Fig. 51.—Skeleton of Brontosaurus ingens, a four-footed Dinosaur from the Jurassic formation of N. America. 1/150 natural size.
Fig. 52.—Skeleton of Pariasaurus. About 1/14th natural size.
Extinct Fishes.
Of the galleries running northwards from the Fossil Reptile gallery, the one nearest to the central hall is used for the display of the Fossil Fishes, many belonging to groups now extinct. Perhaps the most remarkable of all, and certainly most unlike existing forms, are the armoured Devonian Fishes known as Cephalaspis, Pterichthys ([fig. 54]), etc. The well-preserved fishes from the Chalk are especially noteworthy, and a specimen of Portheus in a central case, 14 feet in length, is one of the largest bony fishes known.
Fig. 53.—A Giant Pterodactyle (Pteranodon occidentalis) from the Cretaceous of Kansas. (Original span about 18 feet.) Compare the wing, which is supported by the outermost finger, with that of the Bat in Fig. 8.
Extinct Invertebrates and Plants.
The next gallery contains the Cephalopods, a group of Molluscs abounding in extinct species, of which the Belemnites, Turrilites ([fig. 55]), and Ammonites ([fig. 56]) are some of the best-known. The form and structure of their nearest living representatives, the various species of Cuttle-fishes, Squids, Argonauts, and Nautilus ([fig. 31], page 62) are illustrated by models, drawings, and specimens placed near the entrance of the gallery and along the top-line of the wall-cases. The third gallery contains the remaining Mollusca, with the Brachiopoda, Polyzoa, Echinoderma, Worms, and Crustacea; the fourth, the Corals, Sponges, Protozoa, and Fossil Plants. In these last two galleries most of the British specimens are placed in the table-cases, and those of foreign origin in the cases round the walls.