CLASSIFICATION OP VERTEBRATES. 97 



nervous and blood-vessel systems. As we have already 

 seen, this process of articulation, or metameric formation, 

 must essentially be regarded as terminal germination. 

 Each distinct trunk-segment, or metameron, represents an 

 individual. Thus the Vertebrates with their internal 

 segmentation stand in a similar relation to their inarticulate 

 Invertebrate ancestors, the Chorda Animals, as do the out- 

 wardly segmented Ringed Worms (Annelida) and Articu- 

 lated Animals (Arthropoda) to the simple inarticulate 

 Worms from which they originated. 



The tribal history of Vertebrates is rendered much more 

 intelligible by the natural classification of the tribe which 

 I proposed first in my Generelle Morphologic (1866), and 

 afterwards improved in many ways in " The Natural History 

 of Creation" (Chap. XX., p. 192, etc.). In accordance with 

 that, existing Vertebrates must be divided into at least 

 eight classes, as follows : 



SYSTEMATIC SURVEY OF THE EIGHT CLASSES OF 

 VERTEBRATES. 



A. Skull-less (Acrania) 1. Tube-hearted 1. Leptocardia 



/ a. Single-nostrilled (Jfonorhina) 2. Round-mouths 2. Cyclostoma 



B. Skulled ) ft _ Donble-nostrlUcd 



Craniota 



Amphirhina 



I. (3. Fishes 3. Pisces 



Amnion-less ] 4. Mud-fishes 4. Dipneusta 



Ananmia 1 5. Amphibians 5. Amphibia 



II. /6. Reptiles 6. Reptilia 



With Amnion { 7. Birds 7. Aves 



Amniota ( 8. Mammals 8. Mammalia 



The whole Vertebrate tribe may primarily be divided 

 into the two main sections of the Skull-less and the 

 Skulled Vertebrates. Of the earlier and lower section, that 

 of the Skull-less (Acrania), the Amphioxus is alone extant. 

 To the more recent and higher section, the Skulled (Cra- 

 niota), belong all other existing Vertebrates up to Man. The 

 VOL. IL n 



