The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 70, August, 1863: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and PoliticsVarious
History
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 70, August, 1863: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
American periodicals
It is true that the bones of the Triassic Reptiles are scattered and
disconnected; no complete skeleton has yet been discovered, nor has any
foot been found; so that no direct comparison can be made with the
steps. It is, however, my belief, from all we know of the character of
the Animal Kingdom in those days, that these animals were reptilian, but
combined, like so many of the early types, characters of their own class
with those of higher animals yet to come. It seems to me probable, that,
in those tracks where one toe is turned backward, the impression is made
not by a toe, but by a heel, or by a long sole projecting backward; for
it is not pointed, like those of the front toes, but is blunt. It is
true that there is a division of joints in the toes, which seems in
favor of the idea that they were those of Birds; for when the three toes
are turned forward, there are two joints on the inner one, three on the
middle, and four on the outer one, as in Birds. But this feature is not
peculiar to Birds; it is found in Turtles also. The correspondence of
these footprints with each other leaves no doubt that they were all by
one kind of animal; for both the bipedal and the quadrupedal tracks have
the same character. The only quadrupedal animals now known to us which
walk on two legs are the Kangaroos. They raise themselves on their hind
legs, using the front ones to bring their food to their mouth. They leap
with the hind legs, sometimes bringing down their front feet to steady
themselves after the spring, and making use also of their tails, to
balance the body after leaping. In these tracks we find traces of a tail
between the feet. I do not bring this forward as any evidence that these
animals were allied to Kangaroos, since I believe that nothing is more
injurious in science than assumptions which do not rest on a broad basis
of facts; but I wish only to show that these tracks recall other animals
besides Birds, with which they have been universally associated. And
seeing, as we do, that so many of the early types prophesy future forms,
it seems not improbable that they may have belonged to animals which
combined with reptilian characters some birdlike features, and also some
features of the earliest and lowest group of Mammalia, the Marsupials.
To sum up my opinion respecting these footmarks, I believe that they
were made by animals of a prophetic type, belonging to the class of
Reptiles, and exhibiting many synthetic characters.
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