422 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



and from the occurrence of pairs of gigantic three-toed foot- 

 steps in the same beds, it has been concluded, with much pro- 

 bability, that Iguanodon, in spite of its enormous bulk, must 

 have walked temporarily or permanently upon its hind-legs, 

 thus coming to present a most marked and striking affinity 

 to the Birds. 



The most remarkable, however, of the Dinosauria is the 

 little Compsognathus longipes from the Lithographic Slate of 

 Solenhofen, referred to this order by Professor Huxley. This 

 Reptile is not remarkable for its size, which does not seem to 

 have been much more than two feet, but for the remarkable 

 affinities which it exhibits to the true Birds. The head of 

 Compsognathus was furnished with toothed jaws, and supported 

 upon a long and slender neck. The fore-limbs were very 

 short, but the hind-limbs were long and like those of Birds. 

 The proximal portion of the tarsus resembled that of Birds in 

 being anchylosed to the lower end of the tibia ; but the distal 

 portion of the tarsus unlike that of Birds was free, and was 

 not anchylosed with the metatarsus. Huxley concludes that 

 " it is impossible to look at the conformation of this strange 

 Reptile, and to doubt that it hopped or walked in an erect or 

 semi-erect position, after the manner of a bird, to which its long 

 neck, slight head, and small anterior limbs must have given it 

 an extraordinary resemblance." 



