Animals Before Man 



better fitted to tlie changed and changing 

 conditions. And as mere size is no indication 

 of rank — for if it were, man would not stand 

 where he considers he does, at the head of all 

 living creatures — so many of the smaller ani- 

 mals are an advance on the larger species that 

 dropped out of the race. And here it may be 

 remarked that, while the early history of in- 

 sects is but imperfectly known, in the Carbonif- 

 erous not only were they present in numbers, 

 but that some were by far the largest of the 

 class. I^owadays bats and birds are the only 

 flying animals with a spread of wing of two 

 feet or more, but some of the Carboniferous in- 

 sects measure two feet across their wings, or 

 nearly twice as much as any living insect. 



And though by the time the Devonian pe- 

 riod was reached vertebrates had developed to 

 such an extent that this is known as the age of 

 fishes, yet throughout that and the succeeding 

 period invertebrates played a most important 

 role. The Carboniferous may perhaps be styled 

 the golden age of crinoids, or sea-lilies, for then 

 these beautiful forms flourished, and were the 

 " 78 



