SOME PREHISTORIC ANIMALS 333 



it hung down from the rocks, suspended by its claws. 

 Its name is pterodactyl, which means wing-fingered. 



"Let us consider another of these prehistoric crea- 

 tures. This time it is a bird, and what a marvelous 

 bird, too, my friends ! Its beak, no less monstrous 

 than that of the pterodactyl, had likewise the two 

 mandibles armed 

 with a ferocious- 

 looking set of 

 teeth. Pointed 



teeth in the jaws 

 of a reptile, such 

 as a lizard, croco- 

 dile, or serpent, 

 are nothing ex- 

 traordinary ; but 

 in a bird's mouth, 

 that is unheard-of. 

 To-day one would 

 search in vain all 

 over the earth for Fo8SiI Remains o£ ***-*-* 



anything like it. There are beaks of all shapes 

 and sizes, there are short ones and long ones, straight 

 ones and crooked ones, strong ones and weak ones ; 

 but all are toothless, as are the hen's and the spar- 

 row's. What a singular custom in the primitive 

 bird, to adopt for beak the toothed jaws of the 

 reptile ! 



"And that is not all. This bird adopted also the 

 reptile's tail, but covered it with feathers. Birds 

 of the present day have a short, wide rump, from 



