. American types of animal life. Zoology; Animal behavior. 152 TYPES OF ANIMAL LIFE In studying the turkey we saw how all a bird's struc- ture is also modified for flight, but the modifications of bats and birds, though directed to the same end, are, as we shall see, very different modifications. Indeed, the bat's organisation, alone of existing creatures, serves to give us a good conception of the wings of those ancient flying reptiles, the pterodactyls. Its real affinities well serve to show how little mere external aspect can be trusted as a guide to fundamental relationships. The bat, as I
. American types of animal life. Zoology; Animal behavior. 152 TYPES OF ANIMAL LIFE In studying the turkey we saw how all a bird's struc- ture is also modified for flight, but the modifications of bats and birds, though directed to the same end, are, as we shall see, very different modifications. Indeed, the bat's organisation, alone of existing creatures, serves to give us a good conception of the wings of those ancient flying reptiles, the pterodactyls. Its real affinities well serve to show how little mere external aspect can be trusted as a guide to fundamental relationships. The bat, as I have just said, is essentially an animal formed for aerial life above Fie. THE CAROLINA BAT. the surface of the ground. The mole is an animal formed for subterranean life beneath it, and the mole as rarely ascends to that surface as the bat descends to it, and its structure is so efficiently modified for most rapid burrowing that it may be said to fly through the earth as the bat flies through the air. The bat's hand, as we shall see, attains the maximum of length and slender- ness, while the mole's is at a minimum of length, but is a model of concentrated power. The contrast between any animals could hardly be more complete; yet the bat and the mole share no small degree of affinity, and may be said to be zoological Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Mivart, St. George Jackson, 1827-1900. Boston, Little, Brown and Company
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectzoology
