Animals Before Man 



in some of our Western States, notably in Mon- 

 tana and Wyoming, their remains are so abun- 

 dant and so accessible that it is possible to obtain 

 them in large numbers by systematic search. 

 This does not necessarily mean that dinosaurs 

 were any more common here than in other 

 countries, merely that the conditions for their 

 preservation and discovery were more favorable. 

 And dinosaur bones have been found not only 

 in various parts of the United States, but in 

 other and widely separated portions of the 

 world in Europe, India, Madagascar, and Aus- 

 tralia. Thus we may be pretty sure that 

 these reptiles formed the most conspicuous life 

 of the period. So far, however, this country 

 has maintained its reputation for producing the 

 biggest of its kind, and no specimens have come 

 to light elsewhere that can quite equal our 

 Western giants in size. 



Dinosaurs form three well-marked groups, 

 or sub-orders: The Sauropoda, reptile-footed, 

 containing those with five toes on each foot, 

 and walking on all-fours ; the Theropoda, beast- 

 footed, comprising carnivorous species, having 



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