188 The Palaeontological Record. I. Animals 



we can possibly learn through experiments with living organisms 1 ." 

 This, however, was rather the expression of a hope for the distant 

 future than an account of what was attainable, and in practice the 

 science remained almost purely descriptive, until Darwin gave it a 

 new standpoint, new problems and an altogether fresh interest and 

 charm. The revolution thus accomplished is comparable only to that 

 produced by the Copernican astronomy. 



From the first it was obvious that one of the most searching 

 tests of the evolutionary theory would be given by the advance of 

 palaeontological discovery. However imperfect the geological record 

 might be, its ascertained facts would necessarily be consistent, under 

 any reasonable interpretation, with the demands of a true theory; 

 otherwise the theory would eventually be overwhelmed by the mass 

 of irreconcilable data. A very great stimulus was thus given to 

 geological investigation and to the exploration of new lands. In the 

 last forty years, the examination of North and South America, of 

 Africa and Asia has brought to light many chapters in the history 

 of life, which are astonishingly full and complete. The flood of new 

 material continues to accumulate at such a rate that it is impossible 

 to keep abreast of it, and the very wealth of the collections is a source 

 of difficulty and embarrassment. In modern palaeontology phylo- 

 genetic questions and problems occupy a foremost place and, as a 

 result of the labours of many eminent investigators in many lands, 

 it may be said that this science has proved to be one of the most 

 solid supports of Darwin's theory. True, there are very many un- 

 solved problems, and the discouraged worker is often tempted to 

 believe that the fossils raise more questions than they answer. Yet, 

 on the other hand, the whole trend of the evidence is so strongly in 

 favour of the evolutionary doctrine, that no other interpretation 

 seems at all rational. 



To present any adequate account of the palaeontological record 

 from the evolutionary standpoint, would require a large volume and 

 a singularly unequal, broken and disjointed history it would be. 

 Here the record is scanty, interrupted, even unintelligible, while 

 there it is crowded with embarrassing wealth of material, but too 

 often these full chapters are separated by such stretches of unrecorded 

 time, that it is difficult to connect them. It will be more profitable 

 to present a few illustrative examples than to attempt an outline of 

 the whole history. 



At the outset, the reader should be cautioned not to expect too 

 much, for the task of determining phylogenies fairly bristles with 

 difficulties and encounters many unanswered questions. Even when 

 the evidence seems to be as copious and as complete as could be 



1 Zittel, op. cit. p. 140. 



