68 



VERTEBRATA. 



No. 253. Teleosaurns Mandelslohi, 



willBIllillll 



Size, 



Bronn. 



Skeleton, on slab. The 

 Teleosaurus (called Mystrios- 

 aurus by Kaup) was a large, 

 amphibious, loricated Reptile, 

 represented most nearly at the 

 present day by the long, slen- 

 der-jawed Crocodile of the 

 Ganges — the " Gavial" of the 

 Hindoos. Its name, given by 

 St. Hilaire, has reference to his 

 belief that it formed one ex- 

 treme (the earliest) of the cro- 

 codilian series, as this series 

 has been successively develop- 

 ed in the course of time on our 

 planet. The jaws are armed 

 with numerous long, slender, 

 sharp-pointed, slightly curved 

 teeth. In the lower jaw, the 

 teeth are alternately longer and 

 shorter, counting from the 

 fourth tooth ; in the upper jaw, 

 they are of equal size, except 

 the first two, which are small, 

 |[ and the third, which is very 

 large. The nostrils are situ- 

 ated nearer the end of the 

 upper jaw than in the modern 

 Gavial ; the fore-limbs are short- 

 er, and tho hind limbs are longer 

 and stronger, which indicates 

 that the T. was a better swim- 

 mer ; the vertebra are united 

 by slightly concave surfaces, 

 whence it would seem that the 

 T* lived more habitually in the 

 water, and less seldom moved 

 on dry land ; and as its fossil 

 remains have been found only 

 in the sedimentary deposits 

 from the sea, it may be inferred 

 that it was more strictly marine 

 than the Crocodile of the 

 Ganges. This entire skeleton 

 of the T. Mandelslohi was dis- 

 covered in the Lias at Holzma- 

 jjijl den, Wirtemberg, and belongs 



s*~ to Dr. Krantz, of Bonn. 



7 ft. 2 in. x 2 ft. 6 in. Price, $18.00 



