Fossil Beynahis of Fiiiminaniia. 6^5 
remains are also found in quarries of 
common coarse grey and whitish lime¬ 
stone, Instances of this kind of matrix, 
for these remains, are observable in 
the quarries between Bath and Bristol. 
The llev, Mr. Hawker, of Wood- 
chester, in Gloucestershire, possesses, 
perhaps, one of the handsomest spe- 
cimeiis of the remains of the crocodile 
that has been found in this island. It 
was found by him in the neighbourhood 
of Bath, and contains great part of the 
head and of tiie trunk of the animal. 
THE LARGE FOSSIL ANIMAL OF 
MAE5TR1CHT. 
The large animal, whose fossil re¬ 
mains are found in the quarries of 
Maestricht, has been deservedly a fre¬ 
quent object of admiraiion; and the 
beautiful appearance wtiich us remains 
possess, in coissequence of their excel¬ 
lent state of preservation, in a matrix 
which admits of their fair display, lias 
occasioned every specimen of tlris fossil 
to be highly valued. The lawer jaw of 
tills animal, with some other specimens 
which were presented by Dr. Peter 
Camper to the Royal Society, and wliich 
are now in the British Museum, are 
among the most splendid and interesting 
fossils in existence. 
In 1770, the workmen, having disco¬ 
vered part of an enormous head of an 
animal imbedded in the solid stone, in 
one of the subterranean passages of 
the mountain, gave information to M« 
Hoffman, who, with the most zealous 
assiduity, laboured until he had disen¬ 
gaged this astonishing fossil from its 
matrix. But, when this was done, the 
fruits of his labours were wrested from 
him by an ecclesiastic, who claimed it 
as being proprietor of the land over 
the spot on which it was found. Hoff¬ 
man defended his right in a court of 
justice; but the influence of the Chapter 
was employed against him, and he was 
doofned not only to the loss of this inesti¬ 
mable fossil, but to the payment of 
heavy jaw expences. But in time, 
justice, M. Faujas says, though tardy, 
at last arrived—the troops of the French 
Republic, secured this treasure, which 
^as conveyed to the National Museum. 
The length of the cervical, dorsal, 
and lumbar vertebrae, appears to have 
been about nine feet five inches, and 
that of the vertebrae of the tail about 
ten feet; adding to vvhicb the length 
of the head, wliich may he reckoned, 
•fansjdering the loss of the int^Tnaxillary 
bones, at least at four feet, we may 
safely conclude the whole length of the 
skeleton of the animal to have ap¬ 
proached very nearly to twenty-foui* 
icet. 
I'he head is a sixth of the wiiole length 
of the animal; a proportion approach¬ 
ing very near to that of the crocodile, 
bui differing nuic!) from that of the 
monitor, the head of which animal 
forms hardly a twelfth part of the whole 
length. 
The tail must have been very strong, 
and its width at its extremity must have 
rendered it a most powttful oar, and 
have enabled the animal to liave opposed 
the most agitated waters, as has been 
well remarked by M, Adrien Camper. 
From this circumstance, and from the 
other remains which accompany those 
of this animal, there can be no doubt 
of its having been an inhabitant of the 
ocean. 
Taking all these circumstances into 
consideration, M. Cuvier concludes, 
and certainly on fair, if not indisputable, 
grounds, that this animal must have 
formed an intermediate genus between 
those animals of the lizard tribe, which 
have an extensive and forked tongue, 
which include the monitors and th,e 
common lizards, and those which have 
a short tongue and the palate armed 
with teeth, which comprise liie iguanas, 
marbres, and anolis. This genus, he 
tiiinks, could only have been allied to 
the crocodile by the general characters 
of the lizards. 
FOSSIL REMAINS OF RUMINANTIA. 
Among the fossils , of the British em¬ 
pire, none are more calculated to excite 
astonishment than the enormous stags’ 
horns which have been dug up in different 
parts of Irelaivd. 
Their dimensions. Dr. Molyneux in¬ 
forms us, were as {'ollow: 
Feet. In. 
From the extreme tip of each 
horn AB 10 10 
From the tip of the right horn 
to Its root.. CD 5 2 
From the tip of one of the inner 
hranches to the tip of the 
opposite branch.. EF 3 7|- 
The length of one of the palms, 
within the branches. GH 2 0 
The breadth of the same palm, 
within the branches...» IK 1 IQl 
The length of the right brow 
antler... DL 1 2 
A similar pair, found tea feet under 
grouiidj m the county of Clare, was 
presented 
