Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-05-08
REPTILES OF LONG AGO.
MONSTERS THAT LORDED 1T
OVER ALL CREATION.
Some OF Them Weighed Twenty Tons or
More, Had Hollow Baokbones, and
500 Teeth-They Have Ever
Since Deteriorated.

eAloIou III opOCnS lOllS dSu' luC htoI
reptiles OF tho world made their APP
pearanco at the close OF tho paleozoie
period, when the coal was in process of
formation. They were all land ami
mails. Among them were no flying
creatures. no marine swimmers, no gil
gantic types, and no especially herbivor-
Gus kinds.
At tho close OF the coal-bearing
period there occurred great emerg-
once OF land from the water, and repti-
liam life rapidly spread and grew. The
reptiles which had previously existed
were all Of one kind. Their remains
are found in this country wherever the
deposits in lagoons, lakes, and estuarios
have been calculated for their preser-
walton. From this point Of time how
evor, began what may be appropriate
ly called the epoch of reptiles. The
paleozoic period was brought to close
by great upheavel, due to the con-
traction of the earths crust by which
the Alleghanies and the Ural system
were uplifted. Then began what is
called the mesozoic epoch during
which the reptiles may be said to have
run creation. That is to say, they
were the highest order Of beings at
that time alive. What man is now tho
reptiles were then--that is, lord of all
existing things. Reptiles walked upon
land, navigated the water flew through
tho air, and, in short, pursued every
avenue of existence that is zoologically
conceivable.
Early in the mesozoic epoch there
appeared marine reptiles which,
though derived from land species be-
came moro and mare aquatic through
the necessity Of living in water devel-
oping on that account swimming or
gans. etc. Land reptiles also began to
develop in huge proportions. Why
they grew so big no ono knows, but IL
may have been because they had no
rivals in the struggle for existence;
they had all they wanted TO cat and
naturally increased in bulk: At all
events no creatures are known to have
ever existed in this world comparable
in size to these reptiles of ages ago.
What the mammals are in the scale
of creation to-day the reptiles were in
the mesozoic epoch. They swan the
seas climbed trees and were phenom-
email jumpers. ScEe of them even
flew. While some Of them were herb
ivorous, living upon plants, others were
carnivorous, preserving existence by
devouring their vegetable-eating cous-
ms. The vegetarian reptiles wero
enormous beasts, often as much as
-, al
food for the carnivorous reptiles. which
were smaller than the herbivorous
kind. Just as lions and tigers nowadays
are smaller than oxen. Though big
ger than the vegetarian creatures they
usually had not armor nor weapons
to defend themselves with. Their
most powerful defense was a kick.
which, delivered with hind leg fifteen
feet in length, was assuredly not by
any means to be disposed. The herb
ivorous reptiles of that epoch were
mainly of three descriptions:
First was the biggest of all animals
known TO the world from the beginning
thereof to the present day. 1t went
on all fours and the vertebrae compos-
ing the backbone were hollow-nlere
shells in fact-fllei with warm air
from the lungs, just as is the case with
the bones OF some birds to-day. Un-
doubtedly it lived in the sea, walking
along in water deep enough 10 cover
its back. 1t fed upon the vegetation
along the shore and its neck was long
and crane-like.
Other herbivorous reptiles of the
same period had enormously long hind
legs on which they were able TO wade
FAR out into deep water after seaweeds
and other food. These creatures were
particularly extraordinary in point OF
their dental equipment inasmuch as
each of them had about 1000 grinders
to chew with, arranged in magazines
of 500 each, like cartridges.
Another species of herbivorous rep
tiles lived upon land but they were so
powerfully armed that they were able
to oppose formidable defense against
attack. Some of them had huge horns
on their heads like bulls, while others
bore similar weapons above their
noses, like the rhinoceri of to-day. So
we'll able were they to defend them-
selves that they lived and multiplied
in the same region with the most
ferocious of the carnivorous monsters.
Thus you will understand that there
were three kinds of herbivorous giants
in the mesosoic epoch. There was the
'camarasaurul, which fod neck-deep
along the sea shore, its hollow back
bone serving as a float and its solid
Legs and tail for anchors; next was
the kangeroo-like 'hadaosaurus, which
waded out on its long hind legs into
deep water in search Of food. and
finally there was the dangerous aga
thaumas,' with enormous horns.
The carnivorious reptiles OF that
wonderful age were more uniform in
their structure. They were mostly
built in the kangaroo style and of
lighter frame. Early in their history
there wero some OF them with hollow
bones, which were probably tho great
est jumpers ever known among verte-
brates. Certain varieties of these de-