Page:The Last link.djvu/76

64 ton, the skull and the pelvis; and, of the tegumentary structures, the formation of a hairy covering. Many such creatures existed in the Triassic epoch—namely, the Theromorpha—some of which indeed possess so many characteristics which otherwise occur in the Mammalia only, that these creatures have been termed Sauro-Mammalia. However, it has to be emphasized that none of the Theromorpha hitherto discovered fulfils all the requirements which would entitle them to this important linking position. They only give us an approximate idea of what this link was like.

18. Stage of the Promammalia, or Prototheria. The only surviving members are the famous duck-bill, Ornithorhynchus, and the spiny ant-eaters, Echidna and Proechidna, of the Australian region. These few genera, however, differ so much from one another in various important respects that they cannot but be remnants of an originally much larger group. Indeed, many fossils from the Upper