File:Birds and nature (1900) (14752946104).jpg

Identifier: birdsnature831900chic (find matches)
Title: Birds and nature
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Birds Natural history
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Mumford, Publisher
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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any other found in theSilurian. The next and last group of fishes isknown as Teleosts, or bony fishes. Tothis group belong our typical fishes,such as black bass, sun fishes, suckers,cat fishes and the like. None of thisgroup lived during the Silurian. Following the Silurian came the De-vonian, which is called the age offishes. In no time in the worlds his-tory have fishes been so large and soabundant as during this age. Theyoutclassed in every respect all otheranimals. The same general typesflourished as those which existed in thelatter part of the Silurian. There weremore species and more individuals andsome grew to an enormous size.Fishes ruled the Devonian seas. Thecrustaceans, such as trilobites whichgreatly predominated during the Silu-rian age, diminished greatly during theDevonian. In the struggle for exist-ence they decreased in size and innumbers, and were obliged to seeksafety in less favorable places. TheDevonian fishes were largely sharksand ganoids, especially the latter.
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137 These were covered, with hard, en-amel-coated scales or bony plates.Some were short and heavy and en-tirely encased in a covering of largebony plates. They were evidently any-thing but pretty and their movementsin the water must have been extremelyawkward. Others were formed muchafter our own ideas of fishes. Thesebore much resemblance to our gar-pikes, the lung fish of the Nile and thelung fish of Australia, and the worth-less dog fish of our own fresh waters.Anglers and fishermen all despisethese fishes now, yet in Devonian timesthe fishes most nearly like them wereevidently the most handsome andgraceful of all fishes then living. Itappears as if fishes in those days didnot fight each other. They foundabundant sea room and plenty of foodin the form of invertebrates. Of courseit is quite probable that many fish-likeanimals existed at this time, but pos-sessing no hard parts and were notpreserved as fossils ; these could not be-come at all important for the sea wastoo full of larg

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