The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 10 (of 10)Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Science
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 10 (of 10)
Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Animals; Mammals
The first was largely ineffective, the second has produced all the
Eutherian orders of to-day. These two divisions are termed by him
"Mesoplacentalia" and "Cenoplacentalia." The first division embraces the
Amblypoda and their descendants the Coryphodonts and Dinocerata, many of
the Condylarthra, the bulk of the Creodonts and the Tillodonts. These
creatures persisted for a time, but died out in the Miocene. They were
mainly distinguished by the smallness of their brain; the great
specialisation of structure which they exhibit having left that organ
unaffected, and therefore tending in the long run to render them unable to
cope with changes in the inorganic and organic world. The successful
division of the primitive Eutheria comprises the groups which exist at the
present day, and is not connected directly with those small-brained
Mesoplacentals; it has apparently originated, however, from the least
specialised of their ancestors. Professor Osborn thinks, moreover, that the
Lemurs and the Insectivores are persistent descendants of the earlier wave
of Eutherian life. It appears in fact as if Nature had created the existing
Ungulate, Unguiculate, and other types on a defective plan, and, instead of
mending them to suit more modern requirements, had evolved an entirely new
set of similarly-organised types from some of the more ancient and plastic
forms remaining over. The Marsupials may be the only group of the early
wave remaining, and they have been able to hold their own for the
geological reason that Australia was early cut off from communication with
the rest of the world. That they are disappearing seems to be shown by
their gradual diminution as we pass from Australia towards the continent of
Asia, through the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Competition has here
decimated them, as it may do in the remote future in Australia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account