DINOSA URS. 87 



contemporaries. Well might the illustrious Bergman exclaim, 

 " Sunt instar nummorum memoralium qua de prateritis globi nostri 

 fatis testantur, ubi omnia silent monumenta historical 



Geology owes a deep debt of gratitude to the late Dr. Gideon 

 A. Mantell, who, during the intervals of a laborious professional 

 life, collected and described the remains of several strange 

 extinct reptiles, and wrote a number of works on geology, such 

 as served in his day to advance the science to which he was so 

 enthusiastically devoted. 



We propose to give a brief account of a wonderful group of 

 Dinosaurs, first introduced to the scientific world through Dr. 

 Mantell's labours. 



The first of these monsters is the Iguanodon, the earliest known 

 individual of the "bird-footed" division (Ornithopoda). The 

 history of the gradual reconstruction of its skeleton is an in- 

 structive instance of the results that may be obtained by a 

 careful and patient study of fragmentary remains. Through the 

 labours of Dr. Mantell, in the first half of this century, a consider- 

 able knowledge was acquired of the greater part of the skeleton, 

 but certain portions remained a puzzle; these, however, were 

 eventually explained by Professor Huxley and Mr. Hulke, and a 

 few years ago a series of complete skeletons were most fortunately 

 obtained in Belgium, so that now every part of the huge frame- 

 work of this monster is known to the palaeontologist. Its history, 

 as a fossil, is a most interesting one, and furnishes one more 

 example of the marvellous insight into the nature of extinct 

 animals displayed by the illustrious Baron Cuvier. Let us begin 

 with the teeth, since they were the first part of the monster 

 brought to light. 



It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to remark that, to one 

 thoroughly acquainted with the structures of living animals, a 

 tooth, or a series of teeth, will furnish material from which 

 important conclusions with regard to the structure and habits of 

 an extinct animal may be drawn. So, also, with regard to some 



