The bones of the fossil herbivorous reptile described in this paper were discovered in the sandstone of Tilgate Forest in Sussex, which is a portion of the iron-sand formation, and forms a chain of hills stretching in a W. N. W. direction from Hastings to Horsham. In this sandstone the bones and teeth in question are accompanied with those of saurian animals, turtles, birds, fishes, shells, and vegetables, among which may be satisfactorily traced the remains of a gigantic species of Crocodile, of the Megalosaurus, and of the Plesiosaurus. The teeth of the three last-mentioned animals are readily recognised and identified; but in the summer of 1822, others were discovered in the same strata, which, though evidently referrible to some herbivorous reptile, possessed peculiar and striking characters. Anxious to ascertain the opinions of naturalists respecting these, the author submitted them to the inspection of the most eminent, and among the rest to Baron Cuvier, who, while acknowledging that such teeth were previously unknown to him, agreed in the conclusion of their belonging to some herbivorous reptile of gigantic size, and recommended every research to be made for more connected portions of the skeleton.
Dinosaur doctor: The life and work of Gideon Mantell by Edmund Critchley. Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2010. No. of pages: 256. Price: UK 18.99. ISBN 978-1-848-68947-3 (paperback).
