i6o 
EXTINCT MONSTERS 
part of an incisor tooth of a large quadruped ground down by 
use, that Dr. Mantell was much embarrassed to account for its 
presence in the ancient Wealden strata, in which, according to 
all previous experience, no fossil remains of mammals would be 
likely to occur. Xo reptiles of the present day are capable of 
masticating their food ; how, then, could he venture to assign 
it to a reptile ? Here was a puzzle to be solved, and in his 
perplexity he determined to try whether the great naturalist at 
Paris would be able to throw any light on the question. Through 
Sir Charles (then Mr.) Lyell, this perplexing tooth was submitted 
to Baron Cuvier; and great was the doctor’s astonishment on 
hearing that it had been without hesitation pronounced to be 
the upper incisor of a rhinoceros ! The same tooth, with some 
other specimens, had already been exhibited at a meeting of the 
Geological Society, and shown to Dr. Buckland, Mr. Conybeare, 
and others, but with no more satisfactory result. Worse than 
that : Dr. Mantell was told that the teeth were of no particular 
interest, and that, without doubt, they either belonged to some 
large fish, or were the teeth of a mammal, and derived from 
some superficial deposit of the ‘‘glacial drift,” then called 
Diluvium ! 
There was one man, however, who foresaw the importance of 
Mantell’s discovery, and that was Dr. Wollaston. This dis- 
tinguished philosopher, though not a naturalist, supported the 
doctor’s idea that the teeth belonged to an unknown herbivorous 
reptile, and encouraged him to continue his researches. 
The workmen in the quarry were stimulated by suitable 
rewards, and at length the doctor’s efforts resulted in the dis- 
covery of teeth which displayed the curious serrated edges, and 
the entire form of the unused crown. Having forwarded speci- 
mens and drawings of these to Paris, Dr. Mantell went to 
