On the structure of the iguanodon, and on the fauna and flora of the Wealden formation / Gideon Algernon Mantell.

  • Mantell, Gideon Algernon, 1790-1852.
Date:
[1852]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the structure of the iguanodon, and on the fauna and flora of the Wealden formation / Gideon Algernon Mantell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    dated by recent discoveries is thus in perfect harmony with the remarkable characters which rendered the first known teeth so enigmatical : and in the Wealden herbivorous reptile we have a solution of the problem, how the integrity of the type of organi- zation peculiar to the class of cold-blooded vertebrata was main- tained, and yet adapted, by simple modifications, to fulfil the conditions required by the economy of a gigantic terrestrial reptile, destined to obtain support from vegetable substances : in like man- ner as the extinct colossal herbivorous Edentata, which flourished in South America, countless ages after the country of the Igua- nodon and its inhabitants had been swept from the face of the earth. The structure of the cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, of the ribs, the pectoral and pelvic arches, the sacrum formed of six anchy- losed vertebrae, the bones of the extremities, and certain dermal appendages, were successively described, and illustrated by drawings and specimens. From the facts adduced Dr. Mantell infers that this stupendous reptile equalled in bulk the largest herbivorous mam- malia, and was as massive in its proportions; for living exclusively on vegetables, the abdominal region must have been greatly de- veloped. Its limbs were of proportionate size and strength, to sup- port and move so enormous a carcass ; its length, as proved by re- cent discoveries, was of crocodilian proportions, for there is no doubt that the tail was very long; and the largest Iguanodon mav have attained a length of from fifty to sixty feet. The Hylccosaurus, Megalosaurus, and several other genera of reptiles were severally noticed, and reference made to the speci- mens in the British Museum. The Pelorosaurus was next described somewhat in detail, and the characters of the stupendous humerus, or arm-bone, (4-|- feet long), scapula, clavicle, vertebrae, sacrum, j| and pelvis, were pointed out, with the view of illustrating a most interesting discovery made but a few days previously by S. H. Beckles, Esq. of St. Leonard’s. With much labour and skill, Mr. Beckles had succeeded in ex- tracting from a block of Wealden sandstone lying on the Sussex coast, and which was only visible at low-water, the perfect radius and ulna (bones of the fore-arm), and humerus (arm-bone), of a gigantic rep- tile, which Dr. Mantell pronounced to be a new species of Pelorosaurus, and proposed to name Pelorosaurus Becklesii. The generic identity and specific difference between this humerus and that of the Pel. Conybeari, which was placed beside it, were pointed out, and the remarkable modification of structure presented by the ulna was explained. The arm-bone of the P. Conybeari is 54 inches long, the corresponding bone of a Gavial or gangetic Crocodile 18 feet long, in Dr. Grant’s Museum, is but 11-t inches ; the humerus discovered by Mr. Beckles is 22i inches in length, and the bones of the fore- arm are 16 inches long. A portion of the scaly cuirass which covered the limbs and is composed of hexagonal plates, was exhibited. The Lecturer then took a rapid v’ew of the other reptiles that were contemporary with the Iguanodon, enumerating the Plerodactyles or