. The chain of life in geological time [microform] : a sketch of the origin and succession of animals and plants. Paleontology; Paleobotany; Paléontologie; Paléobotanique. 172 THE CHAIN OF LIFE. need, to swim; while they could probably perch like birds on rocks and trees, Their heads, though very lightly framed, were large and reptilian in aspect, and furnished with sharp teeth, and sometimes probably with a beak as well. Few creatures of the old world are of more hideous and sinister aspect. There are many species, most of them small, but some of those in the later Mesozoic attained to so gre
. The chain of life in geological time [microform] : a sketch of the origin and succession of animals and plants. Paleontology; Paleobotany; Paléontologie; Paléobotanique. 172 THE CHAIN OF LIFE. need, to swim; while they could probably perch like birds on rocks and trees, Their heads, though very lightly framed, were large and reptilian in aspect, and furnished with sharp teeth, and sometimes probably with a beak as well. Few creatures of the old world are of more hideous and sinister aspect. There are many species, most of them small, but some of those in the later Mesozoic attained to so great a size that the expanse of their wings must have exceeded twenty feet, making them veritable flying dragons, probably formidable to all the smaller animals of their time. Though these animals. Fig. 148.—A Jurassic Bird {/irchaopteryx macroura).—After Owen. were strictly reptiles, they combined in their structures contri- vances for aerial locomotion now distributed between the and the birds. They had bat-like wings and bird-like chests. Some had horny beaks. All had hollow limb bones, and air cavities to give lightness to the skull. Their brains approach to those of birds, and, as already stated, their respiration and circulation must have been of a high order. These facts are very suggestive, and perhaps in no point is imagination or the faith of the devout evolutionist more severely tested than in realising the spontaneous assumption of these characters by. 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 Dawson, J. W. (John William), Sir, 1820-1899. London : Religious Tract Society
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