GIANTS AND PIOMIBfl. 



BOW appear in unquestionable chnractpr niul in formidable 

 numbers. Wo single oift representntives, the Ichthyosaurus 

 (fish lizard) and riesiosaurus (near the lizard). Of both we 

 have associated in our Museum with Ammonites — so called 

 •* snake stones " and Kncrinites — so called St. Cuthl^ert's beads^ 

 Tertebrae and teeth, which I purchased from a collector in 

 Ipswich. The vertebrae of both are biconcave. The teeth of 

 the Ichthyosaurs are short, stout, conical and striated ; of the 

 •I'losiosaura the teeth are large, long, conical and recurved. Of 

 these each had a large number. The form of the Icht,hyosauru.s 

 is Crocodilian, the head is largo but the neck is short, and 

 whale like flippers have the place of the feet of the latter. The 

 body of the Plesiosaur resembles the other, only the neck is 

 long — swan-like, the head is small — lizard-like. On the walls 

 of our Museum arc the splendid engravings of Hawkins's 

 ** Great Sea Dragons." These are of fossil skeletons of the 

 British Museum and other collections. The almost complete 

 Ichthyosaurus is about 30 feet in length. Their eyes were of 

 great size — the strength and the form of their fli[)pers rendered 

 them agile and formidable. They must have been scourges of 

 the seas of the period. The Plesiosaurs found in the same 

 sepulchres must have been also formidable. They are supposed 

 to have lived in estuaries or shallow waters. Their long necks 

 which had 30 or 40 vertebrae with their lizard-like head would 

 seem to have afforded facilities for securing food in air as 

 well as water. We have seen restored Plesiosaurs having a 

 Pterosaur or Pterodactyle caught in its flight vainly struggling 

 to escape destruction. Some species of Plesiosaurs are from 

 20 to 30 feet long. Remains of more than 50 species of 

 Enaliosaups are found in the Jurassic rocks (Dana). 



23. Whitby and Lyme Regis are noted as the sepulchres 

 of Enaliosaurs. One remarkable fact in connection with their 

 distribution is, their occurrence in the high latitudes. Sir 

 Edward Belcher found vertebrae of Ichthyosaurus at Exmouth 

 Island, lat. 77° 12' N., long. 96' W. Sir Leopold McClintock 

 found them in Prince Patrick's Island, lat. 76° 90' N., long. 

 117° 20' W., and also Ammonites. Capt. Sherard Osborne 



