Abstract
THE study of fossil fishes, referred to in the presidential address to the society in 1915, raised the question as to whether animals of apparently the same family, genus, or species might not originate more than once from separate series of ancestors. The higher vertebrates, which inhabited the land, may most profitably be examined to throw light on the subject; for the land has always been subdivided into well-defined areas, isolated by seas, mountains, and deserts, so that animals in these several areas must often have developed independently for long periods.. Students of shells are unanimous in recognising what they term homceomorphy, and trace immature, mature, and senile stages in the course of every race that can be followed through successive geological formations. Vertebrate skeletons, which,have much more numerous and tangible characters, and approach senility in more varied ways, should afford a clearer view of general principles.
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Use of Fossil Remains of the Higher Vertebrates in Stratigraphical Geology 1 . Nature 97, 92–93 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/097092a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/097092a0