Page:Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 26.djvu/770

 the crushed ribs. At the anterior part of the belt, however, the bony substance is too thick to be thus accounted for, and, had it been placed sufficiently far backwards, it might have been supposed to be the remains of the pelvic girdle ; but we fear its nature must be left undetermined.

The head, we have already observed, is seen in section, lying in a reversed position below the ventral margin, which to a limited extent overlies it, the muzzle being directed backwards (c, b, d). The coronal portion is on the slab on which the right side of the trunk rests ; the lower or basal portion and muzzle are on the other, which may be denominated the left slab, as it contains the left side of the trunk.

The cavity of the cranium was filled with crystallized carbonate of lime, and the bone is in a very flaky tender condition, having a chalky or burnt appearance ; and in some places it is so much reduced as to be difficult to trace ; neither the sutures of the component bones nor much of the surface character can be determined.

The entire length of the skull is 9-3/4 inches ; but the extremity of the muzzle is wanting. The occipital region is much injured ; it is wide, truncated, and angulated at the sides ; it measures across 5-1/4 inches : for about an inch forward the skull widens a little, and then suddenly tapers for nearly an inch and three-quarters, at which point it is 3 inches wide ; here the muzzle seems to commence, and from hence it tapers gradually to the broken anterior extremity, where it is a little more than an inch and a half wide.

The portion that remains of the narrow elongated muzzle is in a better state of preservation than the rest of the skull, and is 7 inches long, and measures across the centre 2-1/2 inches. Only a part of the upper surface was exposed ; but, aided by the skilful manipulation of our friend Mr. Atthey, to whom our best thanks are due, we have been enabled to work out the features of this characteristic portion of the cranium. The matrix has been carefully removed by that gentleman from the sides, and has been dug away from beneath, so as to exhibit to some extent the palate. Thus revealed, the muzzle is seen to be much depressed, slightly convex above, with the roof of the mouth apparently flat, or only a little concave. The maxillae, which seem to form the sides of the muzzle, are thick at the outer margins, but are quite thin above. Unfortunately, however, the roof of this portion is much injured ; there is, nevertheless, a strip about half an inch wide extending the whole length of the maxilla, along the right side, and a small portion near the centre of the left maxilla, in a tolerable state of preservation. The central portion of the roof is, for the most part, deficient, — little more than the cast of it, showing the form.

The upper surface of the roof, or as much of it as remains, and the margins of the maxillae are studded with small conical, bluntly pointed tooth-like processes, irregularly disposed, but nowhere crowded. They are largest at the outer margins of the maxillae, where they incline outwards, and appear to diminish in length and to become erect as they pass inwards towards the middle longi-