. Evolution and its relation to religious thought . t being yet introduced, and the manus is notyet differentiated into palm-bones and fingers, and thefingers are indefinitely multiplied. All these charactersare indications of low position in the scale of evolu-tion. The earliest vertebrates were fishes. Limbs werenot yet completely formed. In embryos of higher ani-mals, also, the outer segments are first formed. Hind-Limbs.—Figs. 20 to 24 represent, in a similarway, the hind-limbs of several animals—in this case allmammals. As before, corresponding parts are similarlylettered, and a dotted li
. Evolution and its relation to religious thought . t being yet introduced, and the manus is notyet differentiated into palm-bones and fingers, and thefingers are indefinitely multiplied. All these charactersare indications of low position in the scale of evolu-tion. The earliest vertebrates were fishes. Limbs werenot yet completely formed. In embryos of higher ani-mals, also, the outer segments are first formed. Hind-Limbs.—Figs. 20 to 24 represent, in a similarway, the hind-limbs of several animals—in this case allmammals. As before, corresponding parts are similarlylettered, and a dotted line is carried through certainprominent parts, especially the knee, heel, instep, andtoes. By careful inspection the figures explain them-selves. Nevertheless, it will be well to draw special at-tention to several of the more important points: 104 EVIDENCES OF THE TEUTH OF EVOLUTION. 1. See, then, the j)ositioii of the knee. The thigh-bone in man, monkeys, bears, and several other familiesof mammals, and all reptiles, is free from the body, and. PROOFS FROM HOMOLOGIES. 105 the knee is far removed and half-way down the limb(Figs. 20, 21). This is undoubtedly the original andnormal condition of land-animals. But in all the morehighly s^Decialized and swifter animals the knee is broughtnearer and nearer to the body, until, in the swiftest ofall, such as the ruminants and the horse (Figs. 23, 24),it is high up on the side of the body, in the middle ofwhat is usually called the thigh but which really includesthe thigh and the upper part of the lower leg or shank, 2. See, again, the position of the heel. In man,monkey, bear, and many other mammals, and all livingreptiles, the heel is on the ground, the tread is on thewhole foot, plantigrade ; while in all the more special-ized and agile animals, and especially in the swiftest ofall, such as the horse, the deer, etc., the heel is high inthe air, and the tread is digitigrade. 3. Observe, again : there are two degrees of digiti-grade
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