133 



No entire skeleton of the Megalosaur has ever been found, but 

 there was enough material to enable Dr. Buckland, Professor 

 Owen, and Professor Phillips to form a very fair idea of its general 

 structure. But Ceratosaurus (p. 137) is completely known. It 

 should be mentioned here that Dr. Mantell, the enthusiastic 

 geologist to whose labours palaeontologists are greatly indebted, 

 had previously discovered similar teeth and bones in the 

 Wealden strata of Tilgate Forest. Sherborne, in Dorset, is another 

 locality which has yielded a fine specimen of parts of both 

 jaws with teeth. A cast of this may be seen in the geological 

 collection at South Kensington. 



The portion of a lower jaw in the Oxford Museum is twelve 

 inches long, with a row of 

 nine teeth, or sockets for teeth. 

 The structure of the teeth 

 leaves no doubt as to the car- 

 nivorous habits of the creature. 



With a length of perhaps thirty FIG. 42. Lower jaw-bone of Megalo- 

 c , , saurus, with teeth, 



feet (see p. 139), capable of free 



and rapid movement on land, with strong hind limbs, short 

 head, with long pointed teeth, and formidable claws to its 

 feet, the Megalosaur must have been without a rival among 

 the carnivorous reptiles on this side of the world. It probably 

 walked for the most part on its hind legs, as depicted in our 

 illustration, and Professors Huxley and Owen, on examining 

 the bones in the Oxford Museum, were much impressed with 

 the bird-like character of some parts of the skeleton, showing 

 an approach to the ostrich type. The form of the teeth, as 

 pointed out by Dr. Buckland, exhibits a remarkable combination 

 of contrivances. 



The genus Megalosaurus now rendered classic through the 



