160 ORGANIC EVOLUTION CONSIDERED 



ence between the legs of these amphibians and the 

 fins of any older fishes, and, in fact, of any known 

 fishes, is enormous. To claim that they were evolved 

 from the fins of the fishes is much more than known 

 fossils justify. The fossil evidence indicates that the 

 Labyrinthodonts came suddenly and with highly de- 

 veloped legs and feet, extremely unlike, in structure, 

 the fins of fishes. 



Huxley says: " The limbs of Fishes have an endo- 

 skeleton which only imperfectly corresponds with 

 that of the higher Vertebrates. For while homo- 

 logues of the cartilaginous, and even of the bony, 

 constituents of the pectoral and pelvic arches of the 

 latter are traceable in Fishes, the cartilaginous, or 

 ossified, basal and radial supports of the fins them- 

 selves cannot be identified, unless in the most general 

 way, with the limb-bones, or cartilages, of the other 

 Vertebrata." * 



Thus it is admitted by Huxley, who is a leading 

 authority in comparative anatomy, that there is a 

 great difference between the structure of the fins of 

 fishes and the limbs of the higher animals. Among 

 the oldest known amphibian tracks are those of the 

 Sauropus primsevus, found in the Sub-carboniferous, 

 near Pottsville, Pennsylvania. That the feet of this 

 animal could have been evolved from fins is beyond 

 my belief. We are left to assume that these highly 

 differentiated feet, with perfect and separate toes, 

 were evolved from the fins of the fishes of the Devo- 

 nian age. 



The Archegosaurus is regarded by evolutionists as 

 one of the most primitive known forms of the amphib- 

 ians. It was found in the Bavarian Coalmeasures. 

 It had paddles for swimming, each of which contained 

 the bones of four toes. Le Conte shows that the 



* Anatomy of Vertebrates, by Huxley, p. 37, 38, 



