The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-26
PREHISTORIC LIZARD
 FOUND IN L0WNDES COUNTY
Nero Workman on Plantation of Judge Thomas Dug Up Skeleton of Mesosaurus---
 Scientists Are Interested.

to fifty feet and was of enormous size in other respects. He had a way or swimming along the sea with his ar row shaped head out of the water ana his long reptile body sunk far beneath the water. The particular Mososaurus' whose tomb was uncovered by cou- ple of Lowndes county negroes, blow ing up cotton stalks may often nave swan over the site of the city Of Mont- gomery devouring those other prehis- toric animals smaller than he-to whom the geoIogists have given such hard names, for when he was living Alabama was beneath the sea.
 The Thomas plantation is four miles from Lowndesboro in Downdes county. The tomb of the Mososaurus was dis- turbed by the negro blow hands last fall Tkey were found at the top or a high hill. There were no rocks about the place where they were turned up by the blow. They were no part or any rock. foundation.
 The negroes thought that they were peculiar kinds of rocks. They piled the fossils up in the weeds on the side of the field. W. H. whetstone. who is in charge of the Thomas place, ex- amined the find and decided that they must be- of some fossilifefous nature although he was not versed in geology. lie DlCKed uD tne idTBeSV pune anu Cdi . ried it to the house.
 Scientists Are Interested.
 On one of his visits to the planta- tion Judge Thomas became interested in the fossil and on examination Of 1t and the fossils that were left at the field he was convinced that an unusual find had been made. He gathered them all up and brought them to Montgom- cry where they were carefully photo graphed and where the dimensions of each of the bones were clearly marked on the photographs. In the meanwhile he read up on geology and found that Professor Lankester of the British Mu- scum. was about the best living au- thorfty on the habits, customs and man. ners of the Mososaurus. So he sent a copy of the photograph to the Brit ish Museum for an opinion from Pro lessor Larkester and at the same time he submitted to the Smithsonian Mu- scum at Washington a copy and a brief account of the find
 The answer from the British Museum was written by N. Smith Woodward, Keeper of Geology. His letter follows:
 May 10th, 1907. British Museum (Natural History,
 Cromwell Road, London, s. W.
 Dear Str:-I thank you for your let ter of April 27th with the interesting
 
 Lankester The finds represented are evidently from a Cretaceous formation. The hoof shaped find Is part of large shell belonging to the typicalIy Gre taceous group of Hippurites The bones appear to be vertebrae of a Mososaurian. a typically Cretaceous marine reptile.
 We have not any Hippurites from Alabama and if you ever happen to have one to spare we shall gratefully receive 1t as a present
 Yours sincerely,
 "N. smith Woodward.
 Keeper of Geology" The letter from the Smithsonian In- stitution follows:
 May 4th, 1907. Judge William H. Thomas, Montgom-
 cry, Ala:
 The photographs mentioned in your letter of April 27th arrived and they have been examined by some of the museum geologists. The larger speci- mems, although resembling trunks of fossil cycads. may be perhaps merely