120 ANIMALS OF THE PAST 
buried in the sandy shoals of an ancient river, 
is brought to light once more to help tell the 
tale of the creatures of the past. 
One bone might convey a great deal of in- 
formation ; on the other hand it might reveal 
very little; for, while it is very painful to say 
so, the popular impression that it is possible to 
reconstruct an animal from a single bone, or 
tell its size and habits from a tooth is but 
partially correct, and sometimes “ the eminent 
scientist ” has come to grief even with a great 
many bones at his disposal. Did not one of 
the ablest anatomists describe and figure the 
hip-bones of a Dinosaur as its shoulder-blade, 
and another, equally able, reconstruct a reptile 
“hind side before,” placing the head on the 
tail! This certainly sounds absurd enough; 
but just as absurd mistakes are made by men 
in other walks of life, often with far more de- 
plorable results. 
Before passing to the restoration of the ex- 
terior of animals it may be well to say some- 
thing of the manner in which the skeleton of 
an extinct animal may be reconstructed and 
the meaning of its various parts interpreted. 
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