Extinct Monsters: A Popular Account of Some of the Larger Forms of Ancient Animal LifeHutchinson, H. N. (Henry Neville)
Science
Extinct Monsters: A Popular Account of Some of the Larger Forms of Ancient Animal Life
Hutchinson, H. N. (Henry Neville)
Paleontology
Another Dinosaur, of considerable dimensions, that flourished during
the Wealden period was the Hylæosaurus, also discovered by Dr.
Mantell, and so named by him because it came from the Weald.[19] In the
summer of 1832, upon visiting a quarry in Tilgate Forest, which had
yielded many organic remains, he perceived in some fragments of a
large mass of stone which had recently been broken up and thrown in
the roadside, traces of numerous pieces of bone. With great care he
cemented together and fixed in a stout frame, all the portions of this
block that he could find, and set to work to "develop" the block with
his chisel. This work occupied many weeks, but his labour was rewarded
by the discovery of certain new and remarkable features displayed by
this monster; for it must have presented, when alive, a formidable
array of bony plates and long sharp spines, the latter of which
probably stood in bristling array along the back and tail, and other
parts of the body. (Wall-case 4.) Of the spines no less than ten were
found in this block, varying in length from five to seventeen inches,
the largest being four inches thick. It is known that many lizards,
such as Iguanas and Cycluras, have large processes with horny
coverings, forming a kind of fringe or crest along the back, and,
judging by analogy, Dr. Mantell concluded that this gigantic saurian
was similarly armed with a row of large angular spines covered by a
thick horny investment. As weapons of offence and defence, they were
no doubt highly effective, but their precise arrangement is still a
matter of speculation.
[19] From Greek--_hule_, wood, or weald; and _sauros_, lizard.
This first specimen displayed, besides the bony scutes and spines, a
portion of the backbone, eleven ribs and portions of the pectoral
arch. A second specimen was found near Bolney, in Sussex, and was
unfortunately almost wholly destroyed by the labourers; but Dr.
Mantell was able to obtain many of the bones, such as ribs and
limb-bones, and they also indicated a reptile of great size. A third
specimen was brought to light in Tilgate Forest in 1837; but,
unfortunately, this also fell into the hands of the parish labourers,
who were unacquainted with its value. Although with due care a much
larger portion of the skeleton might have been kept, yet Dr. Mantell
was able to obtain a fine series of twenty-six vertebræ belonging to
the tail, with a total length of nearly six feet: the same spines were
present here also.
No specimen of the skull of this strange monster is known, and no
teeth that can be with certainty referred to it.
Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins's model at Sydenham, near the Iguanodon, was
based on the above discoveries, which are insufficient, and is far
from the truth.
[Illustration: Plate IX.
AN ARMOURED DINOSAUR, SCELIDOSAURUS HARRISONI.
Length 12 feet or more.]
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