Extinct monsters and creatures of other days: a popular account of some of the larger forms of ancient animal life

Front matter

C c -

■ ' ■■ ' 4

W '

Preface To The First Edition

BY DR. HENRY WOODWARD, F.R.S.

LATE KEEPER OF GEOLOGV, NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

I HAVE been requested by my friend Mr. Hutchinson, to express my opinion upon the series of drawings which have been prepared by that excellent artist of animals, Mr. Smit, for this little book entitled “ Extinct Monsters.”

Many of the stories told in early days, of Giants and Dragons, may have originated in the discovery of the limb-bones of the Mammoth, the Ehinoceros, or other large animals, in caves, associated with heaps of broken fragments, in which latter the ignorant peasant saw in fancy the remains of the victims devoured at the monster’s repasts.

In Louis Eiguier’s World before the Deluge we are favoured with several highly sensational views of extinct monsters ; whilst the pen of the late Dr. Kinns has furnished valuable information as to the “ slimy ” nature of their blood !

The late Mr. B. Waterhouse Hawkins (formerly a lithographic artist) was for years occupied in unauthorised restorations of various Secondary reptiles and Tertiary mammals, and about 1853 he received encouragement from Professor Owen to undertake the restorations of extinct animals which still adorn the lower grounds of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham.

But the discoveries of later years have shown that the Dicynodon and Labyrinthodon, instead of being toadlike in form, were vi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION lacertilian or salamander-like reptiles, with elongated bodies and moderately long tails; that the Iguanodon did not usually stand upon “ all-fours,” hut more frequently sat up like some huge kangaroo with short fore limbs ; that the horn on its snout was really on its wrist ; that the Megalosaurus, with a more slender form of skeleton, had a somewhat similar erect attitude, and the habit, perhaps, of springing upon its prey, holding it with its powerful clawed hands, and tearing it with its formidable carnivorous teeth.

Although the Bernissart Iguanodon has been to us a complete revelation of what a Dinosaur really looked like, it is to America, and chiefly to the discoveries of Marsh, that we owe the knowledge of a whole series of new reptiles and mammals, many of which will be found illustrated within these pages.

Of long and short-tailed Pterodactyles we now know almost complete skeletons and details of their patagia or flying membranes. The discovery of the long-tailed feathered bird with teeth — the Archaeopteryx, from the Oolite of Solenhofen, is another marvellous addition to our knowledge ; whilst Marsh’s great Hesperornis, a wingless diving bird with teeth, and his flying toothed bird, the Ichthyornis dispar, are to us equally surprising.

Certainly, both in singular forms of fossil reptilia and in early mammals, North America carries off the palm.

Of these the most remarkable are Marsh’s Stegosaurus, a huge torpid reptile, with very small head and teeth, about twenty feet in length, and having a series of flattened dorsal spines, nearly a yard in height, fixed upon the median line of its back ; and his Triceratops, another reptile bigger than Stegosaurus, having a huge neck-shield joined to its skull, and horns on its head and snout. Nor do the Eocene Mammals fall short

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION vii of the marvellous, for in Dinoceras we find a beast with six horns, and sword-bayonet tusks, joined to a skeleton like an elephant’s.

Latest amongst the marvels in modern palaeontological discovery has been that made by Professor Fraas of the outline of the skin and fins in Ichthyosaurus tenuirostris, which shows it to have been a veritable shark-like reptile, with a high dorsal fin and broad fish-tail, so that “ fish-lizard ” is miore than ever an appropriate term for these old Liassic marine reptiles.

As every palaeontologist is well aware, restorations are ever liable to emendation, and that the present and latest book of extinct monsters will certainly prove no exception to the rule is beyond a doubt, but the author deserves our praise for the very boldness of his attempt, and the honesty with which he has tried to follow nature and avoid exaggeration. Every one will admire the simple and unaffected style in which the author has endeavoured to tell his story, avoiding, as far as possible, all scientific terms, so as to bring it within the intelligence of the unlearned. He has, moreover, taken infinite pains to study up his subject with care, and to consult all the literature bearing upon it. He has thus been enabled to convey accurate information in a simple and pleasing form, and to guide the artist in his difficult task with much wisdom and intelligence. That the excellence of the sketches is due to the artist, Mr. Smit, is a matter of course, and so is the blame, where criticism is legitimate ; and no one is more sensible of the difficulties of the task than Mr. Smit himself.

Speaking for myself, I am very well pleased with the series of sketches; and I may say so with the greater ease and freedom from responsibility, as I have had very little to do viii PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION with them, save in one or two trifling matters of criticism. I may venture, however, to commend them to my friends among the public at large as the happiest set of restorations that has yet appeared.

H. W.

Natural history is deservedly a popular subject. The manifestations of life in all its varied forms is a theme that has never failed to attract alh who are not destitute of intelligence. From the days of the primitive cave-dwellers of Europe, who lived with mammoths and other animals now lost to the world ; of the ancient Egyptians, who drew and painted on the walls of their magnificent tombs the creatures inhabiting the delta of the Nile ; of the Greeks, looking out on the world with their bright and child-like curiosity, down to our own times, this old, yet ever new, theme has never failed. Never before was there such a profusion of books describing the various forms of life inhabiting the different countries of the globe, or the rivers, lakes, and seas that diversify its scenery. Popular writers have done good service in making the way plain for those who wish to acquaint themselves with the structures, habits, and histories of living animals ; while for students a still greater supply of excellent manuals and text-hooks has been, and still continues to be, forthcoming.

But in our admiration for the present we forget the great past. How seldom do we think of that innumerable host of creatures that once trod this earth ! How little in comparison has been done for them ! Our natural-history books deal only with those that are alive now. Few popular writers have attempted to depict, as on a canvas, the great earth-drama that

X has, from age to age, been enacted on the terrestrial stage, of which we behold the latest, but probably not the closing scenes.

When our poet wrote All the world’s a stage,” he thought only of ‘‘ men and women,” whom he called “ merely players,” but the geologist sees a wider application of these words, as he reviews the drama of past life on the globe, and finds that animals, too, have had ‘‘ their exits and their entrances ; ” nay, more, “the strange eventful history” of a human life, sketched by the master-hand, might well be chosen to illustrate the birth and growth of the tree of life, the development of which we shall trace briefly from time to time, as we proceed on our survey of the larger and more wonderful animals that flourished in bygone times.

We might even make out a “ seven ages ” of the world, in each of which some peculiar form of life stood out prominently, but such a scheme would be artificial.

• There is a wealth of material for reconstructing the past that is simply bewildering ; and yet little has been done to bring before the public the strange creatures that have perished.^

To the writer it is a matter of astonishment that the discoveries of Marsh, Cope, Leidy, and others in America, not to mention some important European discoveries, should have attracted so little notice in this country. In the far and wild West a host of strange reptiles and quadrupeds have been unearthed from their rocky sepulchres, often of incredibly huge

1 Figuier’s World before the Deluge is hardly a trustworthy book, and is often not up to date. The restorations also are misleading. Nicholson’s Life-History of the Earth is a student’s book. Messrs. Cassells’ Our Earth and its Story deals with the whole of geology, and so is too diffusive ; its ideal landscapes and restorations leave much to be desired. H. K. Knipe’s Nebula to Man contains a large number of beautiful restorations and landscapes. See also Sir E. Ray Lankester’s Extinct Animals,

XI proportions, and, in many cases, more weird and strange than the imagination conld conceive; and yet the public have never heard of these discoveries, by the side of which the now well-known ‘Tost creations’" of Cuvier, Buckland, or Conybeare sink into the shade. For once, we beg leave to suggest, the hungry pressman, seeking “ copy,” has failed to see a good thing. Descriptions of some of “ Marsh’s monsters ” and how they were found, might, one would think, have proved attractive to a public ever on the look-out for something new.

Professor Huxley, comparing our present knowledge of the mammals of the Tertiary era with that of 1859, states that the discoveries of Gaudry, Marsh, and Filhol are “ as if zoologists were to become acquainted with a country hitherto unknown, as rich in novel forms of life as Brazil or South America once was to Europeans.”

The object of this book is to describe some of the larger and more monstrous forms of the past — the lost creations of the old world ; to clothe their dry bones with flesh, and suggest for them backgrounds such as are indicated by the discoveries of geology : in other words, to endeavour, by means of pen and pencil, to bring them back to life. The ordinary public cannot learn much by merely gazing at skeletons set up in museums. One longs to cover their nakedness wuth flesh and skin, and to see them as they were when they walked this earth.

Our present imperfect knowledge renders it difficult in some cases to construct successful restorations ; but, nevertheless, the attempt is worth making : and if some who think geology a very dry subject, can be converted to a different opinion on reading these pages, we shall be well rewarded for our pains.

We venture to hope that those who will take the trouble to peruse this book, or even to look at its pictures, on which

XU much labour and thought have been expended, will find pleasure in visiting the splendid geological collection at Cromwell Eoad. We have often watched visitors walking somewhat aimlessly among those relics of a former world, and wished that we could be of some service. But, if this little book should help them the better to understand what they see there, our wish will be accomplished.

Another object which the writer has kept in view is to connect the past with the present. It cannot be too strongly urged that the best commentary on the dead past is the living present. It is unfortunate that there is still too great a tendency to separate, as by a great gulf, the dead from the living, the past from the present, forms of life. The result of this is seen in our museums. Fossils have too often been left to the attention of geologists not always well acquainted with the structures of living animals. The more frequent introduction of fossil specimens side by side with modern forms of life would not only be a gain to the progress and spread of geological science, but would be a great help to students of anatomy and natural history. The tree of life is but a mutilated thing, and half its interest is gone when the dead branches are lopped off.^

It is, perhaps, justifiable to give to the term ‘‘monster” a somewhat extended meaning. The writer has therefore included in his menagerie of extinct animals one or two creatures which, though not of any great size, are nevertheless remarkable in various ways — such, for instance, as the winged reptiles, and anomalous birds with teeth, of later times, and others. Compared

1 Of late years, since our first Edition in 1892, efforts have been made at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, to carry out this idea to some extent by placing skeletons of living and recent animals by the side of those of extinct forms ; and vice versa fossils are sometimes introduced into the galleries devoted to recent forms, especially in the Reptile Gallery.

Xlll with living forms, these creatures appear to us as monstrosities,” and may well find a place in our collection.

The author wishes, in a few words, to thank those friends who have rendered him assistance in his task.

Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., Keeper of Geology, Natural History Museum, has from the first taken a lively interest in this little book. He kindly helped the author with his advice on difficult matters, criticising some of the artist’s preliminary sketches and suggesting improvements in the restorations. With unfailing courtesy he has ever been willing, in spite of many demands on his time, to place his knowledge at the disposal of both the author and artist ; and in this way certain errors have been avoided. Besides this, he took the trouble to read through the proof-sheets, and made suggestions and corrections which have greatly improved the text. For all this welcome aid the author begs to return his sincere thanks.

To Mr. Smith Woodward, of the Natural History Museum, the author is also much indebted for his kindness in reading through the text and giving valuable information with regard to the latest discoveries.

The artist, Mr. J. Smit, notwithstanding the novelty of the subject and the difficulties of the task, has thrown himself heartily into the work of making the twenty-four restorations of extinct animals. To him, also, the author is greatly indebted, and considers himself fortunate in having secured the services of so excellent an artist.

To the publishers his thanks are due for their liberality in the matter of illustrations, and the readiness with which they have responded to suggestions.

With regard to minor illustrations the following acknowledgments are due : —

XIV

To the Palseontographical Society of Great Britain for permission to reproduce three of the illustrations in Sir Richard Owen’s great work, British Fossil Be^ptiles, published in their yearly volumes, viz. Figs. 8, 9, 14.

To Messrs. Bell and Co. for the following cuts from the late Dr. Gideon A. Mantell’s works: viz. Figs. 3, 35, 36, 42, 53, 67, 68, 73.

To Messrs. A. and C. Black for the following cuts from Owen’s Palceontology : viz. Figs. 85, 99, 104.

Appendix III. contains a list of some of the works of which the writer has made use; but it would be impossible within reasonable limits to enumerate all the separate papers which have necessarily been consulted.

Models in 'pa'pier mache, about 12 to 20 inches in length, of the following have been made under the supervision of the author, and may be obtained from Messrs. Rewman (of Rewman Street, Oxford Street, W.), viz. Tinoceras, Plesiosaurus, and Megatherium.

The numbers of the Figs, given are those in the present Edition (1910).

Preface To Second Edition

The appearance of a second edition affords the author a pleasant opportunity of thanking the reading public, and the Press, for the kind way in which his endeavour to popularise the results of modern Palseontology has been received. There seem to be fashions in all things — even in sciences ; and perhaps the wonderful advances we have witnessed of late years in the physical sciences on the one hand, and in biological sciences on the other, may have tended to throw Palseontology somewhat into the shade. Let us hope that it will not remain there long.

A large number of illustrations have been added for the present edition, besides additional matter here and there in the text. Three of the plates have been redrawn. Plate IV. shows the Ichthyosaurus as interpreted by the latest discovery from Wiirtemberg.

Plate XXXVII., besides containing a valuable portrait of the late Sir Eichard Owen, gives another drawing of the Dinornis skeleton.

The numbers of the Plates are those of the present Edition (1910).

'll

Preface To New Edition

Palaeontology, like all other sciences, has made many advances since the year 1892, when the first edition of Extinct Monsters was published. This was followed in 1894 by Creatures of Other Days. The former is now out of print, and the latter not far off that state. Books, monographs, and papers have been, and still are, pouring out in a big continuous stream, in some cases setting forth results of the highest importance to ISTaturalists and Geologists. In the following pages an endeavour has been made to deal with some of this mass of material in a light and superficial way. The process may be compared to skimming samples of cream from many bowls of milk. Por it is only the cream that the general public require. The reservoir of milk below would he too deep, dark, and unintelligible. In order to avoid making two volumes the greater part of Creatures of Other Days has been incorporated in the present book, and the two titles are therefore retained. A certain amount of condensation has been necessary in order to keep down the size of the book, and the chapters dealing with fossil fish, crocodiles, and “ Eelics of the Pleistocene Period ” {e.g. Toxodon, Macrauchenia, Bos primigenius) have been omitted. A few creatures from Extinct Monsters are also reluctantly omitted.

Every endeavour has been made to illustrate the subject fully

XVlll

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION by means of fifty-five plates and a hundred and thirteen figures in the text. Mere descriptions without drawings would be of little use for our present purpose. Perhaps some young people who are fond of looking at living animals in the Zoological Gardens or in picture-books, may care to look at some of our illustrations of ancient monsters and compare them with the familiar living types which have in the course of ages descended from them by evolution.

Many of the illustrations are due to the kind co-operation of geologists and naturalists; and for this kind help the writer begs to tender his very sincere thanks. It has come in many ways, and from many lands ; but especially from the United States and Russia, while English geologists have ever been most willing to offer help and advice.

It may be convenient here to indicate briefly what is new matter, and, at the same time, express our obligations to those who have contributed new illustrations.

In Chapter VII., dealing with that strange reptilian order the Anomodonts, the reader will see some new photographs of skulls and skeletons. These were very kindly sent by Professor Amalitzky, of Warsaw. They show some of the wonderful discoveries made by him in recent years. His workshop teems with bones of the Pareiasaurus and other remarkable beasts of Permian age discovered by him on the banks of the Northern Dwina, near Archangel, and only extracted from the hard nodules containing them with very great labour and patience. They used to be broken up for mending the roads ! In the same geological period lived the strange reptile Naosaurus, seen in Plate XIII., which is from a photograph sent by Professor H. F. Osborn of the American Museum of Natural History.

Passing on to the Dinosaurs, we must again offer our thanks

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION

XIX to Professor H. F. Osborn, who supplied photographs reproduced in Plates XV., XVI. and XX. Plate XXVI. shows a new and probably better restoration of Stegosaurus, by Mr. J. Smit.

With regard to the Triceratops (the restoration of which is unusually difficult on account of the want of any single complete skeleton), a new attempt has been made by our friend Mr. J. Smit, based on the recently mounted and restored skeleton in the Natural History Museum, see Plates XXVII. and XXVIII. It was certainly a most strange beast, and we can only hope that in time every bone will be completely known. The now well-known Diplodocus has also been restored by the same artist from the cast in the Museum, see Plate XXII. Another comparatively new Dinosaur is the remarkable Polacanthus, seen in Fig. 60, reproduced by permission of Baron Nopcsa and Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S.

Some new matter and illustrations dealing with sea-serpents will be found in Chapter X.

The huge flying reptile or Pterodactyl Pteranodon, seen in Plate XXXIII., is from an illustration supplied by the Smithsonian Institution, U.S.A.

With regard to birds, some new matter has been added, and a restoration of the great Patagonian bird Phororhacos, kindly lent by Professor F. A. Lucas of the Brooklyn Museum, who also lent the picture of the Mammoth seen in Plate XLIX. Mr. W. P. Pycraft also kindly lent his own restoration of the oldest known bird, the Archseopteryx, seen in Fig. 79, for which the author is much obliged, as it seems to be the only reliable restoration yet published. The truly wonderful story of the evolution of the elephant can now be read in outline from the record of the rocks. This is certainly a result of which geologists

may be proud. The drawings seen in Fig. 105 have been specially

c

XX

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION

*

drawn for this book, and are based on the admirable restorations by Miss Alice B. Woodward, seen in Plates XLIY., XLV., XLYI. The latter have been kindly lent by Mr. H. R. Knipe, F.L.S., who published them a few years ago in his beautifully illustrated book Nebula to Man. From the same book the writer has also borrowed Plates XXIII. and XXVL, representing respectively Iguanodon and Stegosaurus.

As explained in the text, the fossil bones of the elephant's ancestors have been discovered chiefly by Dr. C. W. Andrews of the Xatural History Museum, who has also been so fortunate as to discover the skull and large portions of the skeleton of that very strange Mammal, the Arsinoetherium, seen in Plate XLIII. This also may be reckoned among the recent wonders of Geology.

The evolution of the horse, quite an old story now, has been brought up to date and further illustrated by the outline restorations taken from Mr. H. S. Lull, and by the Figs, on p. 245, which have been carefully drawn from casts of skulls and limb-bones in the Xatural History Museum.

In the last two chapters will be found an epitome of recent information about the great Ground Sloth of South America, and the Diprotodon, a huge Marsupial from Australia.

The Trustees of the British Museum have kindly lent the following : Figs. 29, 31, 32, 37, 50, 77, 84, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103.

Dr. Henry Woodward, Editor of the Geological Magazine^ has kindly supplied Fig. 60 of the Polacanthus, as well as Plates III., V., and LV.

In conclusion, the writer wishes to thank Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.E.S., of the Natural History Museum, who, besides reading the proofs of this book, has from time to time offered suggestions and criticisms of sketches for which the writer is

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION xxi

most grateful. Dr. C. W. Andrews and Mr. W. P. Pycraft have also given much help of a similar nature. The kind advice of such learned gentlemen is greatly valued by their friend the Author, for they know practically all that goes on in the world of Palaeontology.

H. N. HUTCHINSOK

London, Marc\ 1910.

I

- V

I

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. How Extinct Monsters are Preserved 10

II. Footprints on the Sands of Time 27

Introduction

As he progressed in these studies, Cuvier was able with considerable success to restore extinct animals from their fossilised remains, to discover their habits and manner of life, and to point out their nearest living ally. To him we owe the first complete demonstration of the possibility of restoring an extinct animal. His ‘‘Law of Correlation” however, has been found to be not infallible ; as Professor Huxley has shown, it has exceptions. It expresses our experience among living animals, but, when applied to the more ancient types of life, is liable to be misleading.

To take one out of many examples of this law : Carnivorous animals, such as cats, lions, and tigers, have claws in their feet, very different from the hoofs of an ox, which is herbivorous : while the teeth of the former group are very different from those of the latter. Thus the teeth and limbs have a certain definite relation to each other, or, in other words, are correlated. Again, horned quadrupeds are all herbivorous (or graminivorous), and have hoofs to their feet. The following amusing anecdote serves to illustrate Cuvier’s law. One of his students thought he would try and frighten his master, and, having dressed up as a wild beast, entered Cuvier’s bedroom by night, and, presenting himself by his bedside, said in hollow tones, “ Cuvier, Cuvier, I’ve come to eat you ! ” The great naturalist, who on waking up was able to discern something with horns and hoofs, simply remarked, “ What ! horns, hoofs — graminivorous — you can’t ! ” What better lesson could the master have given the pupil to help him to remember his “ Law of Correlation ” ?

Cuvier’s great work, entitled Ossemens Fossiles, will long remain an imperishable monument of the genius and industry of the greatest pioneer in this region of investigation. This work proved beyond a doubt to his astonished contemporaries the great antiquity of the tribes of animals now living on the surface of the earth. It proved more than that, however; for it showed the existence of a great philosophy in Nature which linked the past with the present in a scheme that pointed to a continuity of f j' life during untold previous ages. All this was directly at variance || with the prevalent ideas of his time, and consequently his views f [ were regarded by many with alarm, and he received a good deal 1 1 of abuse — a fate which many other original thinkers before him have shared.

It is somewhat difficult for people living now, and accustomed 1 1

to modern teaching, to realise how novel were the conclusions I')

° I 'I

announced by Cuvier. In his Discourse on the Revolutions of the |;

Surface of the Globe, translated into most European languages |j

under the title Theory of the Earth, he lays down, among others,

the two following propositions : —

1. That all organised’ existences were not created at the same time ; but at different times, probably very remote from each other — vegetables before animals, mollusca and fishes before reptiles, and the latter before mammals.

2. That fossil remains in the more recent strata are those which approach nearest to the present type of corresponding living species.

Teaching such as this gave a new impetus to the study of organic remains, and Palaeontology, as a science, began with Cuvier.

The reader is recommended to study Chapters X. and XI. of Darwin’s Origin of Species, dealing with the imperfection of the record, distribution, and extinction of species, etc.

One object which the writer has kept in view all through is to show how strong is the evidence for Evolution. In fact, it is overwhelming; consequently in these days one seldom meets a naturalist or a geologist who does not accept the idea of Evolution. But when people speak of “ Darwinism ” they do not

INTRODUCTION always clearly distinguish in their minds between Evolution and the means by which evolutionary changes have been brought about. Darwin tried to prove that the great agency (so long sought for in vain) was Natural Selection. Hence some people mean Natural Selection when they speak of Darwinism. Since Darwin s death in the year 1882 a great many naturalists and others have pondered deeply on this great subject; new facts and new conceptions have arisen on the question of the Origin of Species. Some of our readers may perhaps think that Darwin settled the question once for all. But that is not so. True, there is a powerful school of naturalists (Neo-Darwinians) who never weary of telling us that Natural Selection is the great and principal cause, or agency, whereby new species arose. On the other hand, there are many living naturalists of renown who are unwilling to accept Darwin’s explanation. Moreover, to some minds such an explanation is far too mechanical, involving a narrow view of the beauties and wonders of Creation, as if Utility were the principal thing. Again, it is possible that the struggle between individuals of the same or near species is not so great as the Darwinian conception demanded. Darwin’s argument was largely based on the analogy of the sort of selection used by breeders of plants and domestic animals. It now appears that this analogy is not quite safe. Some naturalists believe that the great progress Man has made in breeding pigeons, cattle, horses, dogs, and flowers may all be based on deflnite and sudden changes, now known as “ Mutations ” (sports). Mendel’s Law was unknown to Darwin, and the striking suggestions of De Vries had not appeared in his day. In conclusion, it only remains to say (for our space is limited) that at present the great problem is unsolved. Perhaps the time is hardly ripe.