Chambers's miscellany of useful and entertaining tracts . is no longer of such quantity as toform coal beds, and the amount of animal remains is also muchdiminished. Life takes, however, a new start in the Oolitic age,and its forms continue there to make still nearer approaches tothose of the present time. Here, also, still higher forms areadded—insects are found for the fiist time; likewise reptiles; butthese are at first of extraordinary form and magnitude. In thearrangement of the Animal Kingdom, reptiles are placed nextabove fishes; that is to say, they are considered as having thenext hig
Chambers's miscellany of useful and entertaining tracts . is no longer of such quantity as toform coal beds, and the amount of animal remains is also muchdiminished. Life takes, however, a new start in the Oolitic age,and its forms continue there to make still nearer approaches tothose of the present time. Here, also, still higher forms areadded—insects are found for the fiist time; likewise reptiles; butthese are at first of extraordinary form and magnitude. In thearrangement of the Animal Kingdom, reptiles are placed nextabove fishes; that is to say, they are considered as having thenext higher or more complicated structure. Now, the new animalsof this period which we are about to speak of, are, as it were, be-tween fishes and a certain order of the reptiles ; namely, the Sauriaor Lizards. They are huge animals, and evidently must have beenvery destructive to the smaller creatures v/ithin their reach. TheIchthyosaurus, of which there are fully ten species, slightly differ-ing from each other (the skeleton of one being here represented),. had the body of a fish, with a long tail having a small fin below;the head of a crocodile exhibiting long jaws armed with strongteeth, and a pair of eyes as large as a good-sized cannon ball; theanimal had also paddles, externally like those of a tortoise, but ofa fin-like structure, for propelling itself through the water, whichformed its proper element. The Plesiosaurus was a nearer ap-proach to the reptile form. The tail is shortened, and upon asimilar body is fitted a long neck with a small head, the latterparts being an approach to the serpent form. Being, althoughof marine habits, essentially reptiles, these animals breathed theatmosphere ; yet, for the same reason, we know that their respi-ration was imperfect, and that they might be for the most partunder water, and only come occasionally to the surface to is supposed that they lived in the shallow waters near shores,preying- upon the smaller fish and reptiles
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookidchamber, booksubjecttracts
