CHAPTER VII 



ANOMALOUS KEPTILES 



" In the endeavour to complete the Natural History of any class of animals, 

 the mind seeks to penetrate the mystery of its origin, and, by tracing its 

 mutations in time past, to comprehend more clearly its actual condition, and 

 gain an insight into its probable destiny in time to come." SIB R. OWEN. 



HAVING, in our previous chapter, discussed the Labyrinthodonts, 

 we now pass on to consider some of their descendants in the 

 shape of a very peculiar group of reptiles hailing from South 

 Africa and elsewhere. Perhaps the chief peculiarity, among 

 many others, presented by these very antique and old-fashioned 

 inhabitants of the world, is to be found in their teeth. In fact, 

 so irregular and anomalous are they in regard to these organs, 

 and so at variance with all our preconceived ideas with regard 

 to what proper, well-behaved reptiles, whether living or extinct, 

 ought to be like, that their vagaries in this respect have led 

 to their being christened by the name of Anomodonts, or 

 " anomalously toothed " reptiles. 1 Needless to say, they occupy 

 a distinct order, with several sub-orders, in the classifications 

 adopted by palaeontologists. They are also by some authorities 

 named Theromorphs and Theriodonts. The moral of all this is, 

 as we shall better understand later on, that it would be well for 

 students of extinct forms of life to enter this domain of Science 

 without any preconceived ideas at all ! It would save a great 



1 Greek anomos, without law ; odous, odontos, tooth. 



