THE FLYING REPTILES 85 



around that western sea. There were birds, similar 

 to those now living, and there were also other very 

 queer birds with teeth. Then there were myriads of 

 insects like dragon flies, locusts, and moths. But as 

 long as they lived, the Pterodactyls held undisputed 

 sway over all other inhabitants of the air the world 

 over. 



What a scene it must have been upon which these 

 mighty rulers looked down as they flew hither and 

 thither ! Great stretches of water, in which swam 

 sea serpents and other astonishing forms; swampy 

 expanses of land, over which Dinosaurs walked by 

 the thousands and gigantic crocodiles and tortoises 

 crawled. And amid all this teeming life there was 

 not one human being. 



