Great Salamanders and their Associates 



How is it possible to tell anything of the qual- 

 ity of a brain whose owner existed several 

 million years ago ? But, as we all know, the 

 quality of a brain depends on the extent of 

 the gray portion, and this in turn is related to 

 the convolutions or infoldings of the outer 

 surface. These convolutions are impressed on 

 the inner surface of the skull, and where the 

 cranium of an animal has been preserved in 

 good shape, it is possible to cut away a por- 

 tion, remove the stone filling the cavity once 

 occupied by the brain, and then make a cast 

 that ^vill show the proportions of the brain 

 and the shape and extent of the principal con- 

 volutions. But to return to the physical char- 

 acters of the anomodonts. It may be said 

 that while many were large others were small, 

 and Professor Cope gives their range of size as 

 from that of a rat up to the bulk of a lion ; 

 besides, we must always remember that the 

 larger the animal and the more solid its bones, 

 the greater not only were the chances of jDreser- 

 vation, but of being eventually discovered. This 

 loss of small animals gives an undue emphasis 



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