THE DRAGONS OF OLD TIAfE— DINOSAURS. 65 



been using, viz. Dinosauria/ and this name has been generally 

 retained. We are thus led to connect them with Hzards and 

 crocodiles, rather than with birds or quadrupeds. The strange 

 and curiously mixed characters of the old-fashioned reptiles is 

 forcibly illustrated by these differences of opinion among leading 

 naturalists. Professor Seeley, another living authority, refuses 

 to consider them as reptiles, at least in the ordinary sense of the 

 word. 



Extinct forms of life are often so very different to the creatures 

 inhabiting the world of to-day, that naturalists find it a hard task 

 to assign them their places in the animal kingdom. The classes, 

 orders, and families under which living forms are grouped are 

 often found inadequate for the purpose, so much so that new 

 orders and new families require to be made for them ; and then 

 it is often quite impossible to determine the relations of these 

 new groups to the old ones we are accustomed to. Dinosaurs 

 offer a good example of this difficulty. Were they related to 

 ancient crocodiles ? No one can say for certain ; but it is quite 

 possible, and even probable. Again, did certain long-legged 

 Dinosaurs eventually give rise by evolution to the running birds, 

 ostriches, emeus, etc. ? This, although supported by weighty 

 authority, is a matter of speculation : we ought to be very careful 

 in accepting such conclusions. It may perhaps be safer to look 

 upon the ancestry of birds as one of those problems on which 

 the oracle of science cannot at present declare itself. 



Various attempts have been made to classify Dinosaurs, and 

 arrange them in family groups ; but, considering our imperfect 

 knowledge, it will be wise to regard all such attempts as purely 

 temporary and provisional, although in some ways convenient. 

 Professor Marsh, of Yale College, U.S., whose wonderful discoveries 

 in the far West have attracted universal attention, has grouped 

 the Dinosaurs into five sub-orders. It will, however, be sufficient 

 for our purpose if we follow certain English authorities who 

 ' Greek — deivos, terrible ; saitros, lizard. 



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