Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-05-08
REPTILES OF LONG AGO.
MONSTERS THAT LORDED 1T
OVER ALL CREATION.
Some OF Them Weighed Twenty Tons or
More. Had Hollow Backbones, ana
zoo Teeth-They Have Ever
Since Detcriorated.

existed In epochs long ago. The first
reptiles OF the world made their APP
pearance at the close OF the 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 the close OF the coal-bearing
| period there occurred IA great emerg-
ence OF land from the water. and repti-
lian 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 estuarie5
have been calculated for their preser-
walton. From this point of time how
ever, began what may be appropriate
ly called the epoch of reptiles. The
paleozoic period was broughtto a close
by great upheavel. due to the con-
traction OF the earth's 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 the
reptiles were 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
| 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 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 End were phenom-
email jumpers. Scme 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 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, j-st 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 kick,
which, delivered with a 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 tours and the vertebra compos-
ing the backbone were hollow-mere
shells in fact-fllei with warm air
from the lungs, just as is the case with
the bones of some birds to-day. I'm
doubtedly it lived in the sea, walking
along in water deep enough to 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 Us
each OF them had about ., 900 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
well 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 mesozoic epoch. There was the
.camarasaurul, which fed neck-deep
along the sea shore. its hollow back
bone serving as 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 We're more uniform in
their structure. They were mostly
built in the kangaroo style and OF
lighter frame. Early in their history
there were some OF them with hollow