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arm, and phalanges; the bones of 

 the phalanges were polygonal and 

 exceedingly numerous, as before 

 stated. The hind-paddles were 

 Tery much smaller, containing only 

 from thirty to forty bones. The 

 general conformation of the ichthy- 

 osaurus must have greatly resem- 

 bled that of the porpoise or grampus. 

 Its teeth would have sufficiently 

 proved it to have been carnivorous, 

 but the subsequent discovery of its 

 faBcal remains, now called copro- 

 lites, and the finding within the 

 intestinal canal the half-digested 

 remains of fishes and reptiles, ren- 

 der this point quite certain ; like 

 the crocodile, it must have gorged 

 its prey entire ; its stomach was 

 exceedingly capacious, forming a 

 sort of pouch, or sac, and extending 

 through nearly the whole body. 

 The fossil remains of the ichthyo- 

 saurus have been most abundantly 

 discovered in the lias formation, 

 and it appears to have become ex- 

 tinct at the termination of the 

 secondary series of geological for- 

 mations : the debris of ichthyosauri 

 have been found more abundantly 

 in England than in any other 

 country, and they are to be met 

 with in every formation from the 

 new red sandstone up to the green 

 sand inclusive. It is however, the 

 opinion of Bakewell that the ich- 

 thyosaurus, or some species of a 

 similar genus, is still existing in 

 the present seas, and with his re- 

 marks the description of the fish- 

 like lizard will be concluded. 

 " About sixteen years since, a large 

 animal was seen for several sum- 

 mers in the Atlantic, near the coast 

 of the United States, and was called 

 the great sea-serpent. I am in- 

 formed by Professor Silliman, that 

 many persons who attested the ex- 

 istence of the sea serpent from their 

 own observations, were so highly 

 respectable, both for intelligence 

 and veracity, that their evidence 



could not be disputed. I remember 

 one of the most particular descrip- 

 tions of the sea-serpent was given 

 by an American captain, who saw 

 the animal raise a large portion of 

 its body from the water : he rep- 

 resented it as of great length, and 

 about the bulk of a large water 

 cask ; it had paddles somewhat like 

 a turtle, and enormous jaws like 

 the crocodile. This description 

 certainly approaches to, or may be 

 said to correspond with, the ich- 

 thyosaurus, of which animal the 

 captain had probably never heard." 

 Bakewell, Cony bear e, De la, 

 Heche. 



ICHTHYOPHTHA'LMITE. (from *x^ s > 

 and o00a\/io9, Gr.) Fish-eye stone; 

 apophyllite ; pyramidal zeolite ; the 

 fischaugenstein of Werner; meso- 

 type epointee of Haiiy. It is of a 

 white colour, and semi-transparent, 

 or translucent. Occurs both crys- 

 tallised and massive. The primitive 

 form of its crystals is a four-sided 

 prism, with rectangular bases. It 

 is easily divisible by percussion 

 into Iamina3, whose broader surfaces 

 are splendent and somewhat pearly. 

 It scarcely scratches glass, and does 

 not yield sparks when struck with 

 steel. Specific gravity 2 -46. Before 

 the blow-pipe it exfoliates, froths, 

 and eventually melts into an 

 opaque bead. It is composed of 

 silica, 50, lime 23, potash 4, 

 water 18, with a trace of fluoric 

 acid. It is found in secondary 

 trap-rocks in the Hebrides and 

 other parts of Scotland, in Sweden, 

 and Iceland. 



ICHTHYOSPON'DYLE. The name given 

 by many writers on oryctology to 

 signify a vertebra of different 

 species of fossil fishes. 



Pcius. The termination of adjectives in 

 icius and aceous express a resemb- 

 lance to a material; those in eus and 

 ous indicates the material itself: thus, 

 membranaceous, resembling skin ; 

 membranous, skin itself: cori- 



