478 Ha*wMns's Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, 



satirus (called by the author chiroligostinus), except the 

 right fore arm and paddle ; the figure measures in the plate 

 3 ft. 3 in. from the snout to the extremity of the tail : there 

 are in this skeleton about 500 bones, and the spinal column 

 contains 150 vertebrae. Plates 7. and 17. contain figures of 

 skeletons of two other species, nearly as perfect as that in 

 plate 3., but of smaller dimensions. Plate 24. represents a 

 very interesting skeleton of the Plesiosaurus, entire except 

 one of the paddles : in this skeleton the bones of the sternum 

 and pelvis are beautifully displayed ; there are thirty-two cer- 

 vical vertebrae, and twenty dorsal ; the neck of this animal 

 was longer than the whole body, except the tail ; the caudal 

 vertebrae amount to thirty-three. Several of the other plates 

 represent large portions of skeletons. The remaining plates 

 display detached bones and heads, with the paddles or hands 

 of these animals. The head represented in plate 13. is truly 

 remarkable for the extreme length of the jaws ; it resembles, 

 as the author observes, the head and bill of a snipe, " It 

 possesses 260 long sharp teeth, 140 in the upper jaw, and 120 

 in the lower jaw." 



The author has given a new classification of the species of 

 both the Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, but we cannot think that 

 he has been happy in his nomenclature, though derived from 

 the Greek ; it would scarely be possible to select terms that 

 are less suited to the English ear. The classification of Ich- 

 thyosauri, which he proposes, is founded on the structure of 

 the hand or paddle. From the Greek cheir, hand, and osteon, 

 bone, with the addition of the Greek words for, 1. few, 2. many, 

 3. round, 4. oblong ; we have the following names for the 

 four species :— Sp. 1. Ichthyosaurus chiroligostinus ; 2. chiro- 

 polyostinus ; 3. chirostrongulostinus ; 4. chiroparamekosti- 



nus ! I ! ! 



The specific characters of the Plesiosauri, he says, are to 

 be discovered " in the posterior extremity, in the tarsus." 

 Then, from the Greek tarsos, heel, and osteon, bone, with the 

 Greek numerals for 3, 4, 5, 6, we have the following strange 

 j^a^t^ies : — Sp. 1. Plesiosaurus triatarsostinus ; 2. tesseratarsos- 

 tinus ; 3. pentetarsostinus ; 4. extarsostinus. 



We could almost suppose that our author intended, by the 

 invention of these terms, to ridicule the absurd fabrication of 

 compound Greek words, such as " pliocene," " pecillite," 

 &c. &c., which have lately been introduced by some geologists ; 

 for he cannot expect that the names he has constructed will 

 ever be used by his countrymen. We sincerely hope that 

 good sense will ere long free geology from all such pedantic 

 contamination. In the mean time, we recommend our author 



