THE GREAT SEA-LIZARDS 77 



1821. In a later paper (1824) he gave a restoration of the entire 

 skeleton of Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus ; and the accuracy of that 

 restoration is still universally acknowledged. This fine specimen 

 was in the possession of the Duke of Buckingham, who kindly 

 placed it at the disposal of Dr. Buckland, for a time, that it 

 might be properly described and investigated. 



A glance at our illustration, Plate VI., will show that this 

 strange creature was not inaptly compared at the time to a snake 

 threaded through the body of a turtle. 



Perhaps the best way in which we can gain a clear idea of the 

 general characters of a long-necked sea-lizard, as we may call our 

 Plesiosaurus, is by comparing it with the fish-lizard, described in 

 the last chapter. Its long neck and small head are the most 

 conspicuous features. Then we notice the short tail. But if we 

 compare the paddles of these two extinct forms of life, we notice 

 at once certain important differences. In the fish-lizard the bone 

 of the arm was very short, while all the bones of the fore arm 

 and fingers were modified into little many-sided bodies, and so 

 articulated together as to make the whole limb, or paddle, a solid 

 yet flexible structure. In the long-necked sea-lizard, however, 

 we find a long arm-bone with a club-like shape; and the two 

 bones of the fore arm are seen to be longer than in the fish- 

 lizard. But a still greater difference shows itself in the bones 

 of the finger, as we look at a fossilised skeleton (or a drawing 

 of one) ; for the fingers are long and slender, like those of ordinary 

 reptiles. 



There are only five fingers, and each finger is quite distinct 

 from the others. This is the reason why the Plesiosaur was 

 considered to depart less from the type of an ordinary reptile, 

 and so received its name. Other remarkable differences present 

 themselves in the shoulders and haunches, but these need not 



