212 Instinct and Intelligence 



Again, the well-known fossil of Archaeopteryx 

 found in a series of slates in Germany, seems to 

 constitute a link between groups now widely 

 separated by divergence in evolution from the 

 same ancestors. This animal is at once a 

 feathered flying reptile and a primitive bird 

 with many reptilian structures. Although 

 Achaeopteryx was a primitive bird, it is in a 

 true sense a " link " between reptiles and the 

 group of modern birds ; the gap between these 

 types is filled up by fossil forms like Hesper- 

 crnis, whose remains are found in strata of a 

 later date. That these links are not alone is 

 proved by the numerous other examples known 

 to science, such as those which connect 

 amphibia and reptiles, ancient reptiles and 

 primitive mammals, as well as those which 

 come between the different orders of certain 

 vertebrate classes. The important element in 

 these examples of evolution is, first, their 

 adaptation; secondly, the origination of new 

 parts ; and, thirdly, the retention of the better 

 invention. 



Another kind of evidence favouring the idea 

 of the progressive evolution of human beings 



