()4() THE DINOSAURS OR TKRRTBLE LIZARDS. 



browsi' coiiit'ortaMy from the groiiiid by nicivly lowtM'iiio' the t'l-ont of 

 the head. 



Those forms \\i\ have been considering- were the giants of the group, 

 but a conunoner s})ecies, Thespesius, though less in bulk than those 

 just mentioned, was still of goodly proportions, for, us he stalked 

 ahout, the top of his head was 12 feet from the ground. 



Thespesius and his kin seem to have been comparatively abundant, 

 for they have a wide distribution, and many specimens, some almost 

 perfect, have l)een discovered in this country and abroad. No less than 

 29 Iguanodons, a European relative of Thespesius, were found in one 

 spot in mining for coal at B rnissart, Belgium. Here, during long 

 3^ears of C-retaceous time, a river slowly cut its way through the coal- 

 l)earing strata to a depth of 750 feet, a depth almost twice as great as 

 the deepest part of the gorge of Niagara, and then, this being accom- 

 plished, l)egan the work of tilling up the valley it had excavated. It 

 was then a sluggish stream with marshy borders, a stream subject to 

 frequent floods, when the water, turbid with mud and laden with sand, 

 overflowed its banks, leaving them, as the waters subsided, covered 

 thickly with mud. Here, amidst the luxuriant vegetation of a semi 

 tropical climate, lived and died the Iguanodons, and here the pick of 

 the miner rescued them from their long entombment to form part of 

 the treasures of the museum at Brussels. 



Like other reptiles, living and extinct, Thespesius was continually 

 renewing his teeth, so that as fast as one tooth was worn out it was 

 replaced by another, a point wherein Thespesius had a decided advan- 

 tage over ourselves. On the other hand, as there was a reserve supph^ 

 of something like 400 teeth in the lower jaw alone, what an opportu- 

 nity^ for the toothache! 



And then we have a multitude of lesser Dinosaurs, including the 

 active, predatory species with sharp claws and double-edged teeth. 

 Megalosaurus, the first of the Dinosaurs to be really known, was one 

 of these carnivorous species, and from our West comes a near relative, 

 Ceratosaurus, the nose-horned lizard, a queer beast with tiny fore legs, 

 powerful, sharp-clawed hind feet, and well-armed jaws. A most 

 formidable foe he seems, the more that the hollow bones speak of 

 active movements, and Professor Cope pictured him, or a near rela- 

 tive, vigorously engaged in combat with his fellows, or preying upon 

 the huge but helpless herbivores of the marshes, leaping, biting, and 

 tearing his enemy to pieces with tooth and claw. 



Professor Osborn, on the other hand, is inclined to consider him as 

 a reptilian hyena, feeding upon carrion, although one can but feel that 

 such an armament is not entirely in the interests of peace. 



Last, but by no means least, are the Stegosaurs, or plated lizards; 

 for not only were the}^ beasts of goodly size, but they were among 

 the most singular of all known animals, sinoular even for Dinosaurs. 



