148 THE STO.RY OF THE EARTH AND MAN. 



tending towards the smaller lizards of the modern 

 world. At the top of these I may place the genus 

 Hylonomus from hollow fossil trees of Nova Scotia, 

 of which two species are represented as restored in 

 our illustration. In these restorations I have adhered 

 as faithfully as possible to the proportions of parts as 

 seen in my specimens. Imagine a little animal six 

 or seven inches long, with small short head, not so 

 flat as those of most lizards, but with a raised fore- 

 head, giving it an aspect of some intelligence. Its 

 general form is that of a lizard, but with the hind 

 feet somewhat large, to aid it in leaping and standing 

 erect, and long and flexible toes. Its belly is covered 

 with bony scales, its sides with bright and probably 

 coloured scale armour of horny consistency, and its 

 neck and back adorned with horny crests, tubercles, 

 and pendants. It runs, leaps, and glides through the 

 herbage of the coal forests, intent on the pursuit of 

 snails and insects, its eye glancing and its bright 

 scales shining in the sun. This is . a picture of the 

 best known species of Hylonomus drawn from the 

 life. Yet the anatomist, when he examines the im- 

 perfectly-ossified joints of its backbone, and the 

 double joint at the back of its skull, will tell you 

 that it is after all little better than a mere newt, an 

 ass in a lion's skin, a jackdaw with borrowed feathers, 

 and that it has no right to have fine scales, or to 

 be able to run on the land. It may be so; but I may 

 plead in its behalf, that in the old coal times, when 

 reptiles with properly-made skeletons had not been 



