78 ANIMALS OF THE PAST 
a kite; and because of this long, lizard-like tail — 
this bird and his immediate kith and kin are ~ 
placed in a group dubbed Saurure, or lizard — 
tailed. | 
Because impressions of feathers are not found — 
all around these specimens some have thought — 
that they were confined to certain portions of © 
the body — the wings, tail, and thighs — the 
other parts being naked. ‘There seems, how- — 
ever, no good reason to suppose that such was — 
the case, for it is extremely improbable that ; 
such perfect and important feathers as those of 
the wings and tail should alone have been de- — 
veloped, while there are many reasons why the 
feathers of the body might have been lost be- — 
fore the bird was covered by mud, or why their — | 
impressions do not show. 2 
_ It was a considerable time after the finding 
of the first specimen that the presence of teeth 
in the jaws was discovered, partly because the — 
British Museum specimen was imperfect,” and ~ 
partly because no one suspected that birds had — 
ever possessed teeth, and so no one ever looked 
* The skull was lacking, and a part,.of the upper jaw lying — 
to one side was thought to belong to a fish. 7 
