DINOSA URS. 



101 



had no clue to its place in the skeleton, led him to suppose that 

 it was a horn answering to that of a rhinoceros a conclusion 

 which Professor Owen refused for various reasons to accept. The 

 latter concluded that it belonged to the hand, and now we see 

 that he was right. Unfortunately, certain popular works on 

 geology, such as Our Earth and its Story (Cassell) still continue 

 to spread this error, by showing a (very indifferent) restoration of 



FIG. 22. Skull and skeleton of Iguanodon Mantelli. (From Bernissart.) 



the Iguanodon with the impossible horn on its nose. It has 

 been suggested that the spur was a weapon of offence, and that, 

 when attacked, an Iguanodon may have seized its aggressor in its 

 short arms, and made use of the spur as a dagger. But this is 

 only conjecture, and perhaps the spur may have been useful in 

 seizing and pulling down the foliage and branches of trees, or 

 in grubbing them up by the roots. Detached specimens of this 

 curious bone may be seen among the other remains of Iguanodon 



