Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1855-11-21
EXTINC'T ANIMALS.

SuSAO 10 uO GIIIuR "ulCu uOI6 ucSCI
Vedly excites our admiration than the re-
stOration of extinct animals. Various
writer's, who may be said to have discov~
cred the science Of geology, had shown
that the strata of the earth were laid on,
one upon another, in a certain and regu-
lar succession, and that each class rock,
to use the geological phrase, had its own
peculiar suit Of exuvin, but this had not
supplied us with the true key with which
we unlocked the cabinet OF Nature and
called from her secret treasury those
strange creatures which were produced
during the carth's childhood. Cuvier,
however. has supplied what was wanting
in this respect, and, by a rigid applica-
ton Of comparative anatomy, has enabled
us to perfect our natural history by intro
ducing scores Of animals of whose eXis-
tence our fathers knew nothing.
The construction Of an animal, howev>
er, when only a small portion Of the skel-
eIon is discovered, is matter of great
difficulty, and requires much scientific
knowledge. This, nevertheless, may be
done and in some cases, a single bone
is enough to indicate the size and struc>
ture Of the animal to which it belonged.
Suppose, for instance, that the jawb bone
Of an unknown species of animal were
found, it is surprising how much may be
learned from it. The teeth will show
whether the animal was carniverous or
herbivorous then If the teeth were made
for tearing flesh. so must the claws be
made to lay held Of it /; then, again, the
paws require strong muscles in the fore~
arm, and in corresponding structure Of
the shoulder; and in This way the gen
rrnI structure Of the creation may be de-
;ermined. We may also descend to
some minutiR; for the digestive organs
must have II similar relation to the parts
before mentioned, and may therefore be
inferred from the jaw bone.
Professor Aulslead has enabled us to
recall the vOlte period in geology with
great percisiOn for England was then Il
fine country. although there were no men
in it. Let US suppose ourselves, then, up
ON the south coast. near The Isle Of Wight,
and we shall find ourselves upon IL prom
ontory, stretching into the sea. Behind
US there is country Overspread with
brush W God, and the distant hills are cloth
cd with lofty pines. The interior is deck
ed with a forest Of magnificent trees, and
the most beautiful flowers bloom on thou
sands of shrubs. Added to this the
whole place teens with life. Looking
out to the sea, we shall perceive huge
monster lift his head out Of the water to
breathe tho air. 1t is the most fearful
and terrible of all the inhabitants of the
deep. It's jaws are twenty feet long, and
as it opens its mouth it is appalling to
think what an engine of destruction it
must be, and what a number of living
creatures must be dcvoured daily to
support carcass one hundred feet long
and equal in bulk to nearly two hundred
fat oxen He is armed with two large
fins, with powerful claws at the end OF
them, and will grasp the enormous sharks
Astounding in the sea and destroy them
instantly. Such was the ceLioraurous
the largest marine reptile with which we
are acquainted.
But fierce and destructive as this crea-
ture is, his companion, the icthyosaurus,
is much more so. This is an air breath
ing reptile. upwards of thirty feet long.
1t was covered, like the whale, with Il
smooth naked skin, thickly folded under
the belly for protection. The form Of the
head. as we'll as that Of the jaws and
teeth, was like the crocodile. It's eyes
were large, being eighteen inches across,
and adapted to all lights. Night and
day, deep and shallow water were all the
same, and the open air and deep ocean
were alike transparent to it. 1t moved
with difficulty on land, but swan with
ease ard swiftness in the water, while its
large vertical tail made it a strange mix
ture Of fish, reptile and whale.
But while looking upon the sea, we
must not forget the animals that are
around us on the land for there are mon
sters on land as strange and fearful as
any that lnhablt the deep. Indeed, this
seems to be the age Of monsters and
there are reptiles around us as terrible as
the famous dragon of fable who was slain
by our noble St. George.
First and foremost among them is a
large vegetable reptile, called the iguan-
dom. The bodies of two of the LARGEST
elephants would not make up that e3or-
NOUS carcass. The legs are ten feet
high from the foot to the point of the
shoulder. Its between sixty and seven.
ty leet long, aud-per parenthesis-the
specimen restored at the Crystal Palace
Sydenham, is sufficiently large to admit
Of twenty persons dining inside of it
But there are other creatures associated
With it scarcely inferior in size and more
rugged in form. The megalasaurus, Of
great sauroid, is among the most remark
ubIe of the group; but there are others
which are OF less size, though Of more