It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial, and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, where mud and silt have been continuously deposited, that bodies and the like can be rapidly covered over and preserved. But even in the most favorable circumstances only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way before decay sets n or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them.

After all, all creatures live by feeding on something else, whether it be plant or animals, dead or alive, and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided.

因为一切生物都是靠吃别的生命来活命的，不管这种东西是植物还是动物，死的还是活的，因此，生物偶尔才能避免被吃掉的命运。