S8 SECRETS OF EARTH AND SEA 



deposit of the same geologic age as our Sussex Wealden. 

 A special expedition of 500 negroes was sent — not by 

 the Government, but by the Berlin " Society of the 

 Friends of Natural History " (we need such a society in 

 England), at a cost of ;£ 10,000, to fetch the bones. They 

 were of many individuals, and had to be skilfully dug 

 out and packed. Dr. Fraas calls this biggest of all 

 quadrupeds " Gigantosaurus." A cast of the humerus, 

 or upper-arm bone, is now exhibited in the Natural 

 History Museum. It is over 7 ft. in length. The 

 femur, or thigh-bone, was still bigger — it was over 10 

 ft. in length. Alas for the glory of Atlantosaurus ! 

 This enormous creature was, of course, like Diplodocus, 

 aquatic. Its bulk was much less than that of a big 

 whale, but extinct aquatic reptiles may yet be found of 

 greater size. Ichthyosaurus, the extinct whale-like reptile, 

 does not exceed 30 ft. in length. Our engraving (Fig. 32) 

 shows the relative size of the humerus of man, the 

 elephant, 1 and the Gigantosaurus. How puny is that 

 human arm-bone ! And yet . . . ! 



When stretched on the shore, resting on the belly, the 

 body of the great lizard of Tendagoroo bulked like a 

 breakwater 12 ft. high, and his tail like a huge serpent 

 extended 80 ft. beyond it ; whilst his head and neck 

 reached 40 ft. along the mud in front. 



An important limitation to great size in an animal is, 

 it must be remembered, often imposed by the nature of 



1 The elephant, the thigh-bone of which, measuring nearly 3 ft. in length, 

 is drawn in Fig. 32, is a large Indian one. This species is exceeded in size by 

 the African. See " Science from an Easy Chair," Second series, p. 123. — The 

 largest elephant the bones of which are known is the Elephas antiquus of 

 the Pleistocene, bigger than either of the living species and bigger than the 

 mammoth, Elephas primigenius. The arm-bone (humerus) of one of this 

 species (Elephas antiquus) lately dug up near Chatham and now in the Natural 

 History Museum, is 4 ft. 3 in. in length. 



