322 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tected situation of this inland body of salt water, and its placid surface, 

 it was a favorite region for countless and divers animals of strange 

 aspect. The waters swarmed with swimming reptiles of unfamiliar 

 shapes and great size, while over its surface hovered and soared 

 innumerable pterodactyls searching for their prey in the waters be- 

 neath. The delicate bones of the pterodactyls, beneath the pressure 

 of the superincumbent rocks, have been, almost invariably, crushed 

 flat, requiring skill and care in their excavation. Sometimes, though 

 rarely, has a skeleton been found nearly complete; more frequently are 

 the scattered bones found here and there. Considering the great 

 buoyancy of their bodies floating upon the surface of the water, or sink- 

 ing slowly through the ocean's depths, swarming as it was with many 

 predaceous scavengers, one can only wonder that so many have been 

 preserved all these millions of years for the delight and amazement of 

 the modern student of geology. 



