THE GREATEST FLYING CREATURE. 659 



As ())')ufJtost(nii(i was capahlo of long' siistaiiu'cl Hio-lit. and as its l)oues 

 arc found under conditions indicating that it went far out to sea, it is not 

 improl>able that it fed largely or entirely on tisii. That the}' formed a 

 part of its diet is certain, for tish ]K)nes and scales are found with the 

 remains of pterodactyls, and it is easy to imagine this great rej)tile 

 gliding over the sea, with outspread wings, snatching up tish right and 

 left with its long beak as easily as a nuiseum assistant picks them out 

 of a jar of alcohol with a pair of forceps. The 1)1 rd in the foreground 

 is represented in our illustration as just turning to its right, the left 

 wing being advanced and raised to cause the turn. 



AVith its small l)ody and enormous wings ( h-nithoxtoina may be 

 looked upon as the king of flying creatures, and as more highh' spe- 

 cialized than any flying animal before or since his time. 



Finally, it is an interesting question as to whether or not the con 

 dor, the albatross, and the pterodactyl mark the limit of size attain- 

 able by fl^ang creatures — are the mechanical difficulties in the Avay of 

 using wings so great that evolution stops at a weight of HO pounds and 

 a spread of wing of 20 feet? Wovdd animals above that size ha\'e 

 trouble in manipulating their wMngs and be unabh^ to compete with 

 smaller and more active forms, or is it that the exigencies of life have 

 ne\'er called for the development of a larger creature? 



These are queries that may not be settled offhand, and it may oidy 

 he said that the vast majority of birds are small and agile, and that, 

 although birds and pterodactyls flew side by side over the C'retaceous 

 seas and shores, the birds never reached the size of theii- reptilian 

 associates, and, so far as we know, these mark the limit of size among 

 livini'- animals. 



