Remains of _Reptiles_ are very abundant in Triassic deposits,
and belong to very varied types. The most marked feature, in
fact, connected with the Vertebrate fauna of the Trias, and of
the Secondary rocks in general, is the great abundance of Reptilian
life. Hence the Secondary period is often spoken of as the "Age
of Reptiles." Many of the Triassic reptiles depart widely in
their structure from any with which we are acquainted as existing
on the earth at the present day, and it is only possible here to
briefly note some of the more important of these ancient forms.
Amongst the group of the Lizards (_Lacertilia_), represented by
_Protorosaurus_ in the older Permian strata, three types more
or less certainly referable to this order may be mentioned. One
of these is a small reptile which was found many years ago in
sandstones near Elgin, in Scotland, and which excited special
interest at the time in consequence of the fact that the strata
in question were believed to belong to the Old Red Sandstone
formation. It is, however, now certain that the Elgin sandstones
which contain _Telerpeton Elginense_, as this reptile is termed,
are really to be regarded as of Triassic age. By Professor Huxley,
_Telerpeton_ is regarded as a Lizard, which cannot be considered
as "in any sense a less perfectly-organised creature than the
Gecko, whose swift and noiseless run over walls and ceilings
surprises the traveller in climates warmer than our own.
Pages:
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335