What his odour was, whether he was smooth or warty, what he
ate, and in general how he got his living, we know not. But there
must have been something there for him to eat; and I dare say that he
was about as happy and about as intellectual as the toad is now.
Remember always that there is nothing alive now exactly like him, or,
indeed, like any animal found in these sandstones. The whole animal
world of this planet has changed entirely more than once since the
Labyrinthodon waddled over the Cheshire flats. A lizard, for
instance, which has been found in the Keuper, had a skull like a
bird's, and no teeth--a type which is now quite extinct. But there
is a more remarkable animal of which I must say a few words, and one
which to scientific men is most interesting and significant.
Both near Warwick, and near Elgin in Scotland, in Central India, and
in South Africa, fossil remains are found of a family of lizards
utterly unlike anything now living save one, and that one is crawling
about, plentifully I believe--of all places in the world--in New
Zealand. How it got there; how so strange a type of creature should
have died out over the rest of the world, and yet have lasted on in
that remote island for long ages, ever since the days of the New Red
sandstone, is one of those questions--quite awful questions I
consider them--with which I will not puzzle my readers.
Pages:
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96