The body of the king-crab is very small, The kingand terminates in a long, straight, sharp-pointed tail. The jaws are placed in the feet; and mastication is performed by one of the joints. of the jaw-feet, which is provided with an apparatus for the purpose.

exist.

Many species of this gigantic crab are still Does it now to be found on the shores of North America and Asia, where their hard sharp tails are used for spear-heads and arrow-points.

The characteristic insects of the oölitic period are certain extinct species of beetles, locusts, cock-roaches, and dragon-flies.

§ 3.-FISHES OF THE OOLITE.

modified.

With the lias and oölite there is introduced Fishes how an important modification in the structure of fishes:

the change.

Before those periods almost the only fishes What was which existed had their tails divided into two unequal branches, like a V made by one's forefinger and thumb.

the lias.

In the lias we meet with fishes with their How in tails equally divided, like those of our own seas.

The principal fish belong to the three groups called sauroïds, lepidoïds and gan'oïds. Sau'roïd means lizard-like; Lepidoïd, scale-like; Gan'oïd, sheen-like, that is, fish covered with horny scales or plates coated with shining enamel.

§ 4.-REPTILES OF THE OOLITE.

reptiles.

All the reptiles of the triassic period con- what the tinue through the oölitic also, and many new kinds are added.

the chief.

The most remarkable of these last are the What are winged-saurians termed pter'o-dactyls, and the crocodiles called teleo-saurs, steneo-saurs, and megălo-saurs.

Pterodactyl what.

What was it like.

Describe its head.

Describe

its eye.

The ptero-dactyl or flying dragon was the most marvellous of all the reptiles of the antediluvian world. It was a compound of bird, bat, and crocodile.

Its neck and chest resembled those of a bird; its wings those of a bat; and its trunk and tail those of a quadruped.

Its head was a strange mixture of bird and reptile. The snout was long; the jaws, in most of the species, were armed with long, pointed teeth, and shew it to have been carnivorous; but in some few the mouth had no teeth, and approached nearer to the beak of a bird.

The eye of the monster was enormously large, to enable it to see by night; its neck was long and very flexible; each claw was furnished

with five toes, and the outer finger of the fore arm was long enough to support the wing.

means wht.

The word pter'o-dac'tyl means wing-finger; The word and the creature is so called, because the outer rim of each wing was extended along its fore-finger.

how large.

The extended wings of some of the larger The wings species measured from 20 to 27 feet, while in others it did not exceed four or five.

ties what.

The pter'o-dactyl could fly through the air; Its faculclimb a high tree and perch there; stand firmly with folded wings upon the ground; hop like a bird, crawl like a reptile, or even walk.

A great variety of species appear in the How many oölite, wealden, and chalk formations.

The

smallest being those in the oölite, and the largest those in the chalk, where the race becomes extinct.

species.

TELEO-SAURUS.

From two Greek words réλeos-σaûpos a perfect lizard. The word telĕo-saur means a perfect lizard or true crocodile. Teleo-saurs were something between our crocodiles and armadillos, only their habits were wholly aquatic.

Teleosaur

means wht.

How many

species.

There were a great many different species, varying in size from fifteen feet to about three, but all of them confined to the oölit'ic period. The snout of the teleo-saur was long and Describe narrow; its jaws were armed with numerous long sharp teeth, slightly curved inwards,

its form.

Stenosaur meanswht.

Why so called.

shewing that it preyed upon fishes. And its fore limbs being shorter than its hinder ones is a proof that it was a good swimmer.

STENO-SAURUS.

From two Greek words orevós-oaupos a narrow lizard. The word sten'o-saur, or steneò-saur as it is generally written, means a narrow lizard or crocodile.

These saurians are so called from their long, narrow, almost cylindrical jaws, which formed an extremely lengthened muzzle. The gávial of our own period is very nearly allied to these antediluvian reptiles.

MEGALO-SAURTS.

From the two Greek words μeyáλos-oatpos a great lizard.

Mgalosaur

8.WHIMPER. ST.

The Megalo-saur or monster lizard, as the meanswht. name implies, was from 40 to 70 feet long. The hind legs were six feet long, the paws three feet, the head five feet, the tail fifteen, and the girth of its body 22 or 23.

What was

it like.

It had the feet and legs of a gigantic bear; the body and tail of an enormous hog; and the

head of a crocodile, only the muzzle was flattened on the sides, like the dolphin of the Ganges.

its habits.

It was carnivorous in its habits, and had what were teeth which combined the properties of a knife, sabre, and saw. It lived on the land, but was not averse to the water.

ter what.

Of all the animals that ever dwelt upon the Its characearth, this must have been the most formidable. Its strength was Herculean, its fierceness indomitable, its voracity insatiable, and its faculties enabled it to wage most deadly war with its contemporaries.

Remains of this monster appear in the oölitic and wealden formations.

§ 5.-MAMMALIA OF THE OOLITE.

found here.

In the oölite we find the first well-defined What else trace of Mammália in certain extinct species of opossum or kangaroo.

Did they

not exist

It is true that mammals may have existed in earlier stages; but if they did, their remains before. have wholly perished, or not yet come to light.

What is

remark

It is very remarkable that not only the lowest of the four sub-kingdoms appears first, but able. that the first specimens of each of the subkingdoms have invariably been of the lowest order of the respective families.

example.

For example: in the Cambrian system Give an organic life is very rare, and confined to the lowest order of zoöphytes and mollusca, such as corallines and sea-worms.

with fish.

In the Devonian we find reptiles and fishes How was it introduced, but they are both of the lowest order. The reptiles are newts, and the fishes have their tails either pointed or in unequal lobes.