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nr 
Antediluvian Zoology. 3 
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CG Fay nna lice 
KG ae tame 
Restoration of the Plesiosatrus dolichodeirus, Geol. Trvans., vol. i. pl. xlix. 2d series, fig. 6. 
those of turtles, and in other respects its proportions present 
some approach to those animals. * 
The Ichthyosatrus (jigs. 93. and 94.) recedes from the form 
Bere on 5 aes ere + ———!__— a — = 
Sketch of Ichthyosatirus, discovered in the Whitby alum shale, and figured by Messrs. Young 
and Bird, Geol. of Yorkshire. 
of the lizard family, and in the structure of its vertebrae it 
approaches that of fishes. It has forty-one cervical and dorsal 
* From Mr. Coneybeare’s interesting anatomical description of the Ple- 
siosaurus we learn that this animal kad from thirty-five to forty-one joints 
in the neck, which is about seven times the number possessed by qua- 
drupeds and Mammalia; five times that by reptiles; three times that by 
birds ; and twice, at least, that by the Ichthyosatrus. 
With reference to the supposed habits of this animal, we cannot forbear 
quoting this accomplished naturalist : — “ That it was aquatic, is evident 
from the form of its paddles ; that it was marine, is almost equally so, from 
the remains with which it is universally associated; that it may have occa- 
sionally visited the shore, the resemblance of its extremities to those of the 
turtle may lead us to conjecture. Its motion, however, must have been 
very awkward on land; its long neck must have impeded its progress 
through the water ; presenting a striking contrast to the organisation which 
so admirably fits the Ichthyosatrus to cut through the waves. May it not 
therefore be concluded (since, in addition to these circumstances, its 
respiration must have required frequent access of air), that it swam upon 
or near the surface, arching back its long neck like the swan, and occasion- 
ally darting it down at the fish which happened to float within reach? It 
may, perhaps, have lurked in shoal water along the coast, concealed among 
the sea-weed, and, raising its nostrils to a level with the surface from a 
considerable depth, may have found a secure retreat from the assaults of 
dangerous enemies ; while the length and flexibility of its neck may have 
compensated for the want of strength in its jaws, and its incapacity for 
swift motion through the water, by the suddenness and agility of the attack 
which they enabled it to make on every animal fitted for its prey, which 
came within its extensive sweep.” 
BBS 
