VUl 



PREFACE 



works which I have consulted, and to which I desire to record 

 my obhgations, will be found in the Appendix. 



I have sought to enliven these pages by introducing 

 restorations of extinct forms of hfe. Of the fifty-six plate 

 illustrations fifty-one were esjiecially drawn for this book. 

 The remaining five first appeared in my " Nebula to Man," 

 published in 1905. 



I acknowledge with gratitude the valuable expert assistance 

 which Miss Alice B. Woodward received at the British Museum 

 (Natural History). Her pictures thus possess a real scientific 

 value in addition to their artistic merit. Dr. Arthur Smith 

 Woodward, f.r.s., Keeper of the Department of Geology, 

 kindly advised on several of the drawings ; and I would especi- 

 ally mention his help in the restorations of early fishes and 

 fish-like life. In regard to that subject I have also to thank 

 Dr. Ramsay Traquair, f.r.s., whose skilful restorations I 

 have been permitted to use. Dr. C. W. Andrews, f.r.s., 

 rendered very great assistance. Indeed, nearly all the 

 restorations of reptiles and mammals drawn by Miss Wood- 

 ward were made under his able supervision. For this kind 

 help I cannot speak too gratefully. In the restoration of the 

 first known fossil bird {Archceopteryx) and the wingless 

 Cretaceous sea-bird (Hesperornis) Miss Woodward had the 

 highly qualified assistance of Mr. W. P. Pycraft. Dr. F. A. 

 Bather, f.r.s., gave valuable advice on Crinoids, Dr. W. T. 

 Caiman on Eurypterus, Mr. G. C. Crick on Belemnites and 

 other invertebrates, Mr. W. D. Lang on Sponges, and Mr. 

 R. B. Newton on some of the shellfishes. 



My friend Dr. Henry Woodward, f.r.s., and formerly keeper 

 of the Department of Geology in the British Museum, not only 

 gave advice on some of the restorations, but also kindly read 

 and criticised my typescript. In my final revision I thus 

 had the great advantage of his observations and suggestions. 



H. R. KNIPE. 



