﻿H. 
  WOODWARD 
  ON 
  FORMS 
  

  

  2. 
  New 
  Facts 
  bearing 
  on 
  the 
  Inquiry 
  concerning 
  Forms 
  interme- 
  

   diate 
  between 
  Birds 
  and 
  Eeptiles. 
  By 
  Henry 
  Woodward, 
  Esq., 
  

   F.R.S., 
  F.G.S., 
  British 
  Museum. 
  (Bead 
  November 
  5, 
  1873.) 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  perhaps 
  no 
  single 
  point 
  along 
  the 
  whole 
  line 
  of 
  defences 
  

   raised 
  by 
  the 
  opponents 
  of 
  the 
  theory 
  of 
  Evolution 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  

   more 
  warmly 
  contested 
  than 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  significance 
  at- 
  

   taching 
  to 
  the 
  relationship 
  of 
  birds 
  to 
  reptiles. 
  Frofessor 
  Huxley 
  

   truly 
  remarks 
  that 
  " 
  to 
  superficial 
  observation 
  no 
  two 
  groups 
  of 
  

   beings 
  can 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  entirely 
  dissimilar 
  than 
  reptiles 
  and 
  

   birds. 
  Flaced 
  side 
  by 
  side, 
  a 
  humming-bird 
  and 
  a 
  tortoise, 
  an 
  

   ostrich 
  and 
  a 
  crocodile, 
  offer 
  the 
  strongest 
  contrast, 
  and 
  a 
  stork 
  

   seems 
  to 
  have 
  little 
  but 
  animality 
  in 
  common 
  with 
  the 
  snake 
  it 
  

   swallows 
  " 
  *. 
  

  

  " 
  In 
  perfect 
  strictness," 
  writes 
  the 
  same 
  authority 
  f 
  , 
  " 
  no 
  doubt, 
  

   it 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  birds 
  are 
  no 
  more 
  modified 
  reptiles 
  than 
  reptiles 
  are 
  

   modified 
  birds, 
  the 
  reptilian 
  and 
  ornithic 
  types 
  being 
  both, 
  in 
  reality, 
  

   somewhat 
  different 
  superstructures 
  raised 
  upon 
  one 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  

   ground-plan 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  true 
  that 
  some 
  reptiles 
  deviate 
  so 
  very 
  

   much 
  less 
  from 
  that 
  ground-plan 
  than 
  any 
  bird 
  does, 
  that 
  they 
  

   might 
  be 
  taken 
  to 
  represent 
  that 
  which 
  is 
  common 
  to 
  both 
  classes 
  

   without 
  any 
  serious 
  error." 
  

  

  " 
  A 
  lizard 
  is 
  not 
  very 
  far 
  from 
  being 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  circle, 
  the 
  

   periphery 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  occupied 
  by 
  Chelonia, 
  Ichthyosauria, 
  Plesio- 
  

   sauria, 
  Pterosauria, 
  and 
  Aves 
  " 
  %. 
  

  

  If 
  we 
  consider 
  for 
  a 
  moment 
  what 
  are 
  the 
  peculiarities 
  presented 
  

   by 
  each 
  of 
  these 
  divisions 
  of 
  the 
  Sauropsida 
  (under 
  which 
  great 
  

   class 
  Prof. 
  Huxley 
  has 
  proposed 
  to 
  unite 
  these 
  several 
  orders), 
  we 
  

   shall 
  begin 
  to 
  perceive 
  that 
  the 
  peculiar 
  and 
  distinctive 
  characters 
  

   which 
  we 
  have 
  hitherto 
  assumed 
  to 
  be 
  expressive 
  of 
  the 
  class 
  Aves 
  

   are 
  not 
  more 
  remarkable 
  than 
  many 
  which 
  distinguish 
  the 
  divisions 
  

   of 
  the 
  Beptilia 
  from 
  one 
  another. 
  

  

  On 
  what 
  grounds, 
  then, 
  are 
  their 
  wide 
  differentiation 
  insisted 
  

   upon 
  by 
  the 
  separatists, 
  and 
  their 
  combination 
  advocated 
  by 
  evolu- 
  

   tionists 
  ? 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  insist 
  on 
  their 
  separation, 
  it 
  is 
  

   urged 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  no 
  connecting 
  links 
  demonstrable 
  between 
  these 
  

   widely 
  different 
  forms 
  of 
  to-day 
  ; 
  whilston 
  the 
  other 
  handithas 
  already 
  

   been 
  shown 
  by 
  Prof. 
  Huxley 
  and 
  others 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  abundant 
  

   points 
  of 
  anatomical 
  structure 
  shared 
  even 
  by 
  existing 
  Aves 
  and 
  

   Eeptilia, 
  and 
  that 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  desiderated 
  forms, 
  exhibiting 
  inter- 
  

   mediate 
  points 
  of 
  structure, 
  have 
  already 
  been 
  noticed 
  among 
  the 
  

   recent 
  discoveries 
  which 
  have 
  rewarded 
  the 
  labours 
  of 
  the 
  geologist 
  

   and 
  palaeontologist, 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  Europe, 
  but 
  also 
  in 
  America. 
  

  

  Admitting 
  generally 
  that 
  all 
  existing 
  birds 
  differ 
  definitely 
  from 
  

   living 
  reptiles, 
  " 
  one 
  comparatively 
  small 
  section, 
  nevertheless, 
  cer- 
  

  

  * 
  Huxley's 
  Lecture, 
  Eoyal 
  Institution, 
  February 
  7th, 
  1868. 
  

   t 
  Proc. 
  Zool. 
  Soc. 
  Lond. 
  1867, 
  p. 
  415. 
  + 
  Ibid. 
  

  

  