24 



THE STORY OF THE EAETH AND MAN. 



water without, by pores or orifices through which, the 

 animal can extend soft and delicate prolongations of 

 its gelatinous body, which, when stretched out into 

 the water, serve for arms and legs. In modern times 



Fig. 7. Eozoon Canadense. Dawson. 



The oldest known animal. Portion of skeleton, two-thirds natural size, (a) 

 Tabulated cell-wall, magnified, (b) Portion of canal system, magnified. 



these creatures, though extremely abundant in the 

 ocean, are usually small, often microscopic ; but in a 

 fossil state there are others of somewhat larger size, 

 though few equalling the Eozoon, which seems to 

 been a sessile creature, resting on the bottom of 



