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Dragons of the Air

<h2>DRAGONS OF THE AIR</h2>     <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div class="figcenter"> FIG. 47.   RHAMPHORHYNCHUS PHYLLURUS SHOWING THE PRESERVATION OF THE WING MEMBRANES <ANTIMG src="images/i_005.jpg" width-obs="1024" height-obs="614" alt="FIG. 47. RHAMPHORHYNCHUS PHYLLURUS" title="FIG. 47. RHAMPHORHYNCHUS PHYLLURUS" /> From the Lithographic slate of Eichstädt, Bavaria Frontispiece </div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h1>DRAGONS OF THE AIR</h1> <h3>AN ACCOUNT OF EXTINCT FLYING REPTILES</h3> <h5>BY</h5> <h2>H. G. SEELEY, F.R.S.</h2> <h5>PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON; LECTURER ON GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY IN THE ROYAL INDIAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE</h5> <h4>WITH EIGHTY ILLUSTRATIONS</h4> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td align='left'>"I AM A BROTHER OF DRAGONS"</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Job xxx. 29</td></tr> </table></div> <h4>NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & CO. LONDON: METHUEN & CO. 1901</h4> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> [Pg v] <h2>PREFACE</h2> I was a student of law at a time when Sir Richard Owen was lecturing on Extinct Fossil Reptiles. The skill of the great master, who built bones together as a child builds with a box of bricks, taught me that the laws which determine the forms of animals were less understood at that time than the laws which govern the relations of men in their country. The laws of Nature promised a better return of new knowledge for reasonable study. A lecture on Flying Reptiles determined me to attempt to fathom the mysteries which gave new types of life to the Earth and afterwards took them away. Thus I became the very humble servant of the Dragons of the Air. Knowing but little about them I went to Cambridge, and for ten years worked with the Professor of Geology, the late Rev. Adam Sedgwick, LL.D., F.R.S., in gathering their bones from the so-called Cambridge Coprolite bed, the Cambridge Greensand. The bones came in thousands, battered and broken, but instructive as better materials might [Pg vi] not have been. My rooms became filled with remains of existing birds, lizards, and mammals, which threw light on the astonishing collection of old bones which I assisted in bringing together for the University. In time I had something to say about Flying Animals which was new. The story was told in the theatre of the Royal Institution, in a series of lectures. Some of them were repeated in several English towns. There was still much to learn of foreign forms of flying animals; but at last, with the aid of the Government grant administered by the Royal Society, and the chiefs of the great Continental museums, I saw all the specimens in Europe. So I have again written out my lectures, with the aid of the latest discoveries, and the story of animal structure has lost nothing in interest as a twice-told tale. It still presents in epitome the story of life on the Earth. He who understands whence the Flying Reptiles came, how they endured, and disappeared from the Earth, has solved some of the greatest mysteries of life. I have only contributed something towards solving the problems. In telling my story, chiefly of facts in Nature, an attempt is made to show how a naturalist does his work, in the hope that perhaps a few readers will find happiness in following the workings of the laws of life. Such an illumination has proved to many worth seeking, a solid return for labour, which is [Pg vii] not to be marketed on the Exchange, but may be taken freely without exhausting the treasury of Nature's truths. Such outlines of knowledge as here are offered to a larger public, may also, I believe, be acceptable to students of science and scientific men. The drawings given in illustration of the text have been made for me by Miss E. B. Seeley. H. G. S. Kensington, May, 1901 [Pg viii] <hr style="width: 65%;" /> [Pg ix] <h2>CONTENTS</h2> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td align='right'></td><td align='right'>PAGE</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER I.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>FLYING REPTILES</td><td align='right'>1</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER II.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>HOW A REPTILE IS KNOWN</td><td align='right'>4</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER III.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>A REPTILE IS KNOWN BY ITS BONES</td><td align='right'>11</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER IV.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>ANIMALS WHICH FLY</td><td align='right'>15</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER V.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>DISCOVERY OF THE PTERODACTYLE</td><td align='right'>27</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER VI.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>HOW ANIMALS ARE INTERPRETED BY THEIR BONES</td><td align='right'>37</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER VII.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>INTERPRETATION OF PTERODACTYLES BY THEIR SOFT PARTS</td><td align='right'>45</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER VIII.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>THE PLAN OF THE SKELETON</td><td align='right'>58</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER IX.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>THE BACKBONE, OR VERTEBRAL COLUMN</td><td align='right'>78[Pg x]</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER X.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>THE HIP-GIRDLE AND HIND LIMB</td><td align='right'>93</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XI.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>SHOULDER-GIRDLE AND FORE LIMB</td><td align='right'>107</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XII.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>EVIDENCES OF THE ANIMAL'S HABITS FROM ITS REMAINS</td><td align='right'>134</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XIII.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>ANCIENT ORNITHOSAURS FROM THE LIAS</td><td align='right'>143</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XIV.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>ORNITHOSAURS FROM THE MIDDLE SECONDARY ROCKS</td><td align='right'>153</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XV.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>ORNITHOSAURS FROM THE UPPER SECONDARY ROCKS</td><td align='right'>172</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XVI.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORNITHOSAURIA</td><td align='right'>187</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XVII.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>FAMILY RELATIONS OF PTERODACTYLES TO ANIMALS WHICH LIVED WITH THEM</td><td align='right'>196</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XVIII.</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>HOW PTERODACTYLES MAY HAVE ORIGINATED</td><td align='right'>213</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'> </td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>APPENDIX</td><td align='right'>231</td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='2'> </td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>INDEX</td><td align='right'>233</td></tr> </table></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> [Pg xi] <h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td align='right'>FIG.</td><td align='right'></td><td align='right'>PAGE</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>47.</td><td align='left'>Wings of Rhamphorhynchus</td><td align='right'>Frontispiece</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>1.</td><td align='left'>Lung of the lung-fish Ceratodus</td><td align='right'>5</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>2.</td><td align='left'>Attachment of the lower jaw in a Mammal and in a Pterodactyle</td><td align='right'>12</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>3.</td><td align='left'>Chaldæan Dragon</td><td align='right'>15</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>4.</td><td align='left'>Winged human figure from the Temple of Ephesus</td><td align='right'>16</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>5.</td><td align='left'>Flying fish Exocœtus</td><td align='right'>18</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>6.</td><td align='left'>Flying Frog</td><td align='right'>19</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>7.</td><td align='left'>Flying Lizard (Draco)</td><td align='right'>20</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>8.</td><td align='left'>Birds in flight</td><td align='right'>22</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>9.</td><td align='left'>Flying Squirrel (Pteromys)</td><td align='right'>24</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>10.</td><td align='left'>Bats, flying and walking</td><td align='right'>25</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>11.</td><td align='left'>Skeleton of Pterodactylus longirostris</td><td align='right'>28</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>12.</td><td align='left'>The skeleton restored</td><td align='right'>29</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>13.</td><td align='left'>The animal form restored</td><td align='right'>30</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>14.</td><td align='left'>Fore limbs in four types of mammals</td><td align='right'>38</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>15.</td><td align='left'>Pneumatic foramen in Pterodactyle bone</td><td align='right'>46</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>16.</td><td align='left'>Lungs of the bird Apteryx</td><td align='right'>48</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>17.</td><td align='left'>Air cells in the body of an Ostrich</td><td align='right'>49</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>18.</td><td align='left'>Lung of a Chameleon</td><td align='right'>51</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>19.</td><td align='left'>Brain in Pterodactyle, Mammal, Bird, and Reptiles</td><td align='right'>53</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>20.</td><td align='left'>Skull of Kingfisher and Rhamphorhynchus</td><td align='right'>63</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>21.</td><td align='left'>Skull of Heron and Rhamphorhynchus</td><td align='right'>65</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>22.</td><td align='left'>Palate of Macrocercus and ? Campylognathus</td><td align='right'>71</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>23.</td><td align='left'>Lower jaw of Echidna and Ornithostoma</td><td align='right'>76</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>24.</td><td align='left'>First two neck vertebræ of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>81[Pg xii]</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>25.</td><td align='left'>Middle neck vertebræ of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>83</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>26.</td><td align='left'>Back vertebra of Ornithocheirus and Crocodile</td><td align='right'>86</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>27.</td><td align='left'>Sacrum, with hip bones, of Rhamphorhynchus</td><td align='right'>88</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>28.</td><td align='left'>Extremity of tail of Rhamphorhynchus phyllurus</td><td align='right'>91</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>29.</td><td align='left'>Hip-girdle bones in Apteryx and Rhamphorhynchus</td><td align='right'>95</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>30.</td><td align='left'>Pelvis with prepubic bone in Pterodactylus</td><td align='right'>96</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>31.</td><td align='left'>Pelvis with prepubic bones in Rhamphorhynchus</td><td align='right'>97</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>32.</td><td align='left'>Pelvis of an Alligator seen from below</td><td align='right'>98</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>33.</td><td align='left'>Femora: Echidna, Ornithocheirus, Ursus</td><td align='right'>100</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>34.</td><td align='left'>Tibia and fibula: Dimorphodon and Vulture</td><td align='right'>102</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>35.</td><td align='left'>Metatarsus and digits in three Pterodactyles</td><td align='right'>104</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>36.</td><td align='left'>Sternum in Cormorant and Rhamphorhynchus</td><td align='right'>108</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>37.</td><td align='left'>Sternum in Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>109</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>38.</td><td align='left'>Shoulder-girdle bones in a bird and three Pterodactyles</td><td align='right'>113</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>39.</td><td align='left'>The Notarium from the back of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>115</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>40.</td><td align='left'>The shoulder-girdle of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>115</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>41.</td><td align='left'>Humerus of Pigeon and Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>119</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>42.</td><td align='left'>Fore-arm of Golden Eagle and Dimorphodon</td><td align='right'>120</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>43.</td><td align='left'>Wrist bones of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>124</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>44.</td><td align='left'>Clawed digits of the hand in two Pterodactyles</td><td align='right'>125</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>45.</td><td align='left'>Claw from the hand of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>129</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>46.</td><td align='left'>The hand in Archæopteryx and the Ostrich</td><td align='right'>130</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>48.</td><td align='left'>Slab of Lias with bones of Dimorphodon</td><td align='right'>To face page 143</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>49.</td><td align='left'>Dimorphodon (restored form) at rest</td><td align='right'>144</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>50.</td><td align='left'>Dimorphodon (restored form of the animal)</td><td align='right'>To face page 145</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>51.</td><td align='left'>Dimorphodon skeleton, walking as a quadruped</td><td align='right'>To face page 146</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>52.</td><td align='left'>Dimorphodon skeleton as a biped</td><td align='right'>To face page 147</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>53.</td><td align='left'>Lower jaw of Dorygnathus</td><td align='right'>149</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>54.</td><td align='left'>Dimorphodon (wing membranes spread for flight)</td><td align='right'>To face page 150</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>55.</td><td align='left'>Pelvis of Dimorphodon</td><td align='right'>151</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>56.</td><td align='left'>Rhamphorhynchus skeleton (restored)</td><td align='right'>161</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>57.</td><td align='left'>Scaphognathus (restoration of 1875)</td><td align='right'>163</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>58.</td><td align='left'>Six restorations of Ornithosaurs</td><td align='right'>164</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>59.</td><td align='left'>Ptenodracon skeleton (restored)</td><td align='right'>167</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>60.</td><td align='left'>Cycnorhamphus suevicus slab with bones</td><td align='right'>To face page 168</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>61.</td><td align='left'>Cycnorhamphus suevicus (form of the animal)</td><td align='right'>To face page 169</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>62.</td><td align='left'>Cycnorhamphus suevicus skeleton (restored)</td><td align='right'>170[Pg xiii]</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>63.</td><td align='left'>Cycnorhamphus Fraasi (restored skeleton form of the animal)</td><td align='right'>To face page 170</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>64.</td><td align='left'>Cycnorhamphus Fraasi (restoration of the form of the body)</td><td align='right'>To face page 171</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>65.</td><td align='left'>Neck vertebra of Doratorhynchus from the Purbeck</td><td align='right'>173</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>66.</td><td align='left'>Neck bone of Ornithodesmus from the Wealden</td><td align='right'>173</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>67.</td><td align='left'>Sternum of Ornithodesmus, seen from the front</td><td align='right'>175</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>68.</td><td align='left'>Sternum of Ornithodesmus, side view, showing the keel</td><td align='right'>175</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>69.</td><td align='left'>Diagram of known parts of skull of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>177</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>70.</td><td align='left'>Neck bone of Ornithocheirus</td><td align='right'>179</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>71.</td><td align='left'>Jaws of Ornithocheirus from the Chalk</td><td align='right'>180</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>72.</td><td align='left'>Palate of the English Toothless Pterodactyle</td><td align='right'>181</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>73.</td><td align='left'>Two views of the skull of Ornithostoma (Pteranodon)</td><td align='right'>182</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>74.</td><td align='left'>Skeleton of Ornithostoma</td><td align='right'>183</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>75.</td><td align='left'>Comparison of six skulls of Ornithosaurs</td><td align='right'>192</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>76.</td><td align='left'>Pelvis of Ornithostoma</td><td align='right'>195</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>77.</td><td align='left'>Skull of Anchisaurus and Dimorphodon</td><td align='right'>199</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>78.</td><td align='left'>Skull of Ornithosuchus and Dimorphodon</td><td align='right'>201</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>79.</td><td align='left'>The pelvis in Ornithosaur and Dinosaur</td><td align='right'>204</td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>80.</td><td align='left'>The prepubic bones in Dimorphodon and Iguanodon</td><td align='right'>206</td></tr> </table></div> <div class="blockquot">These figures are greatly reduced in size, and when two or more bones are shown in the same figure all are brought to the same size to facilitate the comparison. </div> [Pg xiv] <hr style="width: 65%;" /> [Pg 1] <h1>DRAGONS OF THE AIR</h1> <hr style="width: 15%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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