. Animals of the past, an account of some of the creatures of the ancient world. ones to fuse into one, although partof this tendency the writer beUeves to be dueto inflammation set up by the strain of thepulling and hauling the animal is now calledupon to do. Some of these three-toed Hippo-theres are not in the direct Une ot ancestry ofthe horse, but are side branches on the familytree, having become so highly speciaUzed incertain directions that no further progresshorseward was possible. Backward still, and the bones we find in theMiocene strata of the West, belonging to thoseancestors of th
. Animals of the past, an account of some of the creatures of the ancient world. ones to fuse into one, although partof this tendency the writer beUeves to be dueto inflammation set up by the strain of thepulling and hauling the animal is now calledupon to do. Some of these three-toed Hippo-theres are not in the direct Une ot ancestry ofthe horse, but are side branches on the familytree, having become so highly speciaUzed incertain directions that no further progresshorseward was possible. Backward still, and the bones we find in theMiocene strata of the West, belonging to thoseancestors of the horse to which the name ofMesohippus has been given because they aremidway in time and structure between thehorse of the past and present, tell us thatthen all horses were small and that all hadthree toes on a foot, while the fore feet bore 168 ANIMALS OF THE PAST even the suggestion of a fourth toe. Fromthis to our Eocene Hj^acothere with four toesis only another long-time step. We may goeven beyond this in time and structure, andcarry back the line of the horse to animals. ^ Hi - , LOWER £OCEWE|, itJtJlJOOOYPS,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectpaleontology, bookyea
