Identifier: cu31924003685645 (find matches)
Title: Animals of the past, an account of some of the creatures of the ancient world
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Lucas, Frederic A. (Frederic Augustus), 1852-1929
Subjects: Paleontology
Publisher: New York, (American Museum of Natural History)
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ratosaurus, the nose-homed lizard, aqueer beast with tiny fore legs, powerful, sharp-clawed hind feet, and well-armed jaws. Amost formidable foe he seems, the more thatthe hoUow bones speak of active movements,and Professor Cope pictured him, or a nearrelative, vigorously engaged in combat withhis fellows, or preying upon the huge but help-less herbivores of the marshes, leaping, biting,and tearing his enemy to pieces with tooth andclaw. Professor Osbom, on the other hand, is in-clined to consider him as a reptihan hyena,feeding upon carrion, although one can butfeel that such an armament is not entirely inthe interests of peace. Last, but by no means least, are the Stego-saurs, or plated lizards, for not only were theybeasts of goodly size, but they were among themost singular of all known animals, singulareven for Dinosaurs. They had diminutiveheads, small fore legs, long tails armed oneither side near the tip, with two pairs of largespines, while from these spines to the neck i \ 4
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03O < o uO <u SX 0) H OT G^ s 5^ THE DINOSAURS 107 ran series of large, but thin, and sharp-edgedplates standing on edge, so that their backslooked like the bottom of a boat provided witha number of little centreboards. Just howthese plates were arranged is not decided be-yond a peradventure, but while originally fig-ured as having them in a single series downthe back it seems much more probable thatthey formed parallel rows. The largest of these plates were two feet inheight and length, and not more than an inchthick, except at the base, where they were en-larged and roughened to give a firm hold tothe thick skin in which they were imbedded.Be it remembered, too, that these plates andspines were doubtless covered Avith horn, sothat they were even longer in life than as wenow see them. The tail spines varied in length,according to the species, from eight or nineinches to nearly three feet, and some of themhave a diameter of six inches at the base.They were swung by a tail eight

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