218 THE STORY OP THE EARTH AND MAN. 



of Elasmosaurus, whicli for want of space lie had 

 stretched on a gallery along two sides of a large room, 

 I could not help suggesting to him that the name of 

 the creature should be Teinosaurus * instead of that 

 which he had given. Marsh has recently ascertained 

 that the Mosasaurs were covered in part at least with 

 bony scales. 



These animals may serve as specimens of the 

 reptilian giants of the Mesozoic seas; but before 

 leaving them we must at least invite attention to 

 the remarkable fact that they were contemporary 

 with species which represent the more common 

 aquatic reptiles of the modern world. In other 

 words, the monsters which we have described ex- 

 isted over and above a far more abundant popu- 

 lation of crocodiles and turtles than the modern 

 waters can boast. The crocodiles were represented 

 both in Europe and America by numerous and 

 large species, most of them with long snouts like 

 the modern Ga vials, a few with broad heads like 

 those of the alligators. The turtles again presented 

 not only many species, but most of the aquatic 

 subdivisions of the group known in modern times, 

 as for instance the Emydes or ordinary fresh- water 

 forms, the snapping turtles, and the soft-shelled 

 turtles. Cope says that the Cretaceous of New 

 Jersey alone affords twenty species, one of them 

 a snapping turtle six feet in length. Owen records 



* Eeb. Tanan; Gr. Teino, Tanuo ; Sansc. Tanu; Lat. Tendo. 

 — Ges. Lex. 



