Dispar_)
was about as large as a Pigeon. In two remarkable respects, this
singular Bird differs from all known living members of the class.
One of these respects concerns the jaws, both of which exhibit the
Reptilian character of being armed with numerous small pointed
_teeth_ (fig. 212, a), sunk in distinct sockets. No existing
bird possesses teeth; and this character forcibly recalls the
Bird-like Pterosaurs, with their toothed jaws. _Ichthyornis_,
however, possessed fore-limbs constructed strictly on the type
of the "wing" of the living Birds; and it cannot, therefore, be
separated from this class. Another extraordinary peculiarity
of _Ichthyornis_ is, that the bodies of the _vertebrie_ (fig.
212, c) were _bi-concave_, as is the case with many extinct
Reptiles and almost all Fishes, but as does not occur in any
living Bird. There can be little doubt that _Ichthyornis_ was
aquatic in its habits, and that it lived principally upon fishes;
but its powerful wings at the same time indicate that it was
capable of prolonged flight. The tail of _Ichthyornis_ has,
unfortunately, not been discovered; and it is at present impossible
to say whether this resembled the tail of existing Birds, or
whether it was elongated and composed of separate vertebrae, as
in the Jurassic _Archoeopteryx_.
Still more wonderful than _Ichthyornis_ is the marvellous bird
described by Marsh under the name of _Hesperornis regalis_.
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