Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-08-20
LIVED SIMPLE LIFE
100000 YEARS
Caenolestes Has Seen Giants
Come and Go as il SerenelY
Stays.

Come and Go as It Serenely
Stays.
Chicago. Aug. 1e.--For 100000
years one OF the new survivors Of the
fossil animals has lived In Businesses of
what is now South Asierica. Nine
years ago ii was discovered by an ex-
ploring expedition Of the Field Mu-
scum of Natural History. The mu-
scum has just published its first
scientific report on its find. Speaking
OF his discovery. DIR. Wilfred III. os-
good OF the Field Museum named some
nf its features:
Through all these ages this animal
has continued reproducing itself with
out important change.
II is one of the most notable ex-
amplcs If the simple life
All the other animals of its group
have utterly vanished or been turned
To stone hundreds of thousands of
years.
II dates back to the period when the
warm hlooded animals were just be-
ginning TO evolve from the cold blood
ed reptiles. IL is one OF the oldest
living mammals.
IL is mirror of the past" with
practical value difficult 10 estimate.
a little animal. II looks like n sharp
nosed rat. 1t is only about six inches
long. But its size has heiped to pre-
serve 1t. Ii has small eyes, rounded
ears. slender ,ail and soft brown
hair.
Caenolestes is 'ts name--modern
representative of an ancient group OF
predatory animals.
Dr. osgood made his discovery in
Venezuela in 1879. He secured his
specimens in tho heart of a dense
forest Of the mountains there. Access
90 the spot was gained by lahoriously
cutting narrow trails fer long dis
tances through the heavy under
growth.
Intensive Study of Animal.
Stree then Or. osgood has made an
intensive study of the animal, and il
is this which the Field Museum has
just published in a book entitled "A
Mouographic study Of the American
Marsupiai. Caenolestes."
This little animal is quite unlike
any other animal now living in the
world" Or. Osgood said. Although
II does not resemble closely any spe-
cics now living. it is very intimately
related 10 animals which flourished
far back in geologic time when the
foundations We're being laid for the
evolution Of the higher animals of the
present day. All the others OF the
group TO which it belongs became ex-
tinct ages ago. and Caenolestes alone
has survived to the present.
We know this because its bones
and teeth are essentially the same as
those of the extinct animals. IL the
bones are the same IL is probable that
other parts also are similar There
fore Caenolestes is prize TO the stu
dent. for il enables him to learn more
about the ancient fossils than is shown
by their bones. which. Of course, are
the only parts preserved.
"The length Of time il has survived
il almost incredible. Its extinct rela-
tivcs lived in the Miocene period. and
this. according TO good authorities, was
about 5000 900 years ago. During all
this tremendous lapse OF days and
nights il has been able TO withstand
the competition a nature. to find food
and proper conditions of temperature
and to care for its young-in other
words. TO live and reproduce itself.
"lts close similarity to the extinct
forms indicates that it has been able
20 do this without any serious change
in its physical makeup. The secret of
its-success is doubtless to be found in
the simplicity of it's requirements. 1t
is one Of the most generalized of man.
mails now living. II has never. gone
20 extremes. never developed any very
special tastes or peculliarities. 1t feeds
upon insects and isn't particular
whether they are hard or soft, smooth
or woolly.
Tastes Unchanged by Ages.
Three million years ago. i'm all prob
ability. it's tastes We're the same and
insects were just as easy to find then
as now
"One of its assets has been its small
size. 1t has seen the giants OF the past
come and go while it went serenely en-.
ri never tried any experiments, never
went of on a tangent and never took
any chances. BY always taking the
easiest and safest way it accomplished
mere existence and nothing else.
III all the early mammals had led
the same simple life the world now
would not be the sort Of place it is.
Those that developed along special
lines often found themselves in fatal
difficulties but some of them took the
lines that have led to the higher man.
mails of today. So far as evolutionary
progress is concerned. therefore. per-
haps Caenolestes might as well have
ceased to exist millions of years ago.
Its nearest living relatives are the
Australian bandicoots. This makes il
interesting in connection with theories
as to whether or not South America
and Australia ever have been connect
ed BY land bridge. With nlarsupials
now found both in South America and
Australia several explanations are
possible. The original stock may have
spread from South America to Aus
traIia or vice versa by a land bridge
no longer existing. Also it may have
originated in a long since vanished
ecuthern continent. the so-called An
hrctica, and from there spread north
wnrd TO both South America and Aus
fralia."
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