§ 36. THE MEGALOSAURUS. 



421 



British Museum, and after examining the largest thigh- 

 bones and leg-bones of the Iguanodon, repair to the zoologi- 

 cal gallery, and inspect the stuffed specimens of the existing 

 species of Crocodiles, and Alligators ; then let him imagine 

 the fossil bones to be clothed with appropriate muscles and 

 integuments, and consider the enormous trunk which limbs 

 of such bulk must have been designed to support ; and he 

 will obtain some idea of the appalling magnitude of those 



" Mighty Pie-Adamites that walked the earth 

 Of which ours is the wreck/' — Byron. 



36. The Megalosaurus.* — The fissile oolitic shale of 

 Stonesfield in Oxfordshire, of which I shall have occasion 

 to treat more particularly in the next Lecture, has long been 

 celebrated for its fossil remains ; among which the teeth 

 and bones of a very large unknown animal, claimed parti- 

 cular attention. 



The Rev. Dr. Buckland first pointed 

 out the true character of these remains, 

 and showed that they belonged to an 

 extinct carnivorous reptile of enormous 

 magnitude ; which he distinguished by 

 the name of Megalosaurus, or Gigantic- 

 Lizard, f Numerous teeth, vertebrae, and 

 other bones of this reptile, were among 

 the earliest discoveries in the wealden 

 deposits of Tilgate Forest ; and several 

 specimens are figured in my works on the 

 LI youIgMegaios°a F u- geology of that interesting district.^ The 

 rus : from Tilgate specimens from the wealden consist of 

 teeth, dorsal and caudal vertebras, thigh- 

 bones, and other bones of the extremities ; they belong 



* Medals of Creation, vol. ii. p. 732. 



f Geol. Trans, vol. i. second series. 



X Fossils of Tilgate Forest, PI. IX. p. 67 



