ROOM IV. ICHTHYOSAURUS PLATYODOX. 381 



C. Of this gigantic species there is one magnificent example, 

 and several very fine detached crania and jaws, paddles, &c. 



A series of carpal bones of an enormous paddle, is placed in 

 the angle uniting Cases A and B : in the same division 

 there is a portion of a stupendous cranium and jaws, with the 

 teeth beautifully preserved; and beneath, a splendid skull, 

 4 1 feet long, with the zone of sclerotic plates entire ; this fossil 

 is figured in " Philos. Trans." for 1814. 



WALL-CASE C. [3.] 



On the Top. 



Vertebrae and ribs : 

 detached bones im- 

 bedded in lias. 



Ichthyosaurus platyodon, var. immanis. Enor- 

 mous jaws, and detached bones of the trunk 

 and spinal column. 



Skeleton of Ichthyosaurus platyodon, 18 feet long ; consisting of the skull with the 

 jaws and teeth, the spinal column composed of upwards of 90 vertebrae, and three 

 of the paddles. (Hawkins, PI. III.) 



A small skeleton presented by Mr. Broderip. 



Separate bones of the spinal column of an Ichthy. platyodon, amounting to upwards 

 of 100 vertebrae. 



The magnificent skeleton of Ich. platyodon, in Wall-case C, 

 is a noble monument of the zeal, skill, and patience of Mr. 

 Hawkins, by whom it was literally "snatched from the 

 devouring ocean," and developed and restored. 1 



1 When this stupendous fossil first arrived at the British Museum, 

 together with the other specimens purchased of Mr. Hawkins for a sum 

 awarded by Dr. Buckland and myself, much misapprehension was enter- 

 tained by the Curators as to the genuineness of these splendid specimens, 

 in consequence of some portions of this skeleton having been restored 

 and coloured so as to resemble the original bones; and a report was 

 quickly in circulation that the valuers had been deceived, and had 

 awarded a sum for the collection far beyond its real value. 



This supposition was altogether erroneous ; the unequalled magnitude 

 of this specimen the circumstances under which it was found imbedded 

 the great difficulty of extracting it from the stratum the expense, 

 the time, the labour, the trouble, of repairing it setting aside the skill 

 and experience required to conduct the operation successfully, were, in 

 my opinion, but inadequately remunerated by the sum of 21 0. given 

 for this unique specimen, which is one of the choicest treasures in the 

 British Museum. 



That the reader may have some idea of the circumstances under which 

 this matchless fossil was obtained, 1 will give, in Mr. Hawkins's own 

 language, an account of the exhumation of this saurian of the ancient 

 world from the bed of its native ocean, and its rescue from the billows 



