OBJECTIONS TO EVOLUTION 161 



paddles of the Proteus, a living amphibian, are 

 closely like those of the Archegosaurus. From this it 

 is seen thaf this most ancient type of paddles known 

 among amphibians has endured unchanged from the 

 time of their introduction. If the type itself is so 

 enduring, how can we account for its sudden evolu- 

 tion? Why did limbs which showed such great capac- 

 ity for change suddenly cease to change and remain 

 unchangeable through the long geological ages? 



The flying reptiles, Pterodactyls, appear suddenly 

 in the Jurassic. The bones of the little finger were 

 enormously elongated, and the wing was formed of 

 membrane stretched from these bones to the hind leg 

 and tail. 



Le Conte says that "These flying reptiles were cer- 

 tainly among the most extraordinary animals that 

 have ever lived."* Several genera of them have been 

 found. 



Huxley says: "The sternum is broad, and, unlike 

 that of other Eeptilia, completely ossified, and bears 

 a strong median crest on the anterior part of its 

 ventral surface. "t Also, "The brain-case is more 

 rounded and more bird-like than in the other Eep- 

 tilia, and in many other respects the skull approaches 

 that of birds," etc. "The scapula and coracoid are 

 wholly unlike these structures in any other Sauro- 

 psida, but are extremely similar to the same parts in 

 birds, and indeed to the shoulder-girdle of the less 

 reptilian Carinitse." 



More than twenty species of these reptiles, belong- 

 ing to several genera, have been found in the Juras- 

 sic and Cretaceous. They appear suddenly, without 

 any known previous history. 



When we consider the greatly differentiated struc- 

 ture of these reptiles, — especially the coracoid bone, 



* Geology, p. 446. t Anatomy of Vertebrates, p. 230. 

 11 



