THE ADVENT OF FLOWERING PLANTS 
tiles filled the land, the water, and the air. Enormous 
turtles inhabited the swamps; and one of the most gigantic 
reptiles of all times, the Tyrannosaurus, preyed upon all 
the smaller animals. But the great age of the reptiles 
was drawing to a close, and their grotesque forms began 
to foreshadow somewhat the later mammalian types of 
rhinoceros, elephant, kangaroo, and whale. Enormous 
pteranodons flew in large numbers over the land and sea, 
and great water-reptiles sped like living torpedo boats 
through the oceans. Bird life developed to a still higher 
degree and invaded the water. There were some swim¬ 
ming birds that could not fly, much like the modern pen¬ 
guin. Mammals became more numerous and larger. 
They developed into a menace to the reptiles by eating 
their eggs and thus decimating their offspring. 
The Upper Cretaceous forest in Kansas must have 
been a lively place, filled with many colored flowers, but¬ 
terflies, and bees, and shaking with the steps of the 
heavy reptiles. It could not have been very unlike our 
own forests, although more luxuriant than anything except 
our tropical jungles. The climate was warm and uniform 
throughout a wide range of latitude. Palms grew even as 
far north as Greenland and Spitzbergen. 
It was probably due to the rapid development of insect 
life that the flowering plants spread so suddenly. Butter- 
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