INTRODUCTION 



Before commencing an examination of the array of 

 scaled and plated forms described in text and picture 

 in the pages that follow, it may be well to say a few 

 words by way of concise introduction. 



Compared with the ages that are gone the reptile 

 life upon our globe has decreased, in the dimensions and 

 bulk of its representatives, to mere parasitic proportions. 

 There was a time when a bird's-eye view of the earth's 

 surface would have revealed varied, monstrous forms 

 lumbering here and there, reveling in an atmosphere 

 reeking with humidity; some browsing in giraffe-like 

 fashion among high branches, others churning through 

 the sea in pursuit of their prey ; even in the murky atmos- 

 phere itself cold-blooded creatures flapped their way 

 like gigantic bats in search of equally gigantic insects. 

 At the present day a comprehensive view of the globe's 

 surface would show no trace of reptile lif e. We might 

 make clear by an illustration the size of reptiles of the 

 past as compared with those of the present. The gaudy 

 butterflies, the clumsy June "bugs," and "darning- 

 needles" are forms apparent to the eyes of a man in a 

 walking posture. Suppose they were all extinct; the 

 tiny ants, the microscopic beetles, and the gnats forming 

 the major part of our insect life would be insignificant 

 and unseen ; their presence would be apparent only to the 

 interested observer crouching to look for them. And we 

 can well compare the reptiles of the present with the 

 legions of tiny insects, after we have examined the rock- 



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VII 



