THE JURASSIC PERIOD. 255 



assic, and is characterized by having the front teeth long and 

 pointed, whilst the hinder teeth are small and lancet-shaped. 

 Lastly, the singular genus Rhamphorhynchus, also from the 

 Lower Oolites, is distinguished by the fact that there are teeth 

 present in the hinder portions of both jaws; but the front por- 

 tions are toothless, and may have constituted a horny beak. 

 Like most of the other Jurassic Pterosaurs, Rhamphorhynchus 

 (fig. 179) does not seem to have been much bigger than a 

 pigeon, in this respect falling far below the giant " Dragons " 

 of the Cretaceous period. It differed from its relatives, not 



Fig. 179. Rharnphorhynchia Bucklandi, restored. Bath Oolite, England. 

 (After the late Professor Phillips.) 



only in the armature of the mouth, but also in the fact that 

 the tail was of considerable length. With regard to its habits 

 and mode of life, Professor Phillips remarks that, "gifted with 

 ample means of flight, able at least to perch on rocks and 

 scuffle along the shore, perhaps competent to dive, though not 

 so well as a Palmiped bird, many fishes must have yielded to 

 the cruel beak and sharp teeth of Rhamphorhynchus. If we 

 ask to which of the many families of Birds the analogy of 

 structure and probable way of life would lead us to assimilate 

 Rhamphorhynchus, the answer must point to the swimming 

 races with long wings, clawed feet, hooked beak, and habits of 

 violence and voracity; and for preference, the shortness of the 

 legs, and other circumstances, may be held to claim for the 

 Stonesfield fossil a more than fanciful similitude to the groups 

 of Cormorants, and other marine divers, which constitute an 

 effective part of the picturesque army of robbers of the sea. " 



Another extraordinary and interesting group of the Meso- 

 zoic Reptiles is constituted by the Dcinosauria, comprising a 

 series of mostly gigantic forms, which range from the Trias to 

 the Chalk. All the " Deinosaurs " are possessed of the two pairs 

 of limbs proper to Vertebrate animals, and these organs are in 

 the main adapted for walking on the dry land. Thus, whilst 



