BRITISH REPTILES 
jaws with teeth, and bat-like wings. Some forms of 
these extinct flying reptiles, however, were toothless in 
the same way as our present-day birds. The largest 
of the Pterodactyls, as these flying reptiles are called, had 
a wing-stretch of at least twenty feet, so that its presence 
in the air in those far-off times may be compared for 
breadth with a modern aeroplane scudding through 
space. It should be stated here that these flying reptiles 
of the bygone (their remains occur in jurassic and 
cretaceous rocks), were not the ancestors of our birds. 
They belonged to a group of reptiles now extinct, but 
nevertheless scientists are agreed that the ancestor of 
our birds was a reptile, and the first bird of which we have 
any evidence is known as the Archaeopteryx which means 
“ancient bird.” It was about the size of a Rook, and 
the jaws contained sharp teeth. 
Geology teaches us that at one long period in Earth’s 
history all the largest animals then dominant were 
reptiles, and these were divided into those which were 
“huge dragons of the land, big bird-like reptiles in the 
air, and fish-like creatures in the sea.’’* At least four 
hundred fossil reptiles have been found in the British 
area, including those of some existing forms. But we 
must not be tempted to pursue this fascinating topic in 
this volume, its mention here being made so as to prompt 
the young student to prosecute enquiry on his own 
account, and to show what an important position these 
* See “‘ Every Boy’s Book of Geology’ (R.T.S.). By Trueman 
and Westell. 
4 
