Chapter I: Preface

Questions as to the origin and history of life are not at the present time answered by mere philosophical speculation and poetical imagining. Such solutions of these questions as science can profess to have obtained are based on vast accumulations of facts respecting the remains of animals and plants preserved in the rocky beds of the earthaEuro(TM)s crust, which have been successively accumulated in the course of its long geological history. These facts undoubtedly afford the means of attaining to very certain conclusions on many points relating to the history of life on the earth. But, on the other hand, they have furnished the material for hypotheses which, though confidently affirmed to be indisputable, have no real foundation in nature, and are indirectly subversive of some of the most sacred beliefs of mankind.

In these circumstances it is most desirable that those who are not specialists in such matters should be in a position to judge for themselves; and it does not appear impossible in the actual state of knowledge, to present, in terms intelligible to the general reader, such a view of the ascertained sequence of the forms of life as may serve at once to give exalted and elevating views of the great plan of creation, and to prevent the deceptions of pseudo-scientists from doing their evil work. Difficulties, no doubt, attend the attempt. They arise from the number and variety of the facts, from the uncertainties attending many important points, from the new views constantly opening up in the progress of discovery, and from the difficulty of presenting in an intelligible form the preliminary data in biology and geology necessary for the understanding of the questions in hand. In order, as far as possible, to obviate these difficulties, the plan adopted in this work has been to note the first known appearance of each leading type of life, and to follow its progress down to the present time or until it became extinct. This method is at least natural and historical, and has commended itself to the writer as giving a very clear comprehension of the actual state of our knowledge, and as presenting some aspects of the subject which may be novel and suggestive even to those who have studied it most deeply.

In selecting examples and illustrations, the writer has endeavoured to avoid, as far as possible, those already familiar to the general reader. He has carefully sought for the latest facts, while rejecting as unproved many things that are confidently asserted; and has endeavoured to avoid all that is irrelevant to the subject in hand, and to abstain from all technical terms not absolutely essential. In a work at once so wide in its scope, so popular in its character, and so limited in its dimensions, a certain amount of hostile criticism on the part of specialists is to be expected, some portion of it perhaps just, other portions arising from narrow prejudices due to limited lines of study. The writer is willing to receive such comments with attention and gratitude, but he would deprecate the misuse of them in the interest of those coteries which are at present engaged in the effort to torture nature into a confession of belief in the doctrines of a materialistic or agnostic philosophy.

The title of the work was suggested by that of GaudryaEuro(TM)s recent attractive book, _Les EnchaA(R)nements du Monde animal_. It seemed well fitted to express the connection and succession of forms of life, without implying their derivation from one another, while it reminds us that nature is not a fortuitously tangled skein, and that the links which connect man himself with the lowest and oldest creatures bind him also to the throne of the Eternal.

In the few years that have elapsed since the publication of the first edition of this work, great additions have been made to our knowledge of fossil animals and plants. Many new species have been described, and many new facts have been discovered, respecting species previously known. This rapid progress of discovery has, however, invalidated few of the statements made in the first edition, and has certainly established nothing against the general laws of the succession of life as stated in this work.

Perhaps the most interesting phase of recent discovery is the tracing back of certain forms of life to earlier periods of the earthaEuro(TM)s geological history. Some of the most recent facts of this kind are the finding, by M. Charles Brongniart, of a fossil insect, allied to the _Blattae_ or cockroaches, in the Silurian of Spain, that of true Scorpions in the Upper Silurian of Sweden by LindstrAÂm, and in the Upper Silurian of Scotland by Peach, who has also described fossil Millipedes from the Lower Devonian. The tendency of such discoveries is to carry farther back the origin of highly specialised forms of life, and thus to render less probable their origin by any process of gradual derivation.

Other discoveries serve to fill up blanks in our knowledge, and thus to render the geological record less imperfect. Of this kind is the close approximation now worked out in Western America between the end of the reign of the great MesozoA-c reptiles and the beginning of that of the mammals of the TertiaryaEuro"a great and abrupt revolution, effected apparently by a _coup de main_. I have myself had opportunity to show that a similarly sharp line separates that quaint old MesozoA-c flora of pines, cycads and ferns, which extends upward into the Lower Cretaceous, from the rich and luxuriant assemblage of broad-leaved trees of modern aspect, which takes its place in the middle part of the same formation.

It is not too much to say that these and similar discoveries, while they serve to bridge over gaps in the succession of organic beings, do not favour the theory of slow modification of types. They rather point to a law of rapid development of new forms under special conditions as yet unknown to science, and this accompanied with the extinction of older species. Recent discoveries also present many remarkable instances of the early introduction of highly specialised types, of higher forms preceding those that are lower in the same class, and of the persistence of certain types throughout geological time without any important change.

J. W. D.
MCGILL COLLEGE.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

I. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS AS TO THE EXTENT AND
SOURCES OF OUR KNOWLEDGE 1

II. THE BEGINNING OF LIFE ON THE EARTH 21

III. THE AGE OF INVERTEBRATES OF THE SEA 45

IV. THE ORIGIN OF PLANT LIFE ON THE LAND 89

V. THE APPEARANCE OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS 117

VI. THE FIRST AIR-BREATHERS 137

VII. THE EMPIRE OF THE GREAT REPTILES 165

VIII. THE FIRST FORESTS OF MODERN TYPE 185

IX. THE REIGN OF MAMMALS 207

X. THE ADVENT OF MAN 233

XI. REVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF LIFE 253

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FRONTISPIECE.aEuro"Life in the Silurian Age _To face Title._

FIG. PAGE

1. Bank of stream or coast, showing stratification 4

2. Section at Niagara Falls 4

3. Section obtained by boring, near Goderich, Ontario 5

4. Inclined beds, holding fossil plants 6

5. Ideal section of the Apalachian Mountains 7

6. Generalised section across England from Menai Straits to
the Valley of the Thames 9

7. Generalised section from the Laurentian of Canada to the
coal-field of Michigan 9

8. Unconformable superposition of Devonian Conglomerate on
Silurian slates, at St. AbbaEuro(TM)s Head, Berwickshire 10

9. Section of Trenton limestone, Montreal 14

10. Diagram showing different state of fossilisation of a
cell of a Tabulate Coral 15

11. Cast of erect tree (_Sigillaria_) in Sandstone 16

12. _Protichnites septem-notatus_ 17

12_a_. Footprints of modern _Limulus_, or king-crab 18

13. Current markings on shale, resembling a fossil plant 18

_Frontispiece._ Magnified and restored section of a portion
of _Eozoon canadense_ 20

14. Ideal section, showing the relations of the Laurentian and
Huronian 24

15. Small weathered specimen of _Eozoon_ 28

16. Nature-printed specimen of _Eozoon_ slightly etched with acid 29

17. Magnified group of canals in supplemental skeleton of
_Eozoon_ 31

18. Portion of _Eozoon_ magnified 100 diameters 31

19. Magnified portion of shell of _Calcarina_ 32

20. _AmA"ba_, a fresh-water naked Rhizopod; and _Actinophrys_,
a fresh-water Protozoon 34

21. _Nonionina_, a modern marine Foraminifer 34

22. _Stromatopora concentrica_ 35

23. _Caunopora planulata_ 36

24. _ArchA|ocyathus minganensis_. A Primordial Protozoon 37

25. Receptaculites. Restored 38

26. Section of _Loftusia Persica_. An Eocene Foraminifer 39

27. Foraminiferal Rock Builders, in the Cretaceous and Eocene 41

_Frontispiece._ _Paradoxides Regina_ (Matthew) 44

28. Group of Cambrian Animals 46

29. Portion of skeleton of Hexactinellid Sponge (_CA"loptychium_) 49

30. _Protospongia fenestrata_ (Salter) 50

31. _Astylospongia prA|morsa_ (Roemer) 51

32. Spicules of Lithistid Sponge (_Trichospongia_, Billings) 51

33. _Oldhamia antiqua_ (Forbes) 52

34. _Dictyonema sociale._ Enlarged 52

35. _Dictyonema Websteri_ (Dn.) 53

36. Group of modern Hydroids allied to Graptolites 54

37. Silurian GraptolitidA| 55

38. Central portion of Graptolite, with membrane, or float
(_Dichograpsus octobrachiatus_, Hall) 55

39. _Ptilodictya acuta_ (Hall). Bryozoan 55

39_a_. _Fenestella Lyelli_ (Dn.). A Carboniferous Bryozoan 56

40. _Chaetetes fibrosa._ A Tabulate Coral with microscopic
cells 56

41. _a_, _Stenopora exilis_ (Dn.). _b_, _Chaetetes tumidus_
(Edwards and Haine) 57

42. Living Anthozoan Coral (_AstrA|a_) 58

43. Tabulate Corals (_Halisites_ and _Favosites_) 59

44. Rugose Coral (_Heliophyllum Halli_) 59

44_a_. _Zaphrentis prolifica_ (Billings) 60

45. Rugose Corals (_Zaphrentis Minas_, Dn., and _Cyathophyllum_
_Billingsi_, Dn.) 60

46. Modern Crinoid (_Rhizocrinus Lofotensis_) 61

47. _PalA|aster Niagarensis_ (Hall) 62

48. _PalA|chinus ellipticus_ (McCoy) 62

49. _Pleurocystites squamosus_ 63

50. _Heterocrinus simplex_ (Meek) 63

51. Body of _Glyptocrinus_ 63

52. _Extracrinus Briareus_ 64

53. _Pentacrinus caput-medusA|_ 64

54. _Lingula anatina_ 65

55. Cambrian and Silurian LingulA| 65

56. _Terebratula sacculus_ (Martin) 66

57. Brachiopods; genus _Orthis_ 66

58. _Rhynchonella increbrescens_ (Hall) 66

59. _Spirifer mucronatus_ (Conrad) 67

59_a_. _Athyris subtilita_ (Hall) 67

60. _Productus cora_ (DaEuro(TM)Orbigny) 68

61. Group of Older PalA|ozoic Lamellibranchs 69

62. _Conularia planicostata_ (Dn.). A Carboniferous Pteropod 70

63. Silurian Sea-snails 70

64. Squid (_Loligo_) 72

65. Pearly Nautilus (_Nautilus pompilius_) 72

66. _Orthoceras_ 73

67. _Gomphoceras_ 73

68. _Lituites_ 73

69. _Nautilus Avonensis_ (Dn.) 74

70. _Goniatites crenistria_ (Philips) 74

71. _Ceratites nodosus_ (Schloth) 75

72. _Ammonites Jason_ (Reinecke) 76

72_a_. Suture of _Ammonites componens_ (Meek) 76

73. Cretaceous AmmonitidA| 77

74. _Belemnite_ 78

74_a_. _Belemnoteuthis antiquus_ 78

75. Cambrian Trilobites 79

76. Transverse section of _Calymene_. A Silurian Trilobite 80

76_a_. Burrows of Trilobite and of modern King-crab 81

77. Silurian Trilobites 82

78. Devonian and Carboniferous Trilobites 83

79. PalA|ozoic Ostracod Crustaceans 83

80. _Pterygotus anglicus_ 84

81. _Amphipeltis paradoxus_ (Salter) 85

82. _AnthropalA|mon Hilliana_ (Dn.) 85

_Frontispiece._ _Cordaites_, of the group of _Dory-Cordaites_ 88

83. _Protannularia Harknessii_ (Nicholson) 91

84. American Lower Silurian Plants 92

86. Fragment of outer surface of _Glyptodendron_ of Claypole 93

87. _Psilophyton princeps_ (Dn.) 95

88. Trunk of a Devonian Tree-fern (_Caulopteris Lockwoodi_, Dn.) 97

89. Frond of _ArchA|opteris Jacksoni_ (Dn.) 98

90. Portion of a branch of _Leptophleum rhombicum_ (Dn.) 98

91. _Calamites radiatus_ (Brongniart) 99

92. A Devonian Taxine Conifer (_Dadoxylon ouangondianum_, Dn.) 100

93. Group of Devonian fruits, &c. 101

94. Structures of the oldest-known Angiospermous Exogen
(_Syringoxylon mirabile_, Dn.) 102

95. _Asterophyllites parvula_ (Dn.) and _Sphenophyllum
antiquum_ (Dn.) 103

96. _Calamites_ 104

97. Carboniferous Ferns 105

98. Carboniferous Tree-ferns 107

99. _Lepidodendron corrugatum_ (Dn.) 108

100. _SigillariA|_ of the Carboniferous 109

101. _Trigonocarpum Hookeri_ (Dn.) 111

_Frontispiece._ Pteraspis. Restored 116

102. Siluro-Cambrian Conodonts 118

103. Lower Carboniferous Conodont 119

104. _a_, Head-shield of an Upper Silurian Fish (_Cyathaspis_);
_b_, Spine of a Silurian Shark (_Onchus tenui-striatus_,
Agass.); _c_, _d_, Scales of _Thecodus_ 121

105. _Cephalaspis Dawsoni_ (Lankester) 122

106. Devonian Placoganoid Fishes (_Pterichthys cornutus_,
_Cephalaspis Lyelli_) 123

107. Devonian Lepidoganoid Fishes (_Diplacanthus_ and
_Osteolepis_) 124

108. Modern Dipnoi (_Ceratodus Fosteri_ and _Lepidosiren
annectus_) 124

109. Anterior part of the palate of _Dipterus_ 125

110. Dental plate of _Conchodus plicatus_ (Dn.) 126

111. Dental plate of _Ceratodus Barrandii_ 126

112. Dental plate of _Ceratodus serratus_ 127

113. Jaws of _Dinichthys Hertzeri_ (Newberry) 127

114. Lower Jaw of _Dinichthys Hertzeri_ 128

115. Jaws of _Lepidosiren_ 128

116. A small Carboniferous Ganoid (_PalA|oniscus_
(_Rhadinichthys_) _Modulus_, Dn.) 129

117. Teeth and Spines of Carboniferous Sharks 130

118. Teeth of Cretaceous Sharks (_Otodus_ and _Ptychodus_) 131

119. Tooth of a Tertiary Shark (_Carcharodon_) 132

120. A Liassic Ganoid (_Dapedius_) 132

121. Cretaceous Fishes of the modern or Teleostian type
(_Beryx Lewesiensis_ and _Portheus molossus_, Cope) 133

122. Modern Ganoids (_Polypterus_ and _Lepidosteus_) 134

_Frontispiece._ A Microsaurian of the Carboniferous Period
(_Hylonomus Lyelli_) 136

123. Wings of Devonian Insects 140

124. Land-snail (_Pupa vetusta_, Dn.) 143

125. Land-snail (_Zonites_ (_Conulus_) _priscus_, Carpenter) 143

126. Millipedes (_Xylobius sigillariA|_, Dn.; _Archiulus
Xylobioides_, Scudder; _X. farctus_, Scudder) 145

127. Wings of Cockroaches 146

128. Wing of May-fly (_Haplophlebium Barnesii_, Scudder) 147

129. A Jurassic Sphinx-moth (_Sphinx Snelleri_, Weyenburgh) 148

130. An Eocene Butterfly (_Prodryas persephone_, Scudder) 149

131. Abdominal part of a Carboniferous Scorpion 150

132. Carboniferous Scorpion (_Eoscorpius carbonarius_,
Meek and Worthen) 151

133. Footprints of one of the oldest known Batrachians,
probably a species of _Dendrerpeton_ 152

134. _Archegosaurus Decheni_ 154

135. _Ptyonius_ 154

136. A large Carboniferous Labyrinthodont (_Baphetes
planiceps_, Owen) 155

137. _Baphetes planiceps_ (Owen) 156

138. A lizard-like Amphibian (_Hylonomus aciedentatus_) 157

139. _Stelliosaurus longicostatus_ (Fritsch) 158

140. Section showing the position of an erect _Sigillaria_,
containing remains of land animals 160

140_a_. Section of base of erect _Sigillaria_, containing
remains of land animals 161

_Frontispiece._ Inhabitants of the English Seas in the Age of
Reptiles 164

141. Arm of _Proterosaurus Speneri_ 166

142. Skeleton of _Ichthyosaurus_ 167

142_a_. Head of _Pliosaurus_ 168

142_b_. Paddle of _Plesiosaurus Oxoniensis_ 168

143. Skeleton of _Clidastes_ 170

144. An Anomodont Reptile of the Trias (_Dicynodon
lacerticeps_, Owen) 170

145. A Theriodont Reptile of the Trias (_Lycosaurus_) 170

146. Skeleton of _Pterodochylus crassirostris_ 170

147. Restoration of _Rhamphorhyncus Bucklandi_ 171

148. A Jurassic bird (_ArchA|opteryx macroura_) 172

149. Jaw of a Cretaceous Toothed Bird (_Ichthyornis dispar_) 173

150. Jaw of _Bathygnathus borealis_ (Leidy) 174

151. _Hadrosaurus Foulkii_ (Cope) 175

152. Jaws of _Megalosaurus_ 176

153. Tooth of _Megalosaurus_ 177

154. _Compsognathus_ 179

_Frontispiece._ Lower Cretaceous Leaves 184

155. _Sassafras cretaceum_ (Newberry) 190

156. _Liriodendron primA|vum_ (Newberry) 191

157. _Onoclea sensibilis_ 191

158. _Davallia tenuifolia_ 192

159. Eocene Leaves 194

160. An Ancient Clover (_Trifolium palA|ogA|um_, Saporta) 195

161. An Eocene Maple (_Acer sextianus_, Saporta) 195

162. A European _Magnolia_ of the Eocene (_M. dianA|_, Saporta) 195

163. Flower and Leaf of _Bombax sepultiflorum_ 196

164. Branch and Fruit of _Sequoia CouttsiA|_ (Heer) 197

165. _Cinnamomum Scheuchzeri_ (Heer) 198

_Frontispiece._ _Sivatherium giganteum_ 206

166. Jaw of _Dromatherium sylvestre_ (Emmons) 209

167. _Myrmecobius fasciatus_ 209

168. Jaw and Molar of _Phascolotherium Bucklandi_ 210

169. Jaw and Pre-molar of _Plagiaulax Becklesii_ 210

170. Restoration of _PalA|otherium magnum_ 211

171. Skull of a Lower Eocene Perissodactyl (_Coryphodon
Hamatus_) 214

172. Fore-foot of _Coryphodon_ 215

173. Skull of Upper Eocene Perissodactyl (_Dinoceras
mirabilis_) 216

174. Fore-foot of _Dinoceras_ 217

175. Skull of Miocene Perissodactyl (_Brontotherium ingens_,
Marsh) 217

176. Series of Equine feet 218

177. Skull of generalised Miocene Ruminant (_Oreodon major_) 221

178. Lower Jaw of _Megatherium_ 222

179. Ungual Phalanx and Claw-core of _Megatherium_ 222

180. Tooth of Eocene Whale (_Zeuglodon cetioides_) 223

181. _Mastodon ohioticus_ 225

182. Head of _Dinotherium giganteum_ 226

183. Wing of Eocene Bat (_Vespertilio aquensis_) 226

184. Skull of a Cymetar-toothed Tiger (_Machairodus
cultridens_) 228

185. Lower Jaw of _Dryopithecus Fontani_ 229

_Frontispiece._ Contemporaries of Post-Glacial Man 232

186. _Elephas primigenius_ 241

187. Tooth of _Elasmotherium_ 242

188. Engis Skull 243

189. Outlines of Three Prehistoric European Skulls compared
with an American Skull 244

190. Flint Implement found in KentaEuro(TM)s Cavern, Torquay 245

191. Bone Harpoon (PalA|ocosmic) 246

192. Sketch of a Mammoth carved on a portion of a Tusk of the
same Animal 249

Tabular View of Geological Periods and of Life-Epochs.

+--------------------------------------+---------------+--------------+ | GEOLOGICAL PERIODS. | ANIMAL LIFE. | VEGETABLE | | | | LIFE. | +--------------------------------------+---------------+--------------+ | | | | |C {_Post- {Modern. | Age of _Man_ | | |A N {Tertiary_ or {Post-Glacial. | and _modern | | |I E {_Quaternary_. | Mammals_. | Age of | |N o O { | | _Angiosperms_| |O r Z {_Tertiary_ {Pleistocene or |Age of _Extinct| and _Palms_. | |Z O { {Glacial. | Mammals_. | | |O I { {Pliocene. | (Earliest | | |I C.{ {Miocene. | Placental | | |C { {Eocene. | Mammals.) | | | | | | | ----------------------------+---------------+--------------+ | | | | | { {Upper, | | | | M {_Cretaceous_ {Lower, or | | | | E { {Neocomian. | | | | S { | Age of | | | O {_Jurassic_ {Oolite. | _Reptiles_ and| (Earliest | | Z { {Lias. | _Birds_. |Modern Trees.)| | O { | | Age of | | I { | | _Cycads_ and | | C. { {Upper, | (Earliest | _Pines_. | | { {Middle, or | Marsupial | | | {_Triassic_ {Muschelkalk. | Mammals.) | | | { {Lower | | | | | | | | --------------------------------+---------------+--------------+ | | | | | {Upper, | | | | {_Permian_ {Middle, or | | | | { {Magnesian | (Earliest | | | { { Limestone. | true | | | { {Lower. | Reptiles.) | | | { | | | | { {Upper | | | | { { Coal-Formation.| | | | {_Carbon- {Coal-Formation | | | | { iferous_ {Carboniferous | | | | { { Limestone. | | | | { {Lower | | | | P { { Coal-Formation.| | | | A { | | | | L { {Upper. | Age of | Age of | | Ać {_Devonian_ {Middle. | _Amphibians_ |_Acrogens_ and| | O { {Lower. | and _Fishes_.|_Gymnosperms_.| | Z { | | (Earliest | | O {_Silurian_ {Upper. | |Land Plants.) | | I { {Lower. | | Age of | | C. { | | _AlgA|_. | | {_Siluro-Cam- | Age of | | | { brian_ or {Upper. | _Mollusks_, | | | {_Ordovician_ {Lower. | _Corals_, and | | | { | _Crustaceans_.| | | { {Upper. | | | | {_Cambrian_ {Middle. | | | | {Lower | | | | | | | | --------------------------------+---------------+--------------+ | | | | | {_Huronian_ {Upper. | | | | { {Lower. | | | | E { | Age of | | | O { | _Protozoa_. | Indications | | Z { | (First animal | Plants | | O { {Upper. | remains.) | not | | I {_Laurentian_ {Middle, | |determinable. | | C. {Lower, or | | | | {Bojian. | | | | | | | +--------------------------------------+---------------+--------------+

THE CHAIN OF LIFE.