Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-03-21
REPTILES OF THE PAST.
Degenerate Survivors Of Those OF
the Long Ago.

~N@~@~NSO
the Long Ago.
Monsters Which Walked the Earth and
Swan the Seas Ages and Ages Ago
Some Ancient Phenomenal
Jumpers and Flyers.
Reptiles as they are found in the
world at the present day are but de-
generate survivors of their kind as
they existed in epochs long ago." said
Prof. Cope to a writer for the Washing
ton Star. '"The first reptiles of the
world made their appearance at the
close of the paleozoic period, when the
coal was in process of formation. They
were all land animals. Among them
there were no flying creatures, no
marine swimmers, no gigantic types,
and no especially herbivorous kinds.
eat the close of the conforming
period there occurred a great emergence
of land from the water and reptilian
life rapidly spread and grew. The rep
tiles which had previously existed were
all of one kind. Their remains are
found in this country wherever the de.
posits in lagoons, lakes and estuaries
have been calculated for their preser-
walton. From this point of time, how
ever, began what may appropriately be
called the epoch of reptiles. The pale.
ozoic period was brought to a close by
a great upheaval, due to contraction of
the earth's crust, by which the Allie
ghanies and the Ural system were up
lifted. Then began what is called the
'mesozoic epoch during which the
reptiles may be said to have run crea.
ton. That is to say, they were the
highest order of beings at that time
alive. What man is now the reptile
was then-that is, lord of all existing
things. Reptiles walked upon land,
navigated the water, flew through the
air, and, in short, pursued every avenue
of existence that is zoologically con-
ceivable.
early in the mesozoic epoch there
appeared marine reptiles which, though
derived from land species, became
more and more aquatic through the
necessity of living in water, develop
ing, on that account, swimming organs,
etc. Land reptiles also began to de-
velop in huge proportions. Why they
grew so big no one knows, but it may
have been because they had no rivals
in the struggle for existence; they had
all they wanted to eat 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 most
phenomenal jumpers. Some of them
even flew. While some were
herbivorous, living upon plants, others
were carnivorous, preserving existence
by devouring their vegetable-eating
cousins. The vegetarian reptiles were
enormous beasts, often as much as
seventy feet in length. They afforded
food for the carnivorous reptiles, which
were smaller than the herbivorous
kind, just as lions and tigers nowadays
are smaller than oxen. Though bigger
the vegetarian creatures usually had no
armor nor weapons to defend them
selves with. Their most powerful de-
tense was kick, which, delivered with
hind leg fifteen feet in length, was
assuredly not by any means to be de-
spised. The herbivorous reptiles of
that epoch were mainly of three de-
scriptions:
First was the biggest of all animals
known to the world from the beginning
thereof to the present day. Its name
was the 'camarasaurus.' 1t went ON all
tours and the vertebre composing it's
backbone were hollow-mere shells in
fact-filled with warm air from the
lungs, just as is the case with the bones
of some birds to-day. Undoubtedly it
lived in the sea, walking along in water
deep enough to cover it's back. 1t fed
upon the vegetation along shore and it's
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 sea weeds
and other food. These animals were
particularly extraordinary in point of
their dental equipment, inasmuch as
each of them had about two thousand
grinders to chew with, arranged in
magazines of five hundred each, like
cartridges.
another species of herbivorous rep
tiles lived upon land, but they were so
powerfully armed that they were able
to oppose a 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 well
able were they to defend themselves
that they lived and multiplied in the
same regions with the most ferocious
of the carnivorous monsters.
'Thus you will understand that there
were three kinds of herbivorous giants
in the mesozoic epoch. There was the
'camarasaurus,' which fed neck deep
along the seashore, it's hollow backbone
serving as a float and it's solid legs and
tail for anchors, next was the kangaroo
like 'hadrosaurus,' which waded out
upon it's hind legs into deep water in
search Of food, and finally, there was
the dangerous 'agathaumas,' with enor-
nous horns.
''The so-called 'mesozoic epoch was
brought to close by the cataclysm, due
IN contraction and consequently GRIMM