EDWARD COPE 89 



and draws the fore closer to the hind limb ; it 

 follows from this that the Mammals become fit to 

 hold themselves erect on the ground, while Reptiles 

 crawl on their bellies. 



Finally, as regards the lower arc of the pelvis, 

 the Mammals have another advantage in the 

 strong bony median symphysis uniting the ischion 

 and the pubis. This characteristic, general in all 

 the Vertebrates of the Permian age, has been lost 

 by modern Reptiles and Birds, and re-acquired by 

 the Mammals. The line of evolution, except for 

 these last, is, therefore, retrograde in both direc- 

 tions as regards the pelvis. 



We shall here close these examinations of the 

 work of Cope, which will suffice to bring to light the 

 really marvellous ingenuity of his theoretical views, 

 together with his profound knowledge of the com- 

 parative anatomy of the existing Vertebrates, joined 

 to a very personal palaeontological science applied 

 to all groups, from the Fishes up to the Mammals. 

 These brilliant and solid qualities give to the work 

 of the American scholar a special place and an in- 

 contestable superiority over all attempts hitherto 

 made to grasp the difficult problem of the palseonto- 

 logical evolution of the Vertebrates. 



