xviii PREFACE TO NEW EDITION 



by means of fifty-five plates and a hundred and thirteen figures in 

 the text. Mere descriptions without drawings would be of little 

 use for our present purpose. Perhaps some young people who 

 are fond of looking at living animals in the Zoological Gardens 

 or in picture-books, may care to look at some of our illustrations 

 of ancient monsters and compare them with the familiar living 

 types which have in the course of ages descended from them by 

 evolution. 



Many of the illustrations are due to the kind co-operation 

 of geologists and naturalists ; and for this kind help the writer 

 begs to tender his very sincere thanks. It has come in many 

 ways, and from many lands; but especially from the United 

 States and Eussia, while English geologists have ever been most 

 willing to offer help and advice. 



It may be convenient here to indicate briefly what is new 

 matter, and, at the same time, express our obligations to those 

 who have contributed new illustrations. 



In Chapter VII., dealing with that strange reptilian order 

 the Anomodonts, the reader will see some new photographs of 

 skulls and skeletons. These were very kindly sent by Professor 

 Amalitzky, of Warsaw. They show some of the wonderful 

 discoveries made by him in recent years. His workshop teems 

 with bones of the Pareiasaurus and other remarkable beasts of 

 Permian age discovered by him on the banks of the Northern 

 Dwina, near Archangel, and only extracted from the hard nodules 

 containing them with very great labour and patience. They 

 used to be broken up for mending the roads! In the same 

 geological period lived the strange reptile Naosaurus, seen in 

 Plate XIII., which is from a photograph sent by Professor 

 H. F. Osborn of the American Museum of Natural History. 



Passing on to the Dinosaurs, we must again offer our thanks 



