THE EMPIRE OF THE GREAT REPTILES. 177 



suppose this huge animal, much larger than the largest ele- 

 phant, springing like a tiger en its prey, a miracle of terrible 

 strength and ferocit)^ before which no living thing could stand. 

 Its companion, Iguanodon, was, on the contrary, a harmless 

 herbivorous creature, using its great strength and stature as 

 a means of obtaining leaves and fruits for food, and perhaps 

 falling a prey to the larger Carnivorous Dinosaurs its contem- 

 poraries. A still more bulky animal was the Ceteosaurus, so 



r') J'" • 





\i\ 



Fig. 153.— Tooth of Mcgabsaurus. Natural size 

 «*, Cross section, b, Crenellation of edges. Enlarged 



admirably described by Phillips. Its thigh-bone measures 

 more than five feet in length and a foot in diameter; and it 

 must have stood ten feet high when on all fours, while its 

 length must have reached forty or fifty feet. It seems from 

 the forms of its bones to have been able to walk on land, but 

 probably spent most of its time in the water, where it may be 

 compared to a huge reptilian hippopotamus. Very recently 

 some bones found in rocks, possibly of Wealden age, in 



