178 SKETCHES OF CREATION. 



same sandstones in Pennsylvania, and one doubtful genus 

 is known in Europe. This was the last appearance of the 

 type. It barely survived till the opening of the Jurassic 

 Age, and then dropped totally from existence. 



From the little peninsula of Nova Scotia we have also a 

 Triassico-Jurassic reptile of lizard-like affinities, which Dr. 

 Leidy, of Philadelphia, has named JBathygnathus borealis. 



The marine Saurians were present in great force. One, 

 Clepsysaurus Pennsylvanicus, paddled around the shores 

 of the bays which rested in the valleys of the Alleghanies, 

 while two other genera — Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus — 

 besides still others of less consequence, made hideous the 

 waters of Central Europe. The animals belonging to the 

 last two genera are among the most wonderful and hetero- 

 clitic that ever existed upon the earth. The Ichthyosau- 

 rus had the general contour of a dolphin, the head of a 

 lizard, the teeth of a crocodile, the sternal arch of an orni- 

 thorhynchus, and the paddles of a whale. The Plesiosau- 

 rus had also the head of a lizard and the teeth of a croco- 

 dile, in conjunction with the neck of a swan, the trunk and 

 tail of a quadruped, and the extremities of a whale. This 

 animal was undoubtedly carnivorous, and was adapted for 

 swimming around the shallow margins of coves and bays, 

 and darting its long and flexible neck beneath the surface 

 of the water to seize its aquatic prey. On being pursued 

 by the swift and ponderous Ichthyosaurus, it could dive 

 beneath the water and rest upon the bottom, while its 

 serpent-neck reached to the surface, and resjuration con- 

 tinued unimpeded (Fig. 71). 



But, strange as were the combinations of characters pre- 

 sented by these two animals, they were even surpassed in 

 eccentricity by the Pterodactyls, w r hich now first sprang 

 into existence. It was not easy to decide, on their first 

 discovery, whether they bore closest resemblance to mam- 



