EXTINCT MONSTERS 
1 16 
The creature must have been fully nine feet long when 
alive. The great width and squareness of the animal is a 
feature that strikes one at once. The skull decidedly resembles 
that of a Labyrinthodont, and, even to a casual observer, has a 
frog-like look. But internally it is like that of the Tuatara, or 
Sphenodon, of New Zealand, which is a survival from very old 
times, and throws much light on several orders of Triassic reptiles. 
The backbone, or vertebral column, also resembles that of the 
little Tuatara, and not that of a Labyrinthodont. In the shoulder 
girdle we see a resemblance to the Anomodonts, as also in the 
pelvis, or region of the hips, which is remarkably mammalian. 
Every one who looks at the skeleton must be struck with the great 
strength and massiveness of the limb-bones. The arm-bone 
suggests two very triangular wedges fastened together ; so does the 
femur, or thigh-bone. The present writer suggested three years ago 
that all this strength may have been for the purpose of supporting 
a massive shield as in the case of the common tortoise, and now, 
1909, he hears that another genus Propappus actually had such 
an armoured shield. For the sake of comparison, a specimen of 
the Tuatara (Sphenodon) is placed in a case close by (Wall-case 9). 
Visitors will find it instructive to compare the skeleton of a 
Sphenodon with that of the Pareiasaurus. On so doing, they will 
see a resemblance in the limb-bones of the two creatures. How 
fortunate that this little lizard should have survived so many 
geological ages — as it were on purpose to give us some help in 
studying the long-lost Anomodonts ! Professor Seeley considers 
that the limbs, as represented by their bones, are intermediate 
between those of mammals and the tailed amphibians, such as 
newts and salamanders. But the creature was more of a reptile 
than an amphibian, as is shown by the fact that its skull articu- 
lated with the first joint of the backbone by means of one condyle. 
