it is
entirely negative. Nor is the conjecture that there may be in exist-
ence some congeners of these great reptiles inconsistent with zoological
science. Dr. J. E. Gray, late of the British Museum, a strict
zoologist, is cited by Mr. Gosse as having long ago expressed his
opinion that some undescribed form exists which is intermediate between

3i8 APPENDIX

»

the tortoises and the serpents." (This is quoted by Mr. Lee in a
footnote.)

"Professor Agassiz, too, is adduced by a correspondent of the
Zoologist (p. 2395), as having said concerning the present existence of
the Enaliosaurian type, that ' it would be in precise conformity with
analogy that such an animal should exist in the American seas, as he
had found numerous instances in which the fossil forms of the old
world were represented by living types in the new.'

" On this point, Mr. Newman records in the Zoologist (p. 2356), an
actual testimony which he considers ' in all respects the most interesting
natural history fact of the present century.' He writes —

" ' Captain the Hon. George Hope states that when in H.M.S. Fly^
in the Gulf of California, the sea being perfectly calm, he saw at the
bottom a large marine animal with the head and general figure of the
alligator, except that the neck was much longer, and that instead of
legs the creature had four large flappers, somewhat like those of
turtles, the anterior pair being larger than the posterior. The creature
was distinctly visible, and all its movements could be observed with
ease ; it appeared to be pursuing its prey at the bottom of the sea.
Its movements were somewhat serpentine, and an appearance of annu-
lations, or ring-like divisions of the body, was distinctly perceptible.
Captain Hope made this relation in company, and as a matter of
conversation. When I heard it from the gentleman to whom it was
narrated, I inquired whether Captain Hope was acquainted with those
remarkable fossil animals, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, the supposed
forms of which so nearly corresponded with what he describes as
having seen ahve, and I cannot find that he had heard of them ; the
alligator being the only animal he mentioned as bearing a partial
similarity to the creature in question.'

"Unfortunately, the estimated dimensions of this creature are not
given.

"That negative evidence alone is an unsafe basis for argument
against the existence of unknown animals, the following illustrations
will show : —

"During the deep-sea dredgings of H.M.S. Lightning, Porcupine,
and Challenger^ many new species of mollusca and others, which had
been supposed to have been extinct ever since the Chalk, were brought
to light ; and by the deep-sea trawlings of the last-mentioned ship
there have been brought up from great depths fishes of unknown

APPENDIX 319

species, and which could not exist near the surface, owing to the dis-
tention and rupture of their air-bladder when removed from the
pressure of deep water.

"Mr. Gosse mentions that the ship in which he made the voyage
to Jamaica was surrounded in the Xorth Atlantic, for seventeen con-
tinuous hours, by a troop of whales of large size, of an undescribed
species, which on no other occasion has fallen under scientific observa-
tion. Unique specimens of other Cetaceans are also recorded.

"We have evidence, to which attention has been directed by Mr.
A. D. Bartlett, that ' even on land there exists at least one of the
largest mammals, probably in thousands, of which only one individual
has been brought to notice, namely, the hairy-eared, two-horned
rhinoceros {R. Lasiotis), now in the Zoological Gardens, London. It
was captured in 1868, at Chittagong, in India, where for years
collectors and naturalists have worked and published lists of the
animals met with, and yet no knowledge of this great beast was ever
before obtained, nor is there any portion of one in any museum. It
remains unique.'

" I have arrived at the following conclusions : 1. That without
straining resemblances, or casting a doubt upon narratives not proved
to be erroneous, the various appearances of the supposed 'great sea-
serpent ' may now be nearly all accounted for by the forms and habits
of known animals ; especially if we admit, as proposed by Dr. Andrew
Wilson, that some of them, including the marine snakes, may, like the
cuttles, attain to extraordinary size. 2. That to assume that naturalists
have perfect cognizance of every existing marine animal of large size,
would be quite unwarrantable. It appears to me more than probable
that many marine animals, unknown to science, and some of them of
gigantic size, may have their ordinary habitat in the sea, and only
occasionally come to the surface ; and I think it not impossible that
amongst them may be marine snakes of greater dimensions than we
are aware of, and even a creature having close affinities with the old
sea-reptiles whose fossil skeletons tell of their magnitude and abundance
in past ages.

" It is most desirable that every supposed appearance of * the Great
Sea- Serpent ' shall be faithfully noted and described ; and I hope that
no truthful observer will be deterred from reporting such an occurrence
by fear of the disbelief of naturalists or the ridicule of witlings."

320 APPENDIX

APPENDIX III

literature
1. Popular Works

Works hy Dr. Gideon A. Mantell : —

Medals of Creation.

Wonders of Geology.

Petrifactions and their Teaching.
Phases of Animal Life. By R. Lydekker.
Science for All. 5 vols. (Chapters on Extinct Animals.)
Winners in Lifers Race. By Arabella Buckley (Mrs. Fisher).
Records of the Rocks. By W. S. Symmonds.
The Story of the Earth and Man. By Sir Wm. Dawson.
'The Old Red Sandstone. By Hugh Miller.
Sketch-Book of Popidar Geology. By Hugh Miller.
Early Man in Britain. By Prof. Boyd Dawkins.
Cave-himting. By Prof. Boyd Dawkins.
The Horse. By Sir W. H. Flower.
The Living World. W. H. Conn.
Extinct Animals. Sir E. Ray Lankester.

2. Works of Reference

.4 Mamial of Palceontology. 2 vols. By Prof. Alley ne Nicholson
and R. Lydekker.

The Life-History of the Earth. By Prof. Alleyne Nicholson.

Origin of Species. By Charles Darwin.

The English Encyclopedia. (The 2 vols, on Natural History contain
much information on extinct animals.)

The Encyclopedia Britannica. Eighth or Ninth Editions.

Vertebrate Paleontology. By A. Smith Woodward.

Phillips's Manual of Geology. New Edition, by Prof. H. G. Seeley
and R. Etheridge.

Prehistoric Europe. By Prof. James Geikie.

APPENDIX 321

Palceontological Memoirs. By Hugh Falconer, M.D.

Mammals Living and Extinct. By Sir William Flower and R.
Lydekker.

British Fossil Mammals and Birds. By Sir R. Owen.

A History of British Fossil Reptiles. By Sir R. Owen. 4 vols.
(Cassell.) Most of this work has been previously published in the
Monographs of the Palceontographical Society.

A Manual of Palaeontology. By Sir R. Owen.

Memoir on the Arch(Bopteryx. By Sir R. Owen.

Extinct Fossil Mammals of Australia. Sir R. Owen. London, 1887.

Odontography. By Sir R. Owen.

A Catalogue of British Fossil Vertebrata. By A. S. Woodward and
0. D. Sherborn.

The Geographical and Geological Distribution of Animals. By Prof.
A. Heilprin.

3Ienioirs of tlie Geological Survey of Great Britain. -

Monographs of the Palceontographical Society.

Palceontographica. Edited by Prof. K. A. Zittel.

Text-Boole, of Palceontology. Vols. I. and II. K. A. Zittel.

Ichnology of New England. By Edward Hitchcock, Boston, 1858.

Ichnographs from the Sandstone of the Connecticut River. By Dr. J.
Deane. Boston, 1861.

Ichnology of Atmandale. By Sir Wm. Jardine. Edinburgh, 1853.

Fossil Footsteps pi the Red Sandstones of Potsville, Pennsylvania. By
Prof. J. Lea.

History and External Characters of the Dodo, Solitaire, and otiier
Extinct Brevipennate Birds of Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon.
H. E. Strickland and A. C. Melville. London, 1848.

A Monograph on the Extinct Toothed Birds of North America. By
Prof. 0. C. Marsh. New Haven, Connecticut, 1880.

The Dinosaurs of North America. Prof. 0. C. Marsh.

Also The Dinocerata. Prof. 0. 0. Marsh. Washington, 1896.

The Vertebrata of the Tertiary Formations. By Prof. E. D. Cope.

The Vertebrata of the Cretaceous Formations of the West. By Prof.
E. D. Cope.

TIu Survival of the Fittest. By Prof. E. D. Cope.

Primary Factors of Evolution. Prof. E. D. Cope.

Contributions to the Extinct Vertebrata Fauna of the Western
Territories. By Joseph Leidy. Washington, 1873.

Y

322 APPENDIX

(The above Monographs by Marsh, Cope, and Leidy are all in the
United States Geological Survey of the Territories.)

Cretaceous Reptiles of tlie United States. Joseph Leidy. Smithsonian
Contrib. Knowledge, vol. xiv. (1864).

Reports of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Catalogue, Tertiary Vertehrata of the Fayum, Egypt. By C. W.
Andrews. Trustees of the British Museum.

Papei-s by Prof. H. F. Osbom in Memoirs of the American Museum of
Natural History, and in Bulletins of Do.

Fauna der GasTcohle und der KalTcstein der Perm-formation Boehmms.
By A. Fritsch. Prague, 1883-1886.

Les Enchainements du Monde Animal. By A. Gaudry. Paris, 1883.

Monograph of tlie Fishes of the Old Red Sandstone of Britain {CepMl-
aspida). Palceontographical Society, 1868-1870. J. Powrie and Ray
Lankester.

Bie Placodermen. C. H. Pander. 1857.

Geological Survey of Ohio. Palaeontology, I., II.

3. Journals

The student will find numerous valuable papers by well-known
geologists in the following Journals : —

The Philosophical Transactions of tJie Royal Society.

The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society.

Tlie Geological Magazine.

Nature.

Knoivledge. Papers by R. Lydekker.

Tlie American Journal of Science. Papers by Prof. 0. C. Marsh,

The American Naturalist. Papers by Prof. E. D. Cope.

Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. New York.

Amies de Mvseo Publico de Buenos Aires. Papers by H.
Burmeister.

Anuls de Mtiseo de La Plata.

INDEX

Actinodon, 99
Adams, Mr., 274
^pyornis, 228
Agassiz, 5, 53, 106
Age of mammals, 232

of reptiles, 125, 174, 175, 197,231

Air, action of, 12
Allosaurus, 140
Amalitzky, Prof., 107
Amblypoda, 251, 263
Amphibamus, 102
Anchisauras. See Dinosaurs
Anchitherium, 245

Andrews, Dr. C. W., on Arsinoe-
therium, 263

, on elephants, 264

, on whales, 300

Anoplotherium, 234
Anticipation of types, 174
Appearance of higher types, Huxley

on, 232
Apteryx, or K^^vi, 227
Archseopteryx. See Birds
Archegosaurus, 73, 97
Armadillo. See Glyptodou

, habits of the, 293

Arsinoetherium, 262

Arthropoda, 57

Atlantic Ocean, deposits in, 17

B

Batrachia, 85
Birds, 211

Birds, iEpyornis, 221

, Apteryx, 223

, Archseopteryx, 140, 213

, Argillornis, 220

, Brontornis, 229

. Dasornis, 220

, Dodo, 221

. Enaliornis, 220

. evolution of, 212

, Gastornis, 220

, Hesperornis, 217

, Ichthyornis, 219

, Moa, 223

, Odontopteryx, 220

, oldest known, 212

, Phororhacos, 222

— — , relationship to Dinosaurs, 212

, Solitaire, 222

" Bone Cabin Quarry," 152
Bones, pneumatic, 205
Brains, growth of, 249, 257

, casts of, 146, 176, 257

Breaks in geological record, 23, 24

Brontops, 260

Buckland, Dean, on tracks, 30, 38, 62

, on Mammoth, 272

Bufifon, 6

C

Caesar, Julius, his horse, 247
Callabonna, Lake, 229, 310
Camper, 6
Carnegie, Andrew, gift of Diplodocus

cast, 153
Cave-hunting, 11

324

INDEX

Ceratosaurus. See Dinosaui-s
Cetacea, 296
Cetiosaurns, 156
Challenger, H.M.S., 23
Changes in rock, 14
Cheirotherium, 39, 40
Claosaurus. See Dinosaurs
Classification of animals, 53, 61, 83,

85, 105, 131
Clidastes, 195

Clift, Dr., on Megatherium, 284
Climate of Lias period, 74
CoUini (1784), describes bones of a

Pterodactyl, 201
Connecticut Valley, 42, 49, 142
Conodonts, 31
Cope, E. D., 5, 97, 101, 194, 197

■ , explorations of, 195

Correlation, law of, 7, 8, 78, 233, 237,

246
Coryphodon, 249-252
Cricotus, 98

Cuban horse with eight toes, 248
Cuttle-fishes, 14
Cuvier, 2, 5, 6, 104

, on hoofed animals, 235

, on Mammoth, 271

, on Mosasaurus, 189

, on Pterodactyls, 201

, restorations by, 233, 237

Cyamodus, 110
Cyclotosaurus, 103

D

Darwin, 8

, evolution theory, 238

obtains skeleton of a ground

sloth, 288
Dasornis, 229
Daubenton, 6
Dawkins, Prof. Boyd, 11
Deane, Dr., 43, 46
Dicynodon, 108

Dimetrodon, 118
Dimorphodon. See Pterodactyls
Dinocerata, 253-260
Dinosaurs, 124

affinities of, 126, 129, 131

Allosaurus, 135

Ammosaurus, 145

Anchisaurus, 142

Apatosaurus, 149

Atlantosaurus, 148

brain cavity, casts of, 146

Brontosaurus, 147

Ceratosaurus, 137

Cetiosaurus, 156

Claosaurus, 169

classification of, 131

Compsognathus, 144

Cuvier on, 125

Diplodocus, 152

Dynamosaurus, 140

Hadrosaurus, 170

Hallopus, 171

Hoplosaurus, 157

Hylseosam-us, 180

Hypsilophodon, 172

Iguanodon, 159

Marsh's discoveries of, 185

Megalosaurus, 133

Morosaurus, 155

Omitholestes, 140

Omithopsis, 156

Pelorosaurus, 157

Polacanthus. 173

Scelidosaurus, 181

Stegosaunis, 178

Schleromochlus, 172

Thecodontosaurus, 145

Triceratops, 182

Tyrannosaurus, 139

where found, 126

Zanclodon, 145
Dinotherium, 268, 270
Diprotodon, 301-310
Disappearance of some tj'pes, 197
Dodo. See Birds
Dolichosoma, 101

INDEX

125

Draco Volans, 200
Dragons, 60, 199
Duck-bill, 117

E

Earth-drama, 4
Edentata, 286
Elder, Sir Thomas, 307
Elephants, evolution of, 264-270
Elephas primigenius. See Mammoth
Elginia, 123
Eohippus, 241
Erj'ops, 99

Eurypterus, 54, 55, 56
Evolution, theory of, 84, 85, 86, 96,
117, 126, 128, 231

of birds, 212

of elephants, 264

of horses, 239

of whales, 300

Expeditions, 241

Extinction of reptiles in the past, 197

Fayum, The, of Egypt, 230
Fish-lizards, how preserved, 20

, habits of, 66

Floods, action of, 19

Flower, the late Sir Wm., on horees,

244
Flying dragons (Pterodactyla), 199
Footprints, Chap. II. See Ichnology
Fossil collecting, 25
Fossils, how preserved, 10-21
Fraas, Dr., 68
Frogs, relationships of, 86

G

Galaesaurus, 111
Gastornis. See Birds

Generalized types, 255
Genyornis, 229
Gidley, Mr. J. W., 241
Glyptodon 291-293
Grampus, 300
Granger, IMr. W., 152
Grypotheriura, 290

H

Hadrosaurus, 170

Hagenbeck, his restorations at Ham-
burg, 59, 167

Harrison, Mr. J., 181

Hatcher, Mr. J. B., 185

Hawkins, Mr. T., his collection of
fossil reptiles, 64

, Waterhouse, 59, 167, 182

Hesperornis. See Birds

Hipparion, 244

Hitchcock, Ed., 43-48

, Prof., on footprints, 46

Holland, Dr. W. J., 153

Home, Sir Everard, 62

507730 Diluvii Testis, 104

Horse, the evolution of, 239-249

, introduced by Spaniards in

North America, 241

Hulke, J. W., 171

Hutton, Mr., on the Moa, 225

Human giant, 297

Humboldt, 19

Huxley, Prof., 18. 119, 126, 139,
239

Hyaenas in caves, 1 1

Hydrarchos, 297

Hylffiosaurus, 180

Hj'perodapedon, 121

Hypsilophodon, 171

— -, opinion of Baron Nopcsa, 172

, restoration of skeleton, 172

, where found, 171

Hyracotherium, 242

Hyrax (coney), 263

T 3

126

INDEX

Ice age, 281

Ichnology, 31

Ichthyosaurus, 60

, coprolites of, 67

, habits, 68

, largest skull of, 68

Iguanodon, origin of name, 161-162

, allied to Hadrosaurus, 163

, discovery at Bernissart, sup-
posed horn, 164

, flora of the Wealden period,

163

, footprints of, 166

, M. Dollo on, 166-167

, mastication, 162

, opinion of Cuvier, 161

Impressions of insects, 23

Indians of North America, their views
on fossil bones, 259, 273

Jardine, Sir Wm., 37

Kangaroos, extinct, 301

" King of the Sea " (Hydrarchos), 297

King crabs, related to Pterygotus,

55,56
Kinmont, Mr. Wm., 304, 305
Koch, Dr. Albert, 297

Labyrinthodont, 89-103
Lake Moeris, 266

Mulligan, 305

Lakes, fossils on, 21, 25, 253
Lariosaurus, 83
Leaves, 13

Leeds, Mr. Alfred N., 79, 156

Leidy, Prof., 192, 259

Leiodon. 193

Limestone, 17

Lost creations, 2

Loxomma, 98

Lyell, Sir Charles, on floods, 19

, on preservation of Ichthyo-

saurs, 74
Lyme Regis, fossils at, 83

M

Mammals from Jurassic strata, 232
Mammoth, the, 270-282

, etymology of, 270

— — , extinction of, 280

, teeth of, in North Sea, 277

Mantell, Dr. G. A., 125, 159, 161, 163,

174, 189, 192, 299, 301

, Dr. Walter, 224

Marsh, Prof. 0. C, 5

, adventures of, in fossil hunting,

218, 259

, on Brontosaurus, 146

, on fossil birds, 217, 219

, on fossil horses, 239, 241, 248

, on Pterodactyls, 208

, on Stegosaurus, 176

, on Triceratops, 183, 185

Marsupials, fossil. See Diprotodon
Mastodon, 268
Mastodonsaurus, 92
Mauritius, island of, 221
Medals of Creation, 141
Megatherium, 283

, habits of, 287

Mesohippus, 243
Metamorphism, 14, 24
Miller, Hugh, 51-55
Miohippus, 240
Moa, 223

, distribution of, 229

, traditions about, in New Zealand,

226

INDEX

327

^loeris, Lake, 266
Mceritheriura, 265

, recent find of, in Patagonia, 290

Molluscs, tracks of, 33
Moloch, 123
Moodie, Mr. R. L., 103
Mosasaurus, See Sea Sei-pents
Museum, Nature's, 3
Mylodon, 287

N

Neusticosaurus, 83
New Zealand, Moas in, 223
Nopcsa, Baron, on Polacanthus, 172,
173

0

Omosaurus, 175
Opisthocomas, 215
Ornithosauria, 210
Orohippus, 239-245
Orthopoda, 131

Osborn, Prof. H. F., on fossil horses,
241

, on Coryphodon, 252

, on Ornitholestes, 140

Oudenodon, 110
Owen, 5

, on Anomodonts, 107

, on Cheirotherium, 41

, on Coryphodon, 249, 250

, on Diprotodon, 302, 304

, on Megatherium, 285, 287

— , on Moa, 223, 225

, on tracks, 36

, on Zenglodon, 295

Palseomastodon, 265
Palaeontology, 5, 27
Palseotherium, 233-236
Pareiasaurus, 115, 123

Parish, Sir Woodbine, 284, 287
Patagonia, discovery of fossil sloth in,

290
de Pauw, M., 164
Phascolomys, 309
Phenacodus, 239
Pikermi, 238
Placodus, 110

Planolites (Palaeochorda), 32
Platy carpus, 195
Platypodosaurus, 110
Platypus (duck-mole), 69
Plesiosaurus, 77
Pliohippus, 245
Polacanthus, 172

, restored skeleton, 173

Preservation of animals, 10-21

Progress, law of, 85, 86, 185, 187, 249

Propappus, 116

Proterosaurus, 118

Protichnites, 35

Protohippus, 243

Protorohippus, 243

Prozeuglodon, 300

Pteranodon, 207, 208

Pterodactyls, Cuvier on, 200

, Dimorphodon, 202

, habits of, 209

, Ramphorhynchus, 206

, relationships, 210

, size of, 200

Pterygotus, 52
Ptyonius. Plate VIII.
Pycraft, W. P., 215
Pythonomorphs. See Sea Serpents

R

Ramphorhynchus, 206

Record, imperfection of the, 22-26

Reptiles, age of, 197. See Age

Reversions, 247

Rhynchocephalia, 119

Rhynchosaurus, 120

Rivers, action of, 19, 20

328

INDEX

Rocks, how formed, 15, 17
Rocky Mountains, the, 240

S

Salamanders, 104

Sauranodon, 74

Sauropoda, 131

Scelidotherium, 288, 289

Scenery, 4

Scleromochlus, a new Dinosaur, 172

Sea-dragons, 64

Sea-lizards (Plesiosaurs), 77

-, discoveries of, by Mr. A. N.

Leeds, 79
Sea-Scorpions, Chap. III., Agassiz on,
53

, habits of, 56

, wax model, 55

Sea-Serpents, 187. See Appendix II.

, Clidastes, 195

, Cope on, 193

, earliest discovery of Mosasaurus

by Hoffman, 188

, Leiodon, 192

, Platycarpus, 195

, Pythonomorphs, 194

, Tylosaurus, 195

, where found, 188-192

Sea-shore, markings on, 29

Seely, Prof. H. G., on Pterodactyls, 209

, on Pareiasaurus, 113

Siwalik Hills, 25, 229

Sloth. See Megatherium

Smith Woodward, Dr. A., on elephants,

268
Solenhofen stone, 15
Sollas, Prof. W. J., on tracks, 41, 42
Sphenodon (Tuatara), 116, 117, 119
Sports of nature, 6
Squalodon, 299
Stegodon, 267
Stegosaurus, 175

, limbs of, 178

Sternberg, Mr. Charles, 196

Stirling, Dr., 307

Stylonurus, 56

Sydenham, Restorations at, 59, 167

T

Tapir, the, 237

Teeth, foldings in, 89

, conclusions drawn from, 7, 72,

110, 133, 140, 159, 161, 162, 176,
192, 203, 215, 217, 246, 250, 252,
272, 296

Telerpeton, 119

Tetrabelodon, 266

Teutoboccus rex, 297

Theromorphs, 105

Theropoda, 131

Tinoceras, 254

Titanotherium, 261

Tracks of birds, 42

of Crustacea, 36

of molluscs, 33

of reptiles, 37

of tortoises, 30

of worms, 29, 31-33

in Saxony, 39

Tree of Life, XII., 238

Triceratops, 182

, model of skeleton, 183

, over-specialized, 185

, where found, 183

Tritylodon, 113

Tuatara. See Sphenodon

Tylosaurus, 195

U

Uintatherium, 258
Uniformity, 18, 28

W

Whales, 294-301

Whitney, Mr. W. C, generous gift by,
241

INDEX

329

Williston, Dr. S. W., on Pythono-

morphs, 195
Wombat, 302
Woodward, Dr. H., on Pterygotus,

56, 58
Worms, casts of, 29, 33
, supposed jaws of, 31

Yale College Museum, 149, 258

Z
Zeuglodon, 295-297

THE END

PEINTED BT WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LOSDOM AND BECCLES.

EXTINCT MONSTERS.

1892 Edition.

A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF SOME OF
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