NATURAL HISTORY. 
279 
absurdities. In the first place (unless the printing be incorrect)* 
this Naturalist does not name them properly. We have Icthyosarus 
and Plesiosarus, instead of Icthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus. These 
words being compounded from icthus, and sanros, fish and lizard, in 
Greek, and Plesios a neighbour, and sauros. Secondly, he men¬ 
tions “ dense groves,” at a depth under the surface of the water, 
where it is evident trees could not grow; and thirdly, the Cornua 
Ammonis is called a “ huge snail,” when it was evidently a marine 
shellfish. The shell of the snail has no division whatever in it, but 
the shell of the Cornua Ammonis is full of divisions, which plainly 
shows that its inhabitant could not have been constructed like a snail. 
These divisions are supposed to have been fleshy valves, by means of 
which the animal rose and sunk, viz : when it desired to rise to the 
surface, it filled the spaces between the valves with air; when, on the 
contrary, it wished to sink, it compressed the air from the shell. 
Fourthly, the Ornithocephali and Mammoths are placed among 
the marine animals, whereas the Ornithocephali were a species of 
bat, and the Mammoths were evidently no more inhabitants of the 
sea, than the elephant and Rhinoceros. They are divided into sev¬ 
eral species, the most remarkable of which are the Elephas Primige- 
nius. Mastodon Giganteum, and Mega-therium. The Elephas Pri- 
migenius, was of about the same size as the present elephant, but it 
differed in one respect; viz. in having long woolly hair on every part 
of its body, and a mane of stiff bristles all along its back and neck. 
A specimen of it was found preserved entire in the ice, on the coast 
of Siberia. Nothing more than the skeleton of the Mastodon has 
been found, it was of stronger make than the E. Primigenius, its 
bones were more hard and compact, and its skull not quite so high. 
It is, however, evident from their teeth that they feed on vegetables. 
The Megatherium is far different from the two above-mentioned spe¬ 
cies, it was armed with huge claws, adapted for digging and scratch¬ 
ing up the earth, and was covered with scales like the Armadillo. It 
belongs to the same description of animals as the Armadillo, manis, 
&c. which feed upon roots. None of these, therefore* could have in¬ 
habited the sea, indeed is there in nature an instance of any quad¬ 
ruped, the extremities of which are terminated by claws or hoofs in¬ 
habiting the sea ? 
Fifthly.—The Icthyosaurus, &c. and Mammoths are mentioned 
together; now all remains of the Icthyosaurus cease to be found 
long before those of the Mammoths occur, for whilst the former are 
met with in the secondary strata, the latter occur among strata of a 
confessedly modern date. 
* It was an Error in Printing. 
