FOSSIL REPTILES. 225 



A description of Stukely's specimen will be found in the 

 thirtieth volume of the " Philosophical Transactions." It was 

 the impression of a skeleton which was found at Elston, near 

 Newark, in Nottinghamshire. 



The stone which contained it had served for a long time 

 near a well, for the purpose of resting on it the vessels of 

 those who came to draw water. The impression was on the 

 side next to the ground, and was accidentally discovered by the 

 turning of the stone. The stone was a bluish argile, and pro- 

 bably came from the quarries of Pulbeck, which belong to the 

 western declivity of the long chain of hills which extends 

 throughout the whole of Lincolnshire, and contains an abun- 

 dance of coquillaceous remains, and even of fishes. 



As usual, this skeleton was supposed to be human ; but 

 Stukely quickly perceived the contrary, and declared it to be 

 that of a crocodile, or a porpus. This was certainly giving 

 himself a sufficient latitude. His first conjecture, however, 

 was the only one that could be sustained, as, according to his 

 own account, the remains of a large pelvis were visible, which 

 could not have belonged to a cetaceous animal. 



The resemblance of this stone to those of Honfleur, where 

 animals of this genus were assuredly found, disposed M. Cuvier 

 to adopt the opinion that this was the impression of a croco- 

 dile ; but the subsequent discovery in similar strata, of ichthyo- 

 sauri and plesiosauri, threw some doubts about this conjecture. 



A portion of the spine remained, containing sixteen vertebrae, 

 the spinous apophyses of which are a little oblique, cut squarely, 

 and nearly equal ; the anterior six have large ribs. There are, 

 more forward, the fragments of three ribs which were attached 

 to some vertebrae lost by the breaking of the stone. The five 

 vertebrae, which succeed those bearing the ribs, had long and 

 narrow transverse apophyses, or, probably, false ribs, of no 

 great elongation. The following four had but small ones. 

 The OS ilium, or, at least, an impression which seemed to have 

 some relation with this bone in the crocodile, comes after the 



Q 



