In the first place, the great majority of fossil animals and plants are "extinct"--that is to say, they belong to species which are no longer in existence at the present day. So far, however, from there being any truth in the old view that there were periodic destructions of all the living beings in existence upon the earth, followed by a corresponding number of new creations of animals and plants, the actual facts of the case show that the extinction of old forms and the introduction of new forms have been processes constantly going on throughout the whole of geological time. Every species seems to come into being at a certain definite point of time, and to finally disappear at another definite point; though there are few instances indeed, if there are any, in which our present knowledge would permit us safely to fix with precision the times of entrance and exit. There are, moreover, marked differences in the actual time during which different species remained in existence, and therefore corresponding differences in their "vertical range," or, in other words, in the actual amount and thickness of strata through which they present themselves as fossils. Some species are found to range through two or even three formations, and a few have an even more extended life. More commonly the species which begin in the commencement of a great formation die out at or before its close, whilst those which are introduced for the first time near the middle or end of the formation may either become extinct, or may pass on into the next succeeding formation. As a general rule, it is the animals which have the lowest and simplest organisation that have the longest range in time, and the additional possession of microscopic or minute dimensions seems also to favour longevity. Thus some of the _Foraminifera_ appear to have survived, with little or no perceptible alteration, from the Silurian period to the present day; whereas large and highly-organised animals, though long-lived as _individuals_, rarely seem to live long _specifically_, and have, therefore, usually a restricted vertical range. Exceptions to this, however, are occasionally to be found in some "persistent types," which extend through a succession of geological periods with very little modification. Thus the existing Lampshells of the genus _Lingula_ are little changed from the _Linguloe_ which swarmed in the Lower Silurian seas; and the existing Pearly Nautilus is the last descendant of a clan nearly as ancient. On the other hand, some forms are singularly restricted in their limits, and seem to have enjoyed a comparatively brief lease of life. An example of this is to be found in many of the _Ammonites_--close allies of the Nautilus--which are often confined strictly to certain zones of strata, in some cases of very insignificant thickness.