MEGALOSAURUS. 
237 
saurus to have been in a high degree earni- 
'orous : it probably fed on smaller reptiles, 
such as Crocodiles and Tortoises, whose re- 
mains abound in the same strata wdth its bones. 
It may also have taken to the water in pursuit of 
Plesiosauri and fishes.* 
The most important part of the Megalo- 
saurus yet found, consists of a fragment of the 
lower jaw, containing many teeth, (PI. 23, 
Pigs. 1' — 2'). The form of this jaw shows that 
the head was terminated by a straight and 
narrow snout, compressed laterally like that of 
the Delphiuus Gangeticus. 
As in all animals, the jaw'S and teeth form 
the most characteristic parts, I shall limit my 
present observations to a few striking circum- 
stances in the dentition of the Megalosaurus. 
From these we learn that the animal u^as a 
reptile, closely allied to some of our modern 
Lizards ; and viewing the teeth as instruments 
for providing food to a carnivorous creature of 
enormous magnitude, they appear to have been 
admirably adapted to the destructive office for 
'vhich they were designed. Their form and 
Mr. Broderip informs me that a living Iguana (I. Tubercu- 
^ta), in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London, in the 
summer of 1 834, was observed frequently to enter the water, and 
®wim across a small pond, using its long tail as the instrument of 
P^'ogression, and keeping its fore feet motionless. 
