Marble Hill press., 1920-07-29

The ltruntu@nufIs. nf'llis t' 'N'
tion herrwith repf"iu,"a d"',n '"'" 's''''"''
formidable excep, i'r his size 81,
Tho dtnoSaur that seems h,->t abb" 10 pay MS
way and k,,.p ON guin. l. the AIlsuuru-. Hes so'
teeth and claws and Ipoks - Il lee m'=ht u'''o
rapidly
However. the fact that the African dln"saur
doe, not seem To- be exactly Ike any ot h's pre
historic rcintiVes proves nothing. IL may be Una,
the fellow Captain stevens j. after has e'olutru
Ike the rest OF the world and j. pfrpared 10 pr
sent something entirely uew IN dinosaurs. why
should he not have developed He's had at Least
sly million year IN which 10 improve himself
The Outlines " History" n. g. MelIs' ne"
book considers ines. early monsters quite tuiiS
lie says III one rncc:
The earliest own reptiles we're beasts win
great bellies aue #ot Aer! powerful legs. very IKE
their kindred ur lthIa. vallo"uE ~ the cI"'"'
an. wNlIows e. ra.s day but 10 the Me>"z"ic they
,oon began Ia stand up and 60 stoutly on all fours
and several gr,f.. SECTIONS of them began 10 bal
nuc, themsel,rs Du tail ana hind legs rather as
the knngaruos U. now. Another division was the
crocodile brau,t md another developed toward
the tortoise aud re turtles. The PlesiosHurs ana
the Ichthyosaurs we're two groups which left no
living representatives. Pleslosaurus measured 5oo
feet from snout ,a ail tlp-of which half was neck
. The MosasauIs Nere third group of great por-
polsellke marine zards But the largest and
most diversified group Of these Mcsozolc reptiles
was the group v, have spoken OF as kangaroo
like the Dinosaurs. many OF which attained en0r
nous proportions In bigness these greater Dino
saurs have never uccn exceeded although the sea
can stlll show IN he whales creatures as great
Some OF these and the largest among them were
herblvorous animal, they browsed on rushy vege-
tation and amorc he ferns and bushes. or they
stood up and croSped trees with their forelegs
while they devour,d the foliage.
"AmonC the hruwsers for example we're the
n,plotoccus carnrlii which measured 81 feet In
length and the Auantosaurus. The GigantoSau-
rus dlsinterrt- hy German expedition in 1912
from rocks in East Africa, was still more colossal |
II measured well over 100 feet These greater
monsters had legs, and they are usually figured as
standing up on them; but It is very doubtful If |
they could have supported their weight in this
way out OF water. Buoyed up by water or muo
they may have got along
Another noteworthy type we have figured is the
rriceratops There were also a great number Of
flesh caters who prcyed upon these herhlvores
or these Tyrannosaurus seems almost the last
word In frightfulncss among living things. Some
snecies OF this genus measured 40 feet from Snout
10 tall Apparently IT carried this vast body kan
garoo fashion on its tail and hind legs. Probably
n reared itself up Some authorities even sup
nose that Il leapt through the air II so, II pos
sessed muscles of a quite miraculous quality
Much more probably 1t wadea half submerged, in
nursnit Of the herhynrous rSer saurans"
And along with these terrible beasts were bat,
IKE creatures These bat-lizardS were the ptero
iactyls. But hirilike though they were they were
NOT birds nor the ancestors of birds, The struc.
rure Of their wings was that OF hand with one
long finger and web; the wing of bird Is like
an arm with feathers projecting from its hind
rige. And these pterodactyls had no feathers"
All OF these creatures have disappeared from
he face Of the earth. Wells says They ended
abruptly They were extinguished as though by
he waving OF magic wand. perhaps In order to
make place for man; and Wells says that the end
ng Of the reptiles is beyond all question the most
striking revolution In the whole history Of the
,arth before the coming OF mankind
1T is probably connected with the close of y
rast period Of eouabe warm conditions and the
inset OF new, austerer age. In which the winters
we're bitterer and the summers brief. but hot"