70 THE KIDDLE OF THE UNIVERSE. 



formerly entirety missed in the mature foetus. Yet it 

 remains all the time in a rudimentary condition, and 

 may be detected even after birth as the little umbilical 

 vesicle. Moreover, even the vesicular structure of the 

 allantois disappears at an early stage in the human 

 case ; with a deflection of the amnion, it gives rise to 

 the pedicle. We cannot enter here into a discussion of 

 the complicated anatomical and embryological relations 

 of these structures. I have described and illustrated 

 them in my Anthropogeny (twenty-third chapter). 



The opponents of evolution still appealed to these 

 " special features " of human embryology, which were 

 supposed to distinguish man from all the other 

 mammals, even so late as ten years ago. But 

 in 1890 Emil Selenka proved that the same features 

 are found in the anthropoid apes, especially in the 

 orang {satyms), while the lower apes are without 

 them. Thus Huxley's pithecometra thesis was sub- 

 stantiated once more: "The differences between 

 man and the great apes are not so great as are 

 those between the man -like apes and the lower 

 monkeys." The supposed " evidences against the 

 near blood-relationship of man and the apes 1 ' proved, 

 on a closer examination of the real circumstances, 

 to be strong reasons in favour of it. 



Every scientist who penetrates with open eyes into 

 this dark but profoundly interesting labyrinth of 

 our embryonic development, and who is competent 

 to compare it critically with that of the rest of the 

 mammals, will find in it a most important aid towards 

 the elucidation of the descent of our species. For the 

 various stages of our embryonic development, in the 

 character of paling enetic 1 phenomena of heredity, cast 

 i See p. 146. 



