"Ithasbeennoticed," writesourgreatzoologist,"thatcertaintypes, whicharefrequentlyprominentamongtherepresentativesofpastages, combineintheirstructurepeculiaritieswhichatlaterperiodsareonlyobservedseparatelyindifferent, , Pterodactylesbeforebirds, Ichthyosauribeforedolphins, , ofnearlyeveryclassofanimals, whichinthestateoftheirperfectdevelopmentexemplifysuchpropheticrelations.
ThesauroidfishesofthepastgeologicalagesareanexampleofthiskindThesefisheswhichprecededtheappearanceofreptilespresentacombinationofichthyicandreptiliancharactersnottobefoundinthetruemembersofthisclass, , whichprecededtheclassofbirds, andtheIchthyosauri, whichprecededtheCetacea, areotherexamplesofsuchprophetictypes."—(Agassiz, "Contributions, EssayonClassification," p.117.
Now, thesereptile-likefishes, ofwhichgar-pikesarethelivingrepresentatives, thoughofearlierappearance,, whentheymostlygaveplaceto (or, asthederivationistswillinsist, wereresolvedbydivergentvariationandnaturalselectioninto) commonfishes, destituteofreptiliancharacters,andsaurianreptiles—theintermediategrades, which,accordingtoafamiliarpiscinesaying, are "neitherfish, flesh, norgoodred-herring," , perhaps, , weneednotwonderthatsomewhoreadtheminAgassizsbookwillreadtheirfulfillmentinDarwins.
