British reptiles and batrachians . and lizards, swinginglike an acrobat, springing, leaping,and climbing like a monkey, andwhen on the ground vanishinglike a flash in their swift hands the constrictingsnakes can grasp their prey withthe coils of their body; withoutfins they can swim like a fish ;and they can even do two orthree things at once through thewonderful adaptation of theirspine to meet emergencies. Itis the peculiar construction ofthe spine which enables themto accomplish all this. Owen,Huxley, and other distinguishedanatomists write enthusiasticallyof the beautiful a
British reptiles and batrachians . and lizards, swinginglike an acrobat, springing, leaping,and climbing like a monkey, andwhen on the ground vanishinglike a flash in their swift hands the constrictingsnakes can grasp their prey withthe coils of their body; withoutfins they can swim like a fish ;and they can even do two orthree things at once through thewonderful adaptation of theirspine to meet emergencies. Itis the peculiar construction ofthe spine which enables themto accomplish all this. Owen,Huxley, and other distinguishedanatomists write enthusiasticallyof the beautiful adaptation of asnakes spine to its needs. Eachvertebra is elaborately articulated to the next and to the ribs byeight joints ; and each interlockswith the one next to it by a cup andball-shaped process. Here (fig. 5)you see a front and a back viewof one single vertebra, and cinimagine the pliancy of movementall these cup and ball arrange-ments would give to a long spine,and why they are justly called vertebra, from verto, to Fig. 4.—Flying Lizard.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidbritishrepti, bookyear1888
