Chapter 7

Fig. 32—Skeleton ofDimorphodon macronyx. (After Owen.)

This authority pointed out an unusual provision for giving 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-vertebræ. This does not occur in any modern lizards, whose necks are short, and require no such aid to support the head. They are a compensation for weakness that would otherwise arise from the elongation of the neck, supporting, as it did, such a large head. The neck-vertebræ in this species are large and strong, and capable of great flexibility forwards and backwards, so that the creature, by bending its neck during flight into the shape of an S, could throw its head back towards the centre of gravity. The restoration of the skeletonseen in the figure is by Professor Owen. It is probable that this Pterodactyl 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.

Fig. 33.—Skeleton ofScaphognathus crassirostris.1/3natural size.

Another genus, also from the lithographic slate of Bavaria, namely, Scaphognathus crassirostris (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. 33).

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 sparrow (seeFig. 34). Its neck is comparatively short, with but few joints. The long slender beak was probably sheathed inhorn, 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.

Fig. 34.—Skeleton ofPterodactylus spectabilis.

Cuvier thought, from the magnitude of their eyes, that Pterodactyls 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 primæval lakes and rivers—air, sea, and land must have been strangely tenanted in these early periods of our infant world.”[31]

[31]Buckland,Bridgewater Treatise.

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 Archæopteryx, had teeth in its jaws, and presents some very striking points of resemblance to reptiles. But if we compare the skeleton of a Pterodactyl (such as the P. spectabilis, now under consideration) with that of a bird, we shall see in its fore limbs certain very obvious differences. A bird never has more than three fingers in its hand or wing (viz. the thumb and next two digits), and the bones that support these fingers, corresponding to the bones in the palm of a human hand, are joined together. Neither of the bones corresponding to our fingers are much elongated, and of these the longest is that which corresponds to the thumb. But, on referring to the skeleton of our Pterodactyl, we find that it has four fingers, three of which are fairly developed and furnished with claws, while the outermost one is enormously elongated. This is believed to correspond to the little finger of the human hand, while the thumb seems to be represented by a small bone seen at the wrist. It was this long outside finger that chiefly served to support the flying membrane of the Pterodactyl. For this and other reasons, we are forbidden to look upon these creatures as relatives of birds. Again, all birds that can fly possess a “merrythought,” or furculum; and such is not found in the Pterodactyl.

As we have already remarked, some authorities, when these creatures were first brought to light, considered them to be mammals, as bats are. But equally conclusive arguments may be brought forward against that view. All mammals have the skull jointed to the backbone by two articulations, known as “condyles,” whereas Pterodactyls have only one—in that respect resembling reptiles and birds.

Also there are important differences in the structure of their jaws, showing that they are constructed on the reptilian plan, and not on that of the mammal.

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.

Fig. 35.—Skeleton ofRhamphorhynchus phyllurus, with delicate impressions of the flying membranes. (After Marsh.)

In the year 1873 was discovered, in the lithographic stone of Bavaria, at Eichstädt, a very beautiful new form of Pterodactyl. This was the Rhamphorhynchus 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 (seeFig. 35). The discovery of this valuable specimen attracted much attention at the time. 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 (Wall-case, No. 1, Gallery IV. on plan).

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. Whenthis 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 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. (SeePlate XII.)

Like those already described, it was provided with four short-clawed fingers, as well as the one which mainly supported its 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 the remains of six hundred individuals from the American Cretaceous rocks alone!

Fig. 36.—Skull ofPteranodon. 1. Side view. 2. Top view. (After Marsh.)

Some of the fragmentary remains from our Cambridge Greensand formation indicate Pterodactyls of enormous size. Thus the neck-vertebræ of one species measure two inches in length, while portions of arm-bones are three inches broad. It is 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 tothe existence of Pterodactyls during that period fully equal in size.

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 twenty to twenty-five feet! These large forms had no teeth in their jaws, and their skulls are of a peculiar form. The long-pointed jaws were probably sheathed in horn during life, as in birds (seeFig. 36). According to Marsh, these toothless forms (which he calls Pteranodonts) were mostly of gigantic size. With regard to their food it is almost vain to speculate; but if theydidprey upon fishes, they must have had a capacious mouth and gullet, and must have swallowed their prey whole, after the fashion of pelicans. But we doubt if they had the peculiar pouch possessed by those birds. In the absence of more complete accounts of the large forms the artist has only attempted to restore the small ones. (SeePlate XII., showing four different kinds.)

Plate XII.

GROUP OF SMALL FLYING DRAGONS, OR PTERODACTYLS.Rhamphorhynchus phyllurus.Pterodactylus crassirostris.Dimorphodon macronyx.Pterodactylus spectabilis.

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 make it highly probable that it was warm-blooded. The absence of feathers to retain the heat of the body need not be regarded as conclusive, for bats are warm-blooded animals, and in their case the heat of the body is retained by a slight downy covering to the skin. Such a covering may have protected the bodies of Pterodactyls, and we could not expect to see any trace of it in the Bavarian specimen of Rhamphorhynchus referred to above. An important fact bearing on this question is the discovery of perforations in the bones of these animals very similar to those seen in birds. Now, birds have a wonderful system of respiration, or breathing. The air they breathe passes, not into their lungs only, but penetrates to the remotest parts of their system, filling their very bones with life, and endowing them with activity and animation adapted to their active aërial existence. It may, therefore, be argued that Pterodactyls breathed much in the same way; that their bones, too, were supplied with air by an elaborate system of air-sacs, and that they had lungs like those of birds. We cannot, however, stop there, but are led on by physiological reasoning to conclude that the circulation of the blood must have been rapid, and that the heart was like that of birds and mammals, four-celled. It would therefore follow—since birds and mammals are warm-blooded—that Pterodactyls were also. Such, at least, is the view of 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.”

Probably the large Pterodactyls of the Cretaceous period, soaring 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 places them as a distinct sub-class, side by side with birds, and between mammals and reptiles, thus—

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 IX.

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.”

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 resemblance 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 Reptiles,” certain monstrous saurian animals flourished in considerable abundance, which, though not true serpents, nevertheless must have borne a striking resemblance to such, as they cleaved he waters of primæval seas.[32]

[32]See an interesting little work, entitled,Sea-Monsters Unmasked, by H. Lee (Clowes and Sons).Appendix II.contains some extracts therefrom.

The modern evolutionist believes that snakes are descended 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 consideration of their long thin bodies; for they certainly would be called by that name if now living.

Strictly speaking, they were not serpents, but more or less like some of the extinct saurians described inchap. iv.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. Remains of these strange creatures have been found both in Europe and America.

One of the earliest discoveries of remains of a fossil sea-serpent was made by M. Hoffman, 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. Extensive quarries have, for many centuries, been worked in the sandstone, especially in the eminence called St. Peter’s Mount, which is a cape or headland between the Meuse and the Jaar. This elevated plateau extends for some distance towardsLiége, 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 river Meuse. M. Hoffman 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,[33]will show.

[33]Histoire Naturelle de la Montagne de St. Pierre.This account is given by Dr. Mantell, in hisPetrifactions and their Teaching, 1851.

“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. Hoffman, 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 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 hispossession, and Hoffman died without regaining his treasure, or receiving any compensation. At length the French Revolution 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 concealed 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 remark on this transaction: “La Justice, quoique 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 ofJustice!”

The beautiful cast (Fig. 37) at South Kensington (Fossil Reptile Gallery, Wall-case 8) was presented to Dr. Mantell by Baron Cuvier in 1825. It consists of both jaws, with numerous teeth, and some other parts (seeFig. 38). The length is about four and a half feet. This nearly perfect head was for a time a stumbling-block to many naturalists, some of whom were of opinion that it belonged to a whale. Cuvier and others considered it to be a kind of link between the Iguanas and the Monitors.[34]

[34]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.

Fig. 37.—Skull ofMosasaurus Hoffmanni.The original is 41/2ft. by 21/2ft.

Fig. 38.—Teeth of Mosasaurus (half natural size).1a, 2a, transverse sections of the teeth.

The entire backbone of the Maestricht animal appears to have consisted of one hundred and thirty-one vertebræ, 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. Although in his day the limbs of the Mosasaurus were imperfectly known, Cuvier 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.37and38. Dr. Mantell was fortunate enough to find, in the year 1820, some vertebræ from the English Chalk near Lewes, which were identified as belonging to a Mosasaurus.

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 Professor Owen therefore founded upon them the new genus Leiodon.[35]But Leiodon must have been very similar to Mosasaurus.

[35]Greek—leios, smooth, andodous, tooth.

Fig. 39.—Lower tooth ofLeiodon.1. Side view. 2. Profile.

Of late years many fine specimens have been discovered in North America, and the labours of Leidy, Marsh, and Cope havebeen 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 Rocky 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 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 individuals. 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 Professor Cope of Pennsylvania University, who has made a special study of this group of extinct saurians, fifty-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 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, andProfessor 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.

The following graphic account of the region where Professor Cope has discovered the skeletons of many sea-serpents, and of their habits and aspect when alive, is taken from his well-known work on the Cretaceous Vertebrata of the West.[36]After describing this region as a vast level tract between the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, he says, “If the explorer searches the bottoms of the rain-washes and ravines, he will doubtless come upon the fragment of a tooth or jaw, and will generally find a line of such pieces leading to an elevated position on the bank or bluff, where lies the skeleton of some monster of the ancient sea. He may find the vertebral column running far into the limestone that locks him in his last prison; or a paddle extended on the slope, as though entreating aid; or a pair of jaws lined with horrid teeth, which grin despair on enemies they are helpless to resist; or he may find a conic mound, on whose apex glisten in the sun the bleached bones of one whose last office has been to preserve from destruction the friendly soil on which he reposed. Sometimes a pile of huge remains will be discovered, which the dissolution of the rock has deposited on the lower level; the force of rain and wash having been insufficient to carry them away.”

[36]Report of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, vol. ii., 1875 (Cretaceous Vertebrata).

Plate XIII.

GROUP OF SEA-SERPENTS, ELASMOSAUR, AND FISHES.Fishes,Portheus.Elasmosaurus.Length 50 feet.Beryx.Clidastes.Length 40 feet.Osmeroides, etc.Mosasaurus.Length 75 feet.

But the reader inquires, “What is the nature of these creatures thus left stranded a thousand miles from either ocean? How came they in the limestone of Kansas, and were they denizens of land?” These creatures lived in the Cretaceous period. The remains found in this region were mostly those of reptiles and fishes. Thirty-five species of reptiles are known from Kansas alone, representing six orders, and varying in length from ten to eighty feet. One was terrestrial, four were fliers, the rest inhabited the ocean. “When they swam over what are now the plains, the coast-line extended from Arkansas to near Fort Riley, on the Kansas River, and, passing a little eastward, traversed Minnesota to the British possessions, near the head of Lake Superior. The extent of sea to the westward was vast, and geology has not yet laid down its boundary; it was probably a shore now submerged beneath the waters of the North Pacific.”

Other very elongated marine reptiles of this period, but with much thicker bodies, are called, by Professor Cope, Elasmosaurs. In this group, which is not yet fully worked out, occur such genera as Cimoliosaurus, Polycotylus, Polyptychodon, and others. But it seems a pity that they should be in any way separated from the Plesiosaurs, which they strongly resemble (seechap. iv.,Plate III.). Though not sea-serpents, we have introduced them here because they flourished at the same time, and lived in the same seas with the Mosasaurs and other forms of that group. The very large teeth, with strongly marked ridges, of the Polyptychodon are abundant in the Cambridge Greensand that underlies the chalk, and represent a very huge animal.

In our illustration,Plate XIII., the artist has represented the Elasmosaurus[37](of Cope) with its long thin neck stretched out in search of food on the bed of the sea. Professor Cope—thus describing this monster, in language which seems somewhat fanciful—says, "Far out on the expanse of this ancient sea might have been seen a huge snake-like form, which rose above the surface, and stood erect, with tapering throat and arrow-shaped head, or swayed about, describing a circle oftwenty feet radius above the water. Then plunging into the depths, naught would be visible but the foam caused by the disappearing mass of life. Should several have appeared together, we can easily imagine tall, flexible forms rising to the height of the masts of a fishing-fleet, or like snakes twisting and knotting themselves together. This extraordinary neck—for such it was—rose from a body of elephantine proportions. The limbs were probably two pairs of paddles, like those of Plesiosaurus, from which this diver chiefly differed in the arrangement of the bones of the breast. In the best-known species twenty-two feet represent the neck in a total length of fifty feet. This is Elasmosaurus platyurus (Cope), a carnivorous sea-reptile, no doubt adapted for deeper waters than many of the others. Like the snake-bird of Florida, it probably often swam many feet below the surface, raising the head to the distant air for breath, then withdrawing it, and exploring the depths forty feet below, without altering the position of its body. From the localities in which the bones have been found in Kansas, it must have wandered far from land; and that many kinds of fishes formed its food is shown by the teeth and scales found in the position of its stomach."

[37]Greek—elasmos, plate;sauros, lizard: probably on account of the shape of the paddles.

But to return to the sea-serpents. Mosasaurus is now known to have been a long slender reptile, with a pair of powerful paddles in front, a moderately long neck, and flat pointed head. The tail was very long—flat and deep—like that of a great eel. Mosasaurus princeps is computed to have been seventy-five to eighty feet long. Clidastes was another genus of long and slender shape, one species of which reached a length of forty feet. Some forms of sea-serpent had sclerotic plates in the eye, such as we found in the fish-lizard, or Ichthyosaurus (p. 46), but the announcement that their bodies were protected by bony plates has turned out to be a mistake, and the supposed plates really belonged to the eye.

Leiodon proriger (Cope) was abundant in the old NorthAmerican Cretaceous sea, and reached a length of seventy-five feet. It had a long projecting muzzle, somewhat like the snout of a sturgeon. Platecarpus and Tylosaurus had peculiarly sharp-pointed heads (seeFig. 40).

Fig. 40.—Snout of Tylosaurus. (After Marsh.)

A few words may be added here with regard to Professor Cope’s important discovery of Leiodon—a genus already alluded to as having been founded by Sir Richard Owen. The type specimen of Leiodon dyseplor,[38]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 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 the report already referred to (p. 140). It is a very instructive specimen, including fifty of the vertebræ 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. Fragments of the jaws were seen lying on the slope, and other portions entered the shale. On being followed, a part of the skull was taken from beneath the roots of a bush, and the vertebræ and limb-bones were found farther in. The series of vertebræ, after extending some way along the face of the bluff, finally turned into the hill, and werefollowed as far as time would permit, but part of the tail series had to be left. In size, the vertebræ of this enormous sea-serpent exceed those of Mosasaurus brumbyi. The latter has hitherto been the largest known species of the order of Pythonomorphs, exceeding twofold in its measurements the M. giganteus of Belgium. So the present reptile is much larger in its dimensions than the New Jersey species called maximus by Professor Cope. “If, as appears certain,” says the professor, “the Mosasauroid discovered by Webb measures seventy-five feet in length, and the M. maximus measured 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 what the character of those contemporary animals preserved in the same geologic horizon.”

[38]We retain the old spelling with theeas being nearer to the Greek, although Professor Cope writes it “Liodon.”

In our illustration,Plate XIII., the artist has endeavoured to realise the outward aspect of the two genera of sea-serpents, Mosasaurus and Clidastes. The fishes which they are pursuing are well-known genera from the English Chalk, such as Beryx.

Ten species of Clidastes have been unearthed from the Kansas strata. They did not reach such a size as the Leiodons, but were of elegant and flexible build, the largest species, C. cineriarum, reaching a length of forty feet (seeFig. 41). A smaller species, of elegant proportions, has been called C. tortor (Cope). Its slenderness of body was remarkable, and the large head was long and lance-shaped. Its lithe movements doubtless helped it to secure many fishes. It was found coiled up beneath a ledge of rock, with its skull lying undisturbed in the centre.

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 asevery fossil-hunter will appreciate. We, in England, who visit clay pits, stone quarries, railway cuttings, etc., during a morning or an afternoon walk, and return home at our leisure with a few small specimens in our pockets, 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.

Fig. 41.—Skeleton ofClidastes cineriarum; length 40 feet. (After Cope.)Click on image to view larger version.

The following extracts have been selected from Professor Cope’s report, with a view to illustrating the nature of the explorations undertaken. “The circumstances attending the discovery of one of these will always be a pleasant recollection to the writer. A part of the face, with teeth, was observed projecting from the side of a bluff by a companion in exploration, Lieutenant James H. Whitten, United States Army, and we at once proceeded to follow up the indication with knives and picks. Soon the lower jaws were uncovered, with their glistening teeth, and then the vertebræ and ribs. Our delight was at its height when the bones of the pelvis and part of the hind limb were laid bare, for they had never been seen before in the species, and scarcely in the order. While lying on the bottom of the Cretaceous sea, the carcase had been dragged hither and thither by the sharks and other rapacious animals, and the parts of the skeleton were displaced and gathered into a small area. The massive tail stretched away into the bluff, and, after much laborious excavation, we left a portion of it to more persevering explorers.”

"The discovery of a related species, Platecarpus coryphæus (Cope), was made by the writer under circumstances of difficulty peculiar to the plains.After examining the bluffs for half a day without result, a few bone fragments were found in a wash above their base. Others led the way to a ledge forty or fifty feet from both summit and foot, where, stretched along in the yellow chalk, lay the projecting portions of the whole monster. A considerable number of vertebræ were found preserved by the protective embrace of the roots of a small bush, and, when they were secured, the pick and knife were brought into requisition to remove the remainder. About this time, one of the gales, so common in that region, sprang up, and striking the bluff fairly, reflected itself upwards. So soon as the pick pulverised the rock, the limestone dust was carried into eyes, nose, and every available opening in the clothing. I was speedily blinded, and my aid disappeared in the cañon, and was seen no more while the work lasted. A handkerchief tied over the face, and pierced by minute holes opposite the eyes, kept me from total blindness, though dirt in abundance penetrated the mask. But a fine relic of Creative Genius was extracted from its ancient bed, and one that leads its genus in size, and explains its structure."

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