DINOSAURS 163 



evidence. But nearly a quarter of a century elapsed before it was 

 forthcoming. In the years 1841 and 1848 portions of the lower 

 jaw with some attached teeth were found. It is very interesting 

 in the light of recent discoveries to read the conclusions arrived 

 at by Man tell and Owen, with regard to the organisation of this 

 great Wealden reptile, and to see how, with the exception of 

 certain details, they have been confirmed. Considering the 

 imperfect nature of the materials at their command, it is 

 wonderful that their forecasts should have turned out so 

 successful. Thus Professor Owen predicted for the Iguanodon 

 a total length of twenty-eight feet, and specimens discovered of 

 late years show a length of twenty-four feet. 



Dr. Mantell also was the first to prove, from the nature of the 

 Wealden strata, that they were deposited in or near the estuary 

 of a mighty river. With regard to the aspect of the country in 

 which the Iguanodon flourished, he showed that coniferous trees 

 probably clothed its Alpine regions ; palms and arborescent ferns, 

 and cycadaceous plants (i.e. plants resembling the modern zamia 

 or " false palm ") constituted the groves and forests of its plains 

 and valleys ; and in its fens and marshes the equisetacea (mare's 

 tails) and plants of a like nature prevailed. Since the days 

 of Dr. Mantell, the remains of Iguanodon or other closely 

 allied genera have been found on the Continent, in England, and 

 North America, in strata of various ages, from the Trias or 

 New Red Sandstone to the Chalk (see Table of Strata, 

 Appendix I.). The American Hadrosaurus must have been 

 an allied form. 



In the year 1878 was announced one of the most fortunate 

 discoveries known in the whole history of geological science 

 a discovery unique of its kind, and one which throws considerable 

 light on the nature of the monster first discovered by Dr. Mantell. 



