The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1890-12-11
Feathered Reptiles.


+ you w5uIl be s.,opi.hed - hear +,
chicken REFERRED u a, a ftptile said
+ Dr. Stei q yer. curator Of r+otiI.- a, the
Nstloual museum. s.aut n, Assure Won
/ that the z11logi-t fDfs II very diff nit
/ t9fel why he common harvard fowJ
/ should not ie -, de- gDa,ea lTbe SAM re-.
mark apple D Nl bird. which mipbt
+ fairly be called reptiles WIN festner-
For the bird = nr'y scieutff eaIly dt.tin.
4 gut>hed r. u. t,.,. f-otite bt the fnc, mat
+ = ha- feat'tt.. nck ch ck4p and Won
ave WI It's. to pll all jntenfs and mn.
+ po-e- reptf'r y ne tine in far d.
f tAut ge0log g. el.,.i there existed cre.-
tues wnlcl sete lne common ancestors
If The rep lie, ana birds of today
i sYinng from she same stoek. these two
/ brauch-s Of the animal kingdom have
-impg become differentiated 10 some
STINT extent Blu, even NV there f. no
i distIngu sable difference Of Anatomical
= foeture tween the bird ana the rep
til. Al the distinction between ne two
a. | ave said, lies n the fact tia, he
reptile h l. scales aud the bird feath. r
/ However, feathers and se.Ies ar. ,ut
m1dirca ions Of the sam. tn ~ 5 Won
sc how II mus be very q #! nit for tie
phy<iolDsi~t t. determine win r.gsrd to
certain forms whe'h-r they are reptil an
or Of bird nature A Diri has recently
been di.c1v-r.d Ia S5aa America and
na.ned the 'hoatz H. which has claws on
ii, WIZ an !. before IL ha- learned 10 ay
climo> by meas OF these claws. Yet
this is 1eclar 20 be bird for the l.
fea on that t. has feathers.
TIE fact OF 1eiug 1bi- % ag dos not
constitute bird. Replies win wing.
aud plNer- Of tigh. have existeI in the.
world-not4bl, the pteroiact,l ia dis
tant snte tiluyisn era. which WAS a. n,
as big as turkey and # " veiv much
better than that noble Fhri-tm.- blrt
fne earliest bird Of which any remains
have been found WAS the archr1pt.r,x
which many authorities are di-p ,sed to
consider q reptile, and the question re.
gardng 1t will probably AWAY. remsin
in dispute Its pr jenitors were crea.
lures neither bird nor reptile. but NIX
ure of the two. of which the only me-
MORALS discovered are In the shape of
foot prints made in the rocks when they
are forming and vet soft-perhaps mil
lions of years ago. The arcbm )pteryx
spoke of was something like big piy-
con, but had a long tail like lizards
Many birds have claws on their wings
like ne hostzin. but do not use them.
You say that birds Law eggs Well
SO do reptiles. Some reptiles bring forth
their young alive. but tina. is merel
because the eggs are Matched before be.
ing laid With snakes and many other
reptiles 1t is simply an accident whether
the young are born living or In the egg
to be ha,ched subs queutly. Toads and
frogs. by the way, though commonly
termed reptiles, and even classeti a. such
ir many museums. are not reptiles at all.
out batrachians Id general wav it
may be said that whatever la. feather.
is bird, and whatever has scales is
reptile; that is about all the DIFF renee.
OF course, modern science considers that
creatures which have sn internal skeleton
are derived from the same primary orr.
gin The bird, the ii sh. the reptile, and
that noble animal man are all descended
from the SANE ancestral stock. In the
skeleton of a fsh nnlike as II sa.ns 70