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part of an incisor tooth of a large quadruped ground down by 

 use, that Dr. Mantell was much embarrassed to account for its 

 presence in the ancient Wealden strata, in which, according to 

 all previous experience, no fossil remains of mammals would be 

 likely to occur. No reptiles of the present day are capable of 

 masticating their food ; how, then, could he venture to assign 

 it to a reptile ? Here was a puzzle to be solved, and in his 

 perplexity he determined to try whether the great naturalist at 

 Paris would be able to throw any light on the question. Through 

 Sir Charles (then Mr.) Lyell, this perplexing tooth was submitted 

 to Baron Cuvier; and great was the doctor's astonishment on 

 hearing that it had been without hesitation pronounced to be 

 the upper incisor of a rhinoceros! The same tooth, with some 

 other specimens, had already been exhibited at a meeting of the 

 Geological Society, and shown to Dr. Buckland, Mr. Conybeare, 

 and others, but with no more satisfactory result. Worse than 

 that : Dr. Mantell was told that the teeth were of no particular 

 interest, and that, without doubt, they either belonged to some 

 large fish, or were the teeth of a mammal, and derived from 

 some superficial deposit of the "glacial drift," then called 

 Diluvium ! 



There was one man, however, who foresaw the importance of 

 MantelTs discovery, and that was Dr. Wollaston. This dis- 

 tinguished philosopher, though not a naturalist, supported the 

 doctor's idea that the teeth belonged to an unknown herbivorous 

 reptile, and encouraged him to continue his researches. 



The workmen in the quarry were stimulated by suitable 

 rewards, and at length the doctor's efforts resulted in the dis- 

 covery of teeth which displayed the curious serrated edges, and 

 the entire form of the unused crown. Having forwarded speci- 

 mens and drawings of these to Paris, Dr. Mantell went to 



