THE ENALOSAURES OR FISH-LIZARDS. 



i2i 



(122.) The general form of the Ichthyosauri, or jfish- 

 lizards (for there appear to have been many species), is 

 not unlike that of a crocodile, but .provided with four 

 fins in lieu of feet {fig. 31.). The head is lengthened into 

 a narrow pointed muzzle, the jaws being armed with 

 sharp and formidable teeth ; two eyes of enormous size 



must have given to its head an aspect altogether ex- 

 traordinary, and have enabled it to see, with perfect 

 ease, during the night. Although, unquestionably, an 

 aquatic animal, it must have moved more upon the sur- 

 face of the waters than in the depths, since its structure 

 was such, that it could not breathe, as fishes do, under 

 water. Its short, but strong paddles, or fins, prevented 

 it, likewise, from frequenting the shore, otherwise than 

 in the same manner as the seal or walrus, who scranible 

 awkwardly upon dry land for the mere purpose of 

 repose : when, by violent storms, the Ichthyosauri were 

 cast high upon the beach, they must have remained, like 

 whales or porpoises, perfectly unable to regain their 

 native element. They aU seem, in fact, to have been 

 entirely marine animals, and in aU probability fed upon 

 those immense and innumerable Cephalopodous moUus- 

 ca, or cuttle-fish, whose shells are so abundant in the 

 rocks wherein the bones of these reptiles are found. 

 The size of these animals varied both in regard to 

 species and to their progressive stages of growth. The 

 skeleton of the slender-beaked species (/. tenuirostris 

 Cuv.) usually measures three feet and a half, the head 



