| → or some few 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
| OMIT 1872 |
|
| → groups of species 1861 1866 1869 |
| species 1859 1860 |
| groups or species 1872 |
|
| → and consequently that the transitional forms would often long remain confined to some one region; but 1861 1866 1869 1872 |
| but 1859 1860 |
|
| → adaptation had once 1861 1866 1869 1872 |
| had 1859 1860 |
|
| → be able to 1859 1860 1861 1866 |
| OMIT 1869 1872 |
|
|
continually forget how large the world is, compared with the area over which our geological formations have been carefully examined; we forget that groups of species may elsewhere have long
and have slowly
before they invaded the ancient archipelagoes of Europe and
the United States. We do not make due allowance for the
intervals of
which have
elapsed between our consecutive formations,— longer perhaps in
cases than the time required for the accumulation of each formation. These intervals will have given time for the multiplication of species from some one
→or some few
and in the succeeding
such
→groups of species
will appear as if suddenly created. |
|
| I may here recall a remark formerly made,
that it might require a long succession of ages to adapt an organism to some new and peculiar line of life, for
to fly through the air;
→and consequently that the transitional forms would often long remain confined to some one region; but
when this
→adaptation had once
been effected, and a few species had thus acquired a great advantage over other organisms, a comparatively short time would be necessary to produce many divergent forms, which would
→be able to
spread rapidly and widely throughout the world. Professor Pictet, in his excellent Review of this work, in commenting on early transitional forms, and taking birds as an illustration, cannot see how the successive modifications of the anterior limbs of a supposed prototype could possibly have been of any advantage. But look at the penguins of the Southern Ocean; have not these birds their front limbs in this precise intermediate state of
true arms nor true
Yet these birds hold their place victoriously in the battle for life; for they exist in infinite numbers and of many kinds. I do not
|
