→ modified. 1859 1860 |
modified in relation to its new habits of life; whereas the woodpecker of La Plata has its structure only slightly modified. 1861 1866 |
modified in relation to its new habits of life; whereas the woodpecker of La Plata has had its structure only slightly modified. 1869 1872 |
|
↑ 2 blocks not present in 1859 1860 1861; present in 1866 1869 1872 |
In the case of the water-ouzel, the acutest observer by examining its dead body would never have suspected its sub-aquatic habits; yet this anomalous member of the terrestrial
thrush family
wholly
subsists by diving,—grasping the stones with its feet, and
using its wings under water.
All the members of the great order of Hymenoptera
are
terrestrial, excepting the genus Proctotrupes, which Sir John Lubbock has recently
discovered to be aquatic in its habits; it often enters the water and dives about by the use not of its legs but of its wings, and remains as long as four hours beneath the surface; yet not the least
modification in its
structure can be detected
in accordance with such
abnormal habits.
|
|
→ other hand, 1859 1860 |
case of the waterouzel, 1861 |
|
→ of the water-ouzel 1859 1860 |
OMIT 1861 |
|
→ of 1859 1860 1861 |
not furnished with membrane, of the 1866 1869 |
not furnished with membrane of the 1872 |
|
→ yet the water-hen 1859 1860 |
— yet the water-hen 1861 |
—the water-hen and landrail are members of this order, yet the first 1866 1869 |
— the water-hen 1872 |
|
→ is 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
and landrail are members of this order, yet the first is 1872 |
|
flight, would be mistaken by any one for an auk or
it is essentially a petrel, but with many parts of its organisation profoundly
→modified.
↑
the
→other hand,
the acutest observer by examining
dead body
→of the water-ouzel
would never have suspected its sub-aquatic habits; yet this anomalous member of the
terrestrial thrush family wholly subsists by diving,— grasping the stones with its
and using its wings under water. |
|
He who believes that each being has been created as we now see it, must occasionally have felt surprise when he has met with an animal having habits and structure not
in agreement. What can be plainer than that the webbed feet of ducks and geese are formed for swimming?
there are upland geese with webbed feet which rarely
go near the water; and no one except Audubon has seen the frigate-bird, which has all its four toes webbed, alight on the surface of the
On the other
grebes and coots are eminently aquatic, although their toes are only bordered by membrane. What seems plainer than that the long
→of
are formed for walking over swamps and floating
→yet the water-hen
→is
nearly as aquatic as the
and the
nearly as terrestrial as the quail or partridge. In such cases, and many others could be given, habits have changed without a corresponding change of structure. The webbed feet of the upland goose may be said to have become
in function, though not in structure. In the frigate-bird, the
membrane between the toes shows that structure has begun to change. |
|
He who believes in separate and innumerable acts of creation
say, that in these cases it has pleased the Creator to cause a being of one type to take the place of one
another type; but this seems to me only
|