PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION vii 



of the marvellous, for in Dinoceras we find a beast with 

 six horns, and sword-bayonet tusks, joined to a skeleton like 

 an elephant's. 



Latest amongst the marvels in modern palseontological 

 discovery has been that made by Professor Fraas of the out- 

 line of the skin and fins in Ichthyosaurus tenuirostris, 

 which shows it to have been a veritable shark- like reptile, 

 with a high dorsal fin and broad fish-tail, so that " fish-lizard " 

 is more than ever an appropriate term for these old Liassic 

 marine reptiles. 



As every palaeontologist is well aware, restorations are ever 

 liable to emendation, and that the present and latest book of 

 extinct monsters will certainly prove no exception to the rule 

 is beyond a doubt, but the author deserves our praise for the 

 very boldness of his attempt, and the honesty with which he 

 has tried to follow nature and avoid exaggeration. Every one 

 will admire the simple and unaffected style in which the author 

 has endeavoured to tell his story, avoiding, as far as possible, 

 all scientific terms, so as to bring it within the intelligence of 

 the unlearned. He has, moreover, taken infinite pains to study 

 up his subject with care, and to consult all the literature bearing 

 upon it. He has thus been enabled to convey accurate informa- 

 tion in a simple and pleasing form, and to guide the artist in 

 his difficult task with much wisdom and intelligence. That the 

 excellence of the sketches is due to the artist, Mr. Smit, is a 

 matter of course, and so is the blame, where criticism is 

 legitimate ; and no one is more sensible of the difficulties of 

 the task than Mr. Smit himself. 



Speaking for myself, I am very well pleased with the series 

 of sketches; and I may say so with the greater ease and 

 freedom from responsibility, as I have had very little to do 



