414 THE WONDERS OF GEOLOGY. Lect. IV. 



tions, belong to the division with elongated beaks or muz- 

 zles, like the Gavial of the Ganges. 



Streptospondylus* The bones, and jaws with teeth, of the 

 crocodilian reptiles to which this name (signifying reversed 

 spine) has been applied, were first discovered in the Oolitic 

 clays of Honfleur and Havre ; the vertebras are united by 

 a ball and socket joint ; the convexity or ball being anterior, 

 instead of posterior as in the living crocodiles. Several 

 large vertebras of these reptiles have been obtained from 

 the sandstone and grit of Tilgate Forest, and from the 

 clays in Brook Bay, in the Isle of Wight. 



33. Fossil teeth of crocodilian reptiles. — The 

 teeth of the Crocodile are very numerous ; they are of a 

 conical form, and consist of a succession of cones, like a 

 series of thimbles, of various sizes, fitted into each other ; 

 they are striated externally, and have a prominent lateral 

 ridge ; as the outer tooth wears away, a new one is ready 

 to supply its place ; the teeth of the old Crocodile are 



Lign.100. — Tooth of Crocodilian Reptile: from Tilgate Forest; 



natural size. 



(Goniopliolis vrussidens.) 



therefore as fresh as those of the young animal but just 

 escaped from the egg. The interior of the teeth is never 



* Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p, 72f). 



