MOSASAURUS. 31 
Nearly a century has elapsed since the discovery, in the Cretaceous deposits of 
Europe, of the aquatic Reptile, the Mosasaurus, or Lizard of the Meuse, but even 
at the present time our knowledge of the skeleton is incomplete. ‘The most im- 
portant of the remains found in Europe consists of the greater part of an enormous 
skull, including the jaws, together with the teeth, obtained from the quarries of 
St. Peter’s Mount, near Maestricht. The specimen, to which an unusual degree 
of historic value is attached, is commonly known as the head of the Maestricht 
Monitor, and is now preserved in the museum of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris. It 
has been the subject of representation and description by Buchoz,? Faujas-Saint- 
Fond,* Cuvier,’ Buckland,’ Gervais,° Pictet,’ Bronn,® and others. Series of vertebra 
of the Mosasaurus, comprising most of those from different parts of the column, 
found in association with the head just mentioned, have also been described by 
Cuvier.’ 
In the United States remains of the genus Mosasaurus, usually consisting of 
isolated teeth, small fragments of jaws, and mutilated vertebrae, have been fre- 
quently discovered in deposits of the Cretaceous period, and have been indicated 
t M. Faujas-Saint-Fond, in his Natural History of St. Peter’s Mount, gives the following account 
of the diseovery and subsequent destination of the fossil: ‘‘In one of the galleries or subterraneous 
quarries of St. Peter’s Mount at Maestricht, at the distance of about five hundred paces from the 
principal entrance, and at ninety feet below the surface, the quarrymen exposed part of a skull of a 
large animal imbedded in the stone. They stopped their labors to give notice to Dr. Hoffman, a 
surgeon at Maestricht, who had for some years been collecting fossils from the quarries, and who had 
liberally remunerated the laborers for them. Dr. Hoffman, observing the specimen to be the most 
important that had vet been discovered, took every precaution to secure it entire. After having suc- 
ceeded in removing a large block of stone containing it, and reducing the mass to a proper condition, 
it was transported to his home in triumph. But this great prize in natural history, which had given 
Dr. Hoffman so much pleasure, now became the source of chagrin. A canon of Maestricht, wha 
owned the ground beneath which was the quarry whence the skull was obtained, when the fame of 
the specimen reached him, laid claim to it under certain feudal rights and applied to law for its 
recovery. Dr. Hoffman resisted, and the matter becoming serious, the chapter of canons came to 
the support of their reverend brother, and Dr. Hoffman not only lost the specimen but was obliged 
to pay the costs of the law-suit. The canon, leaving all feeling of remorse to the judges for their 
iniquitous decision, became the happy and contented possessor of this unique example of its kind.” 
M. Faujas-Saint-Fond continues, ‘‘ Justice, though slow, arrives at last. The specimen was destined 
again to change its place and possessor. In 1795 the troops of the French Republic, having repulsed 
the Austrians, laid siege to Maestricht and bombarded Fort St. Peter. The country house of the 
canon, in which the skull was kept, was near the fort, and the general being informed of the cireum- 
stance gave orders that the artillerists should avoid that house. The canon, suspecting the object of 
this attention, had the skull removed and concealed in a place of safety in the city. After the French 
took possession of the latter, Freicine, the representative of the people, promised a reward of six 
hundred bottles of wine for its discovery. The promise had its effect, for the next day a dozen 
grenadiers brought the specimen in triumph to the house of the representative, and it was subse- 
quently conveyed to thé museum of Paris.” 
2? Dons de la Nature, Tab. 68. 
Histoire Naturelle.de la Montagne de St. Pierre de Maestricht, Pl. IV. 
4 Ossemens Fossiles, Ed. 4, Atlas T. 2, Pl. 246, Fig. 1. 5 Bridgewater Treatise, Pl. 20. 
5 Zoologie et Paléontologie Francaises, T. III, Pl. 60, Figs. 3-5. 
7 Traité de Paléontologie, Atlas, Pl. XX VI, Fig. 3. 5 Lethxa Geognostica. 
§ Ossemens Fossiles, Hd. 4, T. 10, p. 151. 
