CH. Ill] FORMER EXTENSION OF ANTARCTICA. 165 



The continent at present is entirely ice-bound, and 

 though of great size, about twice as large as Europe, does 

 not bulk largely upon most maps ; this is due to the small 

 extent of coast line which has been explored. At present 

 the antarctic continent is probably almost entirely with- 

 out a terrestrial fauna by reason of course of its rigorous 

 climate. 



Mr Forbes boldly draws imaginary land tracts connect- 

 ing this region with the adjacent continents of Africa, 

 America and Australia. There is certainly some evidence 

 in favour of such a connection having once existed. There 

 are however numerous facts which appear to negative 

 such an idea. The negation however is possibly more 

 apparent than real. It has been pointed out that the 

 ocean which separates the south polar continent from any 

 other land is of great depth, and all those arguments for 

 the permanence of the great oceans apply in this case as 

 in the others dealt with on a previous page. But it must 

 be admitted here as in so many cases that our knowledge 

 of ocean soundings is far from complete ; Mr Blanford 

 points out 1 that south of Africa there are no soundings 

 and that therefore we are at liberty in the meantime to 

 regard as possible the existence of a bank uniting the 

 two continents of no greater depth than the Mozambique 

 channel. It is however rather New Zealand and Pata- 

 gonia which are allied in their fauna than either of them 

 with the southern parts of Africa ; resemblances between 

 tropical Africa and tropical America have been dealt with 

 on another page (p. 112). These likenesses in a few cases 

 1 Presidential address to Geol. Soc. 1890. 



