THE ANOMODONTS, OR MAMMAL-LIKE REPTILES 2619 



Oldest Types 



The Permian rocks of Europe yield remains of genera, such as Pro- 

 terosaurus and Pal&ohatteria , differing markedly from the foregoing, 

 and constituting a second suborder (Proterosauria), characterized by the complex 

 nature of the bones forming the shield on the lower surface of the body, by the fifth 

 metatarsal bone of the hind-foot being of an ordinary type, and likewise by the 

 lower bones of the pelvis being expanded into large flattened plates, instead of com- 

 paratively narrow. The last feature allies the group to the earlier Sauropterygians. 

 In the genus first named the vertebrae of the neck have cup-shaped articular sur- 

 faces behind and balls in front, and there are no intercentra between the vertebrae 

 of the back, but in the other the articular surfaces of the vertebrae are slightly 

 cupped at each end throughout the series, and intercentra are present. 



THE ANOMODONTS OR MAMMAL-LIKE REPTILES 

 Order ANOMODONTIA 



The last order of Reptiles, which is entirely extinct and confined to the 

 Triassic and Permian epochs, is of especial interest to the evolutionist as being 

 nearly allied to the ancestral stock from which Mammals have originated, and also 



THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PELVIS (A) AND SHOULDER GIRDLE (B) OF 



AN ANOMODONT. 



il. haunch bone or ilium; is. ischium; pb. pubis; of. foramen between ischium and 

 pubis; sc. blade bone or scapula; p.cor. coracoid; cor. metacoracoid; gl. cavity for head 

 of upper arm hone or humerus. 



equally closely related to certain extinct Amphibians noticed in the sequel, which 

 were themselves evidently not far removed from the type whence sprang both 

 Reptiles and Mammals. It should be observed, however, that these Anomodonts 



