Extinct Sauriaxs.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



103 



of these enaliosaurians,* as tliey are termed, with 

 those of the cetacea, comments on the development 

 of the clavicles, and of the sterno-clavicular and 

 coracoid arches in the former, an apparatus which 

 would enable the animals, if stranded, to raise them- 

 selves up and regain the water, like seals, which the 

 cetacea cannot do ; and he adds, " Doubtless the 

 anterior paddles mia;ht be subservient to locomotion, 

 not only in the water, but on land ; that when 

 applied to the resisting soil, they might react with 

 due force upon the trunk. It is very conceivable 

 that the ichthyosaurus, like the crocodile, may have 

 come ashore to sleep, or to deposit its eggs, sup- 

 posing them to have been oviparous, as the sura 

 of their analogies deducible from their osseous tex- 

 ture would indicate. The hind paddles would also 

 be serviceable in terrestrial progression, while in the 

 strictly marine cetacea they can readily be dispensed 

 with." 



If the Ichthyosaurus ever came on shore, its mo- 

 tions must have been awkward and shuffling, not 

 perhaps unlike those of the marine turtles, which 

 perhaps also resemble it in its mode of depositing 

 and burying its eggs. 



2229. — The PLESiosArmos 



{Plesiosaunis dolichodeirus). We are here presented 

 with another group of extinct Enaliosaurians, of 

 strange form, the existence of which was contem- 

 porary with that of the Ichthyosaurus, their remains 

 -occurring in the same strata. If our readers refer to 

 vol. i. p. 113, Fig. 510, an attempted restoration of 

 (he characteristic forms of animal and vegetable life, 

 during the deposition of the secondary series of 

 strata, in which the oolitic formation is included, 

 the Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus will appear con- 

 spicuous; and some observations in p. 114, on the 

 leading features of the primary, secondary, and ter- 

 tiary periods, may be not uninteresting, read in con- 

 nexion with the present account of these reptiles ; as 

 serving to give some idea of the period of their ex- 

 istence, relatively to that of beings belonging to the 

 transition period ; and, also, that of animals ap- 

 proaching more nearly to, and often closely resem- 

 bling, the present tenants of our planet, and with 

 which the tertiary strata are replete ; creatures 

 which, in the eyes of the geologist, have but re- 

 cently passed away, to make room for successors, 

 often, indeed, of the same order and genus. 



The skeleton of the Plesiosaurus (Fig. 2229) was 

 found in 1823, at Lyme Regis, imbedded in the 

 shale or slate, which lies between the beds of lias 

 limestone, and is crushed almostflat, probably by the 

 deposition of the vast mass of stone above it. Its 

 component parts, however, are easily made out; the 

 bones of the body having suffered the most distor- 

 tion. The small head, elongated neck, four ample 

 paddles, and short tail, are, with the exception of 

 one paddle, very apparent ; the vertebra: of the 

 lower part of the neck and chest, and the ribs, are 

 disunited and scattered confusedly ; yet from these 

 may the skeleton be rebuilt, and a fair idea of the 

 appearance of the living animal deduced. It was a 

 reptile with large flippers, adapted for aquatic pro- 

 gression, with a flexible neck, exceeding the body in 

 length, and terminated by a small head, the jaws 

 being armed with tormidable teeth. Dr. Buckland 

 truly observes that the discovery of this genus 

 forms one of the most important additions that 

 geology has made to comparative anatomy. " It is 

 of the Plesiosaurus," lie adds, " that Cuvier asserts 

 the structure to have been the most heteroclite, and 

 its characters altogether the most monstrous, that 

 have been yet found amidst the ruins of a former 

 world. To the head of a lizard it united the teeth 

 of a crocodile ; a neck of enormous length, resem- 

 bling the body of a serpent ; a trunk and tail having 

 the proportions of an ordinary quadruped ; the ribs 

 of a chameleon, and the paddles of a whale. Such 

 are the strange combinations of form and structure 

 in the Plesiosaurus, a genus, the remains of which, 

 after interment for thousands of years, amidst 

 the wreck of millions of the inhabitants of the an- 

 cient earth, are at length recalled to light by the 

 researches of the geologist, and submitted to our 

 examination, in nearly as perfect a state as the 

 species that are now existing upon the earth." 



Conybeare, who, when materials were far more 

 scanty than at present, with singular acumen restored 

 the skeleton of this wonderful extinct animal, thus 

 deduces a rationale of its probable habits and man- 

 ners : "That it was aquatic," he says, "is evident 

 from the form of its paddles; that it was marine is 

 almost equally so, from the remains with which it is 

 universally associated ; that it may have occasion- 

 ally visited the shore, the resemblance of its ex- 

 tremities to those of a turtle may lead us to conjec- 

 ture ; its motion, however, must have been awkward 

 on land ; its long neck must have impeded its pro- 

 gress through the water, presenting a striking con- 

 trast to the organization which so admirably fits the 



* \fiXin, marine ; nuif»$, a lizard. 



Ichthyosaurus to cut through the waves. May it 

 not, therefore, be considered (since in addition to 

 these circumstances its respiration must have re- 

 quired frequent access of air) that it swam upon or 

 near the surface, arching back its long neck like the 

 swan, and occasionally darting it down at the fish 

 which happened to float withm its reach ? It may, 

 perhaps, have lurked in shoal water along the coast, 

 concealed among the sea-weed, and, raising its nos- 

 trils to the surface, from a considerable depth, have 

 found a secure retreat from the assaults of danger- 

 ous enemies ; while the length and flexibility of its 

 neck may have compensated for the want of strength 

 in its jaws and its incapacity for swift motion 

 through the water, by the suddenness and agility of 

 the attack which they enabled it to make on every 

 animal fitted for its prey which came within its 

 reach."— ' Geol. Trans.' vol. i. p. 388, N. S. 



We agree with the latter ideas expressed by the 

 eminent writer; and it has often struck us that 

 there is an analogy between it and the New Holland 

 Chelodina (Chelodina Novae Hollandiae), a fresh- 

 water tortoise, with a serpentiform elongated neck, 

 and which lurks in concealment, suddenly darting at 

 and seizing such fish or reptiles as approach its 

 place of ambush. 



The species of Plesiosaurus determined are even 

 more numerous than those of the Ichthyosaurus, 

 amounting, according to Professor Owen, to sixteen 

 in number — viz. : PI. Hawkensii, Owen ; dolicho- 

 deirus, Conybeare ; macrocephahis, Conybeare ; bra- 

 chycephalus, Owen ; niacromus, Owen ; pachyomus, 

 Owen ; arcuatus, Owen ; subtrigonus, Owen ; tri- 

 gonus, Cuvier; brachyspondylus, Owen; costatus, 

 Owen ; daedicomus, Owen ; rugosus, Owen ; grandis, 

 Owen ; trochanterius, Owen ; and affinis, Owen. 



We shall now proceed to offer a few general ob- 

 servations on the bones of this genus, of which we 

 have some interesting pictorial examples. 



Figs. 2230 and 2231 represent the Skeleton of the 

 Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus as restored by Conybeare, 

 and convey a good idea of the animal's general 

 form. 



The head (Fig. 2232, a, the Profile ; b, the Upper 

 Surface) is not unlike that of the crocodile in general 

 form, but is much smaller in proportion to the body ; 

 in the elongated form of the strong cranial bones, and 

 also in other details, it exhibits, as Professor Owen 

 remarks, an affinity to that of the Lacertian Sauria. 

 The nostrils are situated just anterior to the orbits. 



The usual complicated structure observable in the 

 lower jaw of the Saurians appears also in that of the 

 Plesiosaurus, the general form of which will be 

 better conceived by referring to Fig. 2004 than by 

 any merely descriptive details: a is the lower jaw 

 seen from above; h is the same viewed laterally; 

 c, the jaw seen from below. Fig. 2234 is a tooth, 

 sliehtly magnified. 



With respect to the ribs, their free extremities 

 are connected together in the abdominal region by 

 a series of intermediate slender pieces, so adapted 

 to each other as to admit of a sliding motion of 

 their component parts on each other, thus favouring 

 the expansion of the cavity containing the lungs. 

 These intermediate bones have been termed by 

 Conybeare sterno-costal arcs. Their general outline 

 is represented at Fig. 2235. 



Fig. 2236 represents the Pectoral Arch of the 

 Plesiosaurus, which is remarkable for strength and 

 development. It consists of the sternum, the 

 clavicles, and the coracoid bones (respectively let- 

 tered St., CI., and Cor.) ; the latter are remarkably 

 expanded. As the posterior limbs equal and some- 

 times exceed the anterior in size, the pelvic bones, 

 as might be expected, are well developed, constitut- 

 ing an arch, as seen at Fig. 22.37, consisting of the 

 pubic bones, the ischiatic, and the iliac (respectively 

 lettered Pub., Isch., and 11.), irrespective of the ver- 

 tebrae. 



With respect to the neck, it varies in the different 

 species, as to the number of vertebral bones compos- 

 ing it, from twenty to forty. 



As it would he out of place in our present work 

 to enter into the minutiae of osteological details, we 

 shall cut short these observations, recommending to 

 those who wish to enter deeply into the subject 

 Profe.ssor Owen's Report on the Enaliosauria, or 

 lizards of the sea, read at the British Association for 

 the Advancement of Science ; to the Geol. Trans., 

 vol. v. 2nd series, 1840; and Geol. Proc. 1838. 



Fig. 2238 represents the Relics of Plesiosaurus 

 macroccphalus as cleared from the block in which 

 they were embedded. In this species the head is 

 comparatively larger than in PI. dolichodeirus, and 

 the neck shorter and much thicker. 



Such then is an outline of the general characters 

 of these reptiles of a former world, beings which 

 cannot fail to excite the astonishment of all who for 

 a moment contemplate their form and proportions. 

 In the British Museum a splendid series of their 

 remains strikes the attention of even the most care- 

 less visitors, and leads the reflective to throw them- 

 selves back upon a by-gone time, overleaping 



all historic periods, and calling up around them 

 scenes totally dissimilar from any now displayed 

 upon the surface of this planet. On the land grew 

 plants such as Lepidodendron, Stigmaria, &c., now 

 entirely unknown, towering pines, Zamiae, and 

 strange ferns ; the morass was crowded with plants 

 apparently resembling the equisetum ; overhead 

 sailed the Pterodactyles ; various insectsflitted about, 

 hovering over the marbh, along the borders of which 

 wandered the huge Mogalosaurvis ; the watera 

 teemed with life : turtles, fishes, ammonites, nautili, 

 echini, and cuttle-fish, with varied encrinites and 

 corals, lived and perished in those seas whose billows 

 were breasted by Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, dart- 

 ing alter their prey, and leaving a hoary track behind 

 them. But silence reigned, save when some monster 

 uttered a hideous hiss or roar, or lashed the water 

 into foam ; no birds saluted the morning sun with 

 their voices, or made the woods resonant of melody ; 

 a few ])erhaps might have existed, but they were 

 thinly scattered : no deer or antelope browsed in rich 

 meadows, no cattle wandered over the hills, no 

 elephants came traniphng their way through the 

 forests; all was still and silent. If indeed any mam- 

 malia existed, like the birds they were few and local ; 

 for it is not till we arrive at the tertiaiy series of 

 deposits that their remains in abundance prove the 

 earth then fairly fitted for their general distribution. 

 During the deposition of the oolitic strata of the 

 secondary series, few spots perhaps were adapted 

 for their reception. How ditfeient the animal and 

 vegetable kingdoms of that far-distant period to the 

 animal and vegetable kingdoms of the present day, 

 and how ditferent the relation of the land to the 

 waters ! What are islands and continents now was a 

 wide waste of ocean, or vast lagoons : but still have 

 we in the solid rock the monuments of time which 

 proclaim (how impressively !) the primeval phases 

 through which our planet has passed, and the 

 changes and succession of organic beings on its 

 surface. They prove, moreover, that at the period 

 of the depositions taking place to which we imme- 

 diately refer, viz., the oolitic, lias, and Jura lime- 

 stone, the saurian order had assumed its full develop- 

 ment, and exhibited a series of monstrous forms, the 

 contemplation of which fills our minds with asto- 

 nishment. 



ORDER OPHIDIA (SERPENTS). 



The present order, Ophidia, abounds in species 

 principally confined to the hottest regions, but 

 extending also into the temperate latitudes, and 

 even to climates where the cold of winter is consider- 

 able : in this sense they may be said to be spread 

 almost universally, with certain exceptions. We 

 may instance Ireland, where, indeed, it is said that 

 there are no reptiles, the climate or soil being un- 

 fitted for their existence : this assertion, however, is 

 not quite correct, for the frog is common ; and 

 though attempts to introduce the harmless ringed 

 snake of our island have hitherto failed, it is because 

 when discovered these reptiles are killed by the 

 peasantry, who regard them with abhorrence. We 

 quote from Mr. Bell the following communication, 

 which he received from Mr. Thompson, exjilanatory 

 of the reason why St. Patrick's malediction still 

 operates in keeping the Emerald Isle clear of these 

 animals: — "In this order Ophidia," he writes, 

 " there is not now, nor I believe ever was there, any 

 species indigenous to Ireland. In the Edinburgh 

 New Philosophical Journal for April, 1835, it is 

 remarked : — ' We have learned from good authority 

 that a recent importation of snakes has been made 

 into Ireland, and that at present they are multiply- 

 ing rapidly within a few miles of the tomb of St. 

 Patrick.' I never," proceeds Mr. Thompson, " heard 

 of this circumstance until it was pubHshed, and 

 subsequently endeavoured to ascertain its truth, by 

 inquinng of the persons about Downpatrick (where 

 the tomb of St. Patrick is) who are best acquainted 

 with these subjects, not one of whom ever heard of 

 snakes being in the neighbourhood. Recollecting 

 that about the year 1831 a snake (Natrix torquata), 

 immediately alter being killed at Milecross, was 

 brought by some country people in great consterna- 

 tion to my friend Dr. J. L. Drummond, I thought 

 this might be one of those alluded to, and recently 

 made inquiry of James Cleaveland, Esq., of Ruth 

 Gael House (county Down), twenty-five miles distant 

 in a direct line from Downpatrick, respecting snakes 

 said to have been turned out by him. I was 

 favoured by that gentleman with the following 

 satisfactory reply : ' The report of my having in- 

 troduced snakes mto this country is correct. Being 

 curious to ascertain whether the climate of Ireland 

 was destructive to that class of reptiles, about six 

 years ago I purchased half a dozen of them in 

 Covent Garden Market in London ; they had been 

 taken some time, and were quite tame and familiar. 

 I turned them out in my garden ; they immediately 

 rambled away ; one of them was killed at Milecross, 



