The St. Johns herald., 1891-09-10
REPTILES OF THE PAST.
Degenerate Survivors of Those of
 the Long Ago.
Monsters Which Walked the Earth and \ Swam the Se7s Ages and Ages Ago Some Ancient Phenomenal
 Jumpers and Flyers.
Jumpers and Flyers.

Reptiles as they are found in the world at the present day are but de- generate surv1vors of their kind as they existed in epochs long ago." said Prof. Cope to q writer for the Washing ton Star. ''Thc first reptiles of tho 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.
 At the close of the coal-forming period there occurred a great emergcnce of land from the water and reptilian life rapidly spread and grew. Therep- 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 cstuaries have been calculated for their prcscr- vation. 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 Ale 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
 
 navigated the water, flew through the air, and, in short, pursued every avenue of existence that is zoologically con- ceivable.
 Early in the mesczoic 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, TO 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 gre smaller than oxen. Though bigger the vegetarian creatures usually had no armor nor weapons to defend them selves with. Their most powerful de- fense was kick, which, delivered with a 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.' It went on all fours and the vertebre composing it's backbone were hollow-mere shells in fact-flled 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 its back. 1t fed upon the vegetation along shore and it's neck was long and crane-lil1e.
 ''0ther hcrbivorous 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, i1asmuch 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, its hollow backbone serving as q float and its solid legs and tail for anchors, next was the kangaroo like 'hadrosaurus,' which waded out upon its hind legs into deep water in search of food, and finally, there was the dangerous 'agathaumas,' with enor- nous horns.
 s'The so-called tmcsozoic epoch was brought to close by the cataclysm, due to contraction and consequently crurp-