Evening star., 1942-02-26
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.

| 6y ThOn1dS n. Henry.
The oldest egg on earth, fossil bones OF
camel IA feet tall and an enormous
jaw of new species of bear-do which
perhaps was ancestral to both these
animals, are the most striking relics Of
ancient life in North America found by
Psychologists in the past few months
The ancient egg, laid by some half
reptile of 225,00o.000 years ago. Is re-
ported by DR.. Alfred s. Romer, Harvard
University professor. The ball Of rock,
about two inches wide and an inch
and-a-half in diameter, was picked up
in Rattlesnake Canyon in Archer County,
Tex, and has been subjected to rigid
| X-ray examination to make sure that it
was an actual egg.
1t dates from the latter part Of the
so-called Pennsylvania geological epoch
| in the worlds history. This was the
time Of the vast swamp forests which
became most of the coal Of today.
Animal life had not been long on land
and its chief representatives were enor-
nous amphibians, creatures distantly
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present. They left their tracks in the
ancient muds, some Of them strikingly
human in appearance, and very little
else They had to spend the first part
of their lives in the water. Consequently
they laid soft eggs, without shells, like
frog eggs, which had no chance Of being
preserved.
I'M nf hn In ba
history Of life came when the first
creature laid a hard -shelled egg which
was deposited on land. There was no
longer the soft cushion of water and
shell was necessary. The animal
which Matched from it was a reptile
which will spend all its life as an air.
breathing creature. From it were to
evolve eventually the birds. mammals
and man.
The Pennsylvania was at the very
dawn of reptile life. The land creatures Of
the time were quite close to amphibians
and 1t has been disputed whether they
actually deserved to be called reptiles.
DR.. Romer believes that this egg came
from sort of in-between creature
known as a tetrapod. OF this race very
few fossil remains have been found.
Millions Of years were to pass before
the reptiles finally became the dominant
creatures on earth and developed such
gigantic forms as some of the dinosaurs.
The next oldest known egg, DR.. Romer
points out in his report, is that of a
dinosaur brought back by Roy Chapman
Andrews from the Cobb Desert, and
now at the American Museum of Natural
History. Relatively this is a fresh egg.
1t could not have been laid more than
100 900 900 years ago. DR.. Romer believes.
The X-ray examination, he says, leaves
no doubt but that this specimen, more
than twice as old, is actually an egg.
The shell, about one-thirtieth Of an
inch thick, was badly cracked. 1t was
covered with minute nodules, like the
skin of an orange. Apparently it was
broken almost as soon as 1t was laid,
for there is no evidence that the animal
had begun to take form within it. Had
there been any formation of bones these
would have been preserved in the stone.
The X-ray did show certain differentia-
tions in the structure Of the stone which
would be expected when an egg becomes
fossiliZed.
The new giant camel is reported by
DR.. Erwin H. Barbour and C. Bertram
Schultz of the University of Nebraska.
The bones were found in the northern
part Of that State in geological de-
posits dating from the early days Of
the last Ice Age. The creature. the bone
measurements show, was almost twice
the size of existing camels and by far
the largest of that type of animal ever
reported. At that time the camels were
confined to North America and there
were numerous varieties of them which
became entirely extinct shortly after
the passing of the great ice sheet.
The hemicyon. or bear-dog, was also
found in Nebraska and is described by
DR.. Edwin H. Colbert of the American
Museum of Natural History. The fossil
is about 100000 years old. The size
of a large bear with the heetness and
carnivorous habits of the dog, it must
have been the most ferocious animal Of
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