The Coming of Vertebrates and Rise of Fishes 



general form of recent fishes very closely, and 

 among these one in particular {Ccelacanthus) 

 might at first sight pass for a modern dace. 

 But closer inspection shows that it has no real 

 tail-fin, that the other fins are wholly unlike 

 those of any bony fish, and that, in spite of its 



Undina, a crossopterygian fish. (After A. S. Woodward.) 



up-to-date appearance, it is really built on the 

 same ancient plan as the one ( Undina) shown 

 in the figure. 



In the Devonian rocks, too, are found the 

 ancestors many times removed of the sturgeons 

 and the mail-clad garpikes. Mail, in fact, was 

 as popular in those days as it was in Europe 

 during the middle ages. The era of intelli- 

 gence had not yet dawned, the higher instincts 



103 



