FOSSIL REPTILES. 377 



secure shelter from its enemies, and a place of ambush from 

 which to dart upon its prey. By the suddenness and quickness 

 of its attack, it must have proved a formidable foe to all less 

 powerful animals, and more especially to those of the finny 

 tribe. 



Since the above historical details of plesiosauri successively 

 found at Lyme Regis was written, a still finer specimen of this 

 fossil has been found there, which is now (and very properly 

 so) in the British Museum. A description and figure of it is, 

 we understand, likely to be presented to the Geological Society 

 by Mr. Conybeare or Dr. Buckland. We shall not, therefore, 

 attempt to anticipate the observations of these gentlemen by 

 any minute or lengthened account. We may, however, be 

 permitted to state that this plesiosaurus is eleven feet long, — 

 the series of the vertebrae is complete, except ten or twelve at 

 the lower part of its enormously elongated neck, — the lower 

 jaw appears to have slipped from its proper position, thereby, 

 however, exposing to view the interior of the mouth ; the 

 sternum, bones of the pelvis, and ribs are in good order ; the 

 head is extremely small, not exceeding perhaps three inches 

 in width, but the neck is as long as the body and tail together. 



This very perfect and highly interesting specimen of the 

 remains of an ichthyosaurus was discovered in February, 

 1829, by Miss Anning ; nor can we suffer the present oppor- 

 tunity to pass by without bearing testimony to the arduous and 

 zealous" exertions of this female fossilist in her laborious and 

 sometimes dangerous pursuit. It is to her almost exclusively 

 that our scientific countrymen, whose names have been al- 

 ready mentioned, owe the materials on which their labours and 

 their fame are grounded, nor, we are persuaded, will they be 

 unwilling to admit that they are indebted for some portion of 

 their merited reputation to the labours of Mary Anning. 



We shall terminate this long account of fossil reptiles with 

 the notice of one discovered by Gideon Mantell, Esq. in the 

 sandstone of Tilgate. That gentleman has named this reptile. 



