THE IGUANODON. 321 



integuments of suitable proportions, would form a 

 limb seven feet in circumference. The hinder 

 extremities, in all probability, presented the un- 

 wieldy contour of those of the hippopotamus or 

 rhinoceros, and were supported by a very strong 

 short foot, the toes of which were armed with 

 claws Like those of certain turtles.* The forelegs 

 appear to have been less bulky, and furnished with 

 hooked claws resembling the ungueal phalanges of 

 the Iguana. The teeth demonstrate the nature 

 of the food required for the support of this her- 

 bivorous reptile, and the power of mastication it 

 enjoyed. The palms, ferns, cycadeous plants, and 

 coniferous trees, with which its remains are asso- 

 ciated, indicate the flora adapted for its suste- 

 nance. But the physiognomy of this creature, 

 from the form of the skull and jaws, constructed 

 as the latter must have been to give support to 

 the powerful muscles necessary for the tritura- 

 tion of tough vegetable substances, must have 

 remarkably differed from that of all known 

 saurians. 



The length of the Iguanodon has been variously 

 estimated, the difference in the computation de- 

 pending chiefly on the length assigned to the tail, 

 which in the Iguana and many other lizards is 



* Wonders of Geology, PI. III. 



