Part I: Dinosaurs Galore

Mosasaur, Iguanadon and Pterodactyls, May 1999 Plate 1. This is the first thing you see as you approach the Dinosaur Islands from the ruins of the main building via the modern-day sports centre. From left to right, you can see a Mosasaur (since only the head had been discovered at the time, Hawkins cleverly submerged the rest of the animal in water), a nest of pterodactyls, and a famously ill-reconstructed Iguanadon. I'd first thought that this was the one in which a publicity-stunt dinner was famously staged in 1853, but apparently it was the mould used to make it that was the dining room.
   
Iguanadon and Hylaeosaur, May 1999 Plate 2. Continuing on with the island on your left, we come to another, equally ill-reconstructed Iguanadon (that horn on its nose was later found to be a thumb) and a Hylaeosaurus looking the other way. The head of the latter is actually a fibreglass replica of the original (which is currently in front of the tourist information office), but one can't really tell from this angle.
   
Megalosaur and Teleosaurs, May 1999 Plate 3. A Megalosaur in medium closeup. Behind it you can see some Teleosaurs, which are a non-dinosaur prehistoric reptile which looks a bit like a crocodile in need of a nose-job.
   
Aquatic Dinosaurs and Coots, May 1999 Plate 4. An assortment of aquatic dinosaurs--two Plesiosaurs, a few Labyrinthodons and a really nice-looking Icthyosaurus--along with some of their more recent descendants. These dinosaurs are somewhat more the worse for wear than the land-based ones, which is a pity, because they're more interesting and lively-looking, if no more accurate.


More Old Dinosaurs