The foundations of The origin of species : a sketch written in 1842 / edited by Francis Darwin.
- Charles Darwin
- Date:
- 1909
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The foundations of The origin of species : a sketch written in 1842 / edited by Francis Darwin. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![the arteries, as long as they nourish the foetus; it is the selection of slight changes which supervene at any time during (illegible) of life. The less differences of foetus,—this has obvious meaning on this view: otherwise how strange that a [monkey] horse, a man, a bat should at one time of life have arteries, running in a manner, which is only intelligibly useful in a fish! The natural system being on theory genealogical, we can at once see, why foetus, retaining traces of the ancestral form, is of the highest value in classification. § ix. (Abortive organs.) There is another grand class of facts relating to what are called abortive organs. These consist of organs which the same reasoning power that shows us how beautifully these organs in some cases are adapted to certain end, declares in other cases are absolutely useless. Thus teeth in Rhinoceros1, whale, narwhal,—bone on tibia, muscles which do not move,—little bone of wing of Apteryx,—bone repre¬ senting extremities in some snake,—little wings within (?) soldered cover of beetles,—men and bulls, mammae: filaments without anthers in plants, mere scales representing petals in others, in feather- hyacinth whole flower. Almost infinitely numerous. No one can reflect on these without astonishment, can anything be clearer than that wings are to fly and teeth (to bite), and yet we find these organs perfect in every detail in situations where they cannot possibly be of their normal use2. The term abortive organ has been thus applied 1 Some of these examples occur in Origin, Ed. i. pp. 450-51, vi. pp. 619-20. 2 The two following sentences are written, one down the margin, the other across the page. “ Abortive organs eminently useful in classification. Embryonic state of organs. Rudiments of organs.”](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b31351761_0079.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
