Observations on the osteology of the iguanodon and hylaeosaurus / by Gideon Algernon Mantell ; with notes on the vertebral column of the iguanodon, by A.G. Melville.

  • Gideon Mantell
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the osteology of the iguanodon and hylaeosaurus / by Gideon Algernon Mantell ; with notes on the vertebral column of the iguanodon, by A.G. Melville. 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.

    3/52 page 271
    XV. /Idditional Observations on the Osteology of the Iguanodon and Hyloeosaurus. By Gideon Algernon Mantell, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., Fice-President of the Geological Society, 8^c. Received January 15,—Read March 8, 1849. In the last memoir which I had the honour of placing before the Royal Society, allusion was made to the discovery of some remains of the Iguanodon that tended to elueidate the structure of certain parts of the skeleton of that gigantic terrestrial animal, whieh from the imperfect data previously obtained, had not been satisfac- torily determined. I now beg to submit to the consideration of the Society the results of a careful examination of these fossils, and of other illustrative specimens in the collections of my friends, in the hope that this addition to the previously recorded knowledge of the osteology of the Wealden Reptiles, wdll be found to possess considerable physio- logical interest and importance. The fragmentary and isolated condition of the osseous relics found imbedded in the fluviatile deposits of the South-East of England, affords a suflScient excuse for error in the interpretation of a piece of bone, or in the reference of an entire bone to a particular genus or species. My own mistakes in this respect I shall unreservedly point out, and I would fain hope that other labourers in the same department of natural history, but of far higher authority, will not hesitate, after the noble example of the illustrious Cuvier, to make similar admissions; for it is only by substituting truth for error, and facts for hypotheses, that correet principles of palaeontology can be established. The fossils in my possession eonsist of several bones of the extremities and pectoral arch, and of ceiwical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae of the Iguanodon, equal if not surpassing in magnitude any previously discovered; and portions of the sacrum of individuals of different ages; together with dermal and other bones of the Hylaeo- saurus, Goniopholis, &c. The recent acquisition of some of these relics excited in my mind a desire to renew the attempt to construct the skeleton of the colossal reptile whose remains were first brought to light by my early geological researches in Tilgate Forest. I therefore repaired to the British Museum, and by the kind permission of Mr. Konig, re-examined many of the fossils described in my former works. I also availed myself of the liberality of Capt. Lambart Brickenden, Mr. Baber, Mr. Saull, &c., to inspect their several eollections, and chisel out and figure or describe such specimens as threw light on the especial object of my present inquiries. In the difficult and tedious investigations necessary to arrive at any certain con- 2 N 2
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3