File:The Quarterly journal of the Geological Society of London (1862) (14764172962).jpg

Identifier: quarterlyjourna181862geol (find matches)
Title: The Quarterly journal of the Geological Society of London
Year: 1845 (1840s)
Authors: Geological Society of London
Subjects: Geology
Publisher: London (etc.)
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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the toes is 27inches; across the heel, justbehind the central mass, 14inches. The thickness, wherethe imprint of the toe (A) isrepresented by the natural cast,is 12 inches ; where the pal-mar protuberance (C) has sunkinto the pressed clay, 15inches ; and where the hinderpart of the foot, or the meta-podial portion, has impressed 1862.) BECKLES EEPT1LIAN FOOTPEINTS. 445 the mud, the cast diminishes gradually in width and in thickness(B), as if this portion of the extremity of the animal had been ob-lique to the foot, at an angle of about 25°. It would thus appearthat the foot of a large and heavy animal, walking on muddy ground,sank so deep as to bring the metapodium into contact with theground; and the inclination of this part of the foot indicates anenormous Eeptilian animal, walking with its legs bent and body nearthe ground. Figs. 2 & 3.—The Natural Cast of a Footprint from the WealdenBeds of the Isle of Wight. (About one-twelfth of the natural size.) Fig. 2. Lower surface.
Text Appearing After Image:
C The central prominence (C) in the trifid casts has nearly always asomewhat lateral position towards the largest of the outside toes, andit occupies about two-thirds or three-fourths of the entire breadthof the palm. The foot of Iguanodon appears to explain this.It has the distal extremity of the inner metatarsal, or that whichsupports the shortest toe, posterior to the extremities of the middleand outer metatarsals, so that in this case (and possibly in otherDinosaurs) the integument and flesh would here produce a pad cor-responding to what I may term the heel of the palm. I believe 446 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. (June 18, that my largest specimen from the Isle of Wight exhibits traces ofthe impression of the skin in this region of the foot. The metapodial bones of the animal making the tracks here indi-cated must (if the posterior impression was due solely to thosebones, and not partly also to the end of the tibia) have been aboutthe size of the largest metatarsal (?) t

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