OF CREATION. 221 



from this would be seen its great fish-like tail. Could 

 our power of vision enable us to see beneath the sur- 

 face, there might also be observed those singular 

 webbed feet, and enormous toes armed with long 

 powerful claws, which so strikingly characterise this 

 creature. 



But another of the monsters of the deep demands 

 our notice a truly marine reptile gigantic in its 

 proportions, admirably adapted for rapid motion, and 

 combining some of the terrestrial and crocodilian pe- 

 culiarities of the long-necked Plesiosaurus, with the 

 compact proportions of the great fish-lizard. Its huge 

 crocodilian head contrasts strongly with the porpoise- 

 like body, which is attached without any intervening 

 neck; and its powerful elongated extremities make up 

 for the absence of a vertical tail-fin. The sharks, 

 which were still abundant and powerful, and even 

 the Ichthyosaurus itself, could scarcely have escaped 

 from these terrible enemies. 



Having thus obtained glimpses of the sea and its in- 

 habitants, let us next turn our attention to the adjacent 

 land. The long-snouted and other crocodiles, which 

 have gorged themselves with fish in the shallow water, 

 now sleep half-buried in the muddy and naked plains 

 on shore. Some of them, eighteen or twenty feet 

 long, advance on land with difficulty, their extre- 

 mities being far better adapted to swimming than 

 walking. 



Presently a noise is heard, and a huge animal ad- 

 vances, whose true nature and habits we are at first 

 at a loss to understand. In its general proportions 

 it is far longer and also taller than the largest ele- 

 phant ; its body hangs down near the ground, but its 



