THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL. 65 



existing ascidians, than any other known 

 form.* 



These primeval ancestors of yours are 

 further described by Darwin as " inverte- 

 brate, hermaphrodite marine creatures, 

 permanently attached to a support. They 

 hardly appear like animals, and consist of 

 a simple tough, leathery sac, with two 

 small projecting orifices, placed by some 

 Naturalists among the vermes, or ' worms. 7 

 Their larvae somewhat resemble tadpoles 

 in shape, and have the power of swimming 

 about " (i. 205). Professor Huxley, in his 

 Introduction to the Classification of Animals, 

 says, " They look very much like double- 

 necked jars. At first sight, you might 

 hardly suspect the animal nature of one of 

 these organisms, when freshly taken from 

 the sea ; but if you touch it, the stream of 

 water which it squirts out of each aperture 

 reveals the existence of a great contractile 

 power within." 



Professor St. George Mivart, in his 



* Descent of Man, ii. 389. 

 F 



