CHAPTER VIII 



DRAGONS OF SEA AND AIR 



IF Jhe Jurassic was remarkable for the size 

 and number of its dinosaurs, the Cretaceous 

 period was even more noteworthy for its va- 

 riety of extraordinary reptiles Nature's final 

 effort before settling down to the creation of 

 every-day animals. The last of the dinosaurs 

 flourished during this period ; the seas teemed 

 with strange reptiles, plesiosaurs and rnosa- 

 saurs, while accompanying them was the largest 

 turtle known to us, and the largest of true or 

 bony fishes. The life of the air was quite as 

 strange as that of the land and sea ; birds had 

 not attained their full development, but existed 

 in curious shapes with toothed beaks,* while 

 the true rulers of the air were flying reptiles 

 (pterodactyls), which were, on the other hand, 

 toothless. 



* See Early Birds and Mammals. 

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