The Invertebrate Fauna of the Uitenhage Series 55 



Range.* He thinks this cannot readily be explained except by 

 an oceanic connection separating India and Africa. In addition, the 

 question of the existence of very strong palasontological links con- 

 necting the Uitenhage fauna with that of the marine Oomia beds 

 in Cutch, concerning which some doubts might at one time have 

 been held, and were, in fact, expressed, may now be considered 

 to have been definitely settled, and this cannot be lightly set on one 

 side. Further, the recent discovery in the Uitenhage beds of 

 belemnites which are related to the Neocomian Hastati of Europe, 

 a group represented in the north-west of Madagascar, has undoubted 

 significance, and helps materially to invalidate Neumayr's ingenious 

 argument. 



There is, indeed, no evidence that the means of communication 

 lay only by way of the east coast of the Indian peninsula and 

 thence to Cutch, and while the occurrence of Trigonia ventricosa 

 near Coconada might seem to suggest that the submergence of the 

 ridge was not so great as to preclude the migration of some littoral 

 types, the discovery of a Neocomian fauna in German Bast Africa 

 showing relationship to that of the Uitenhage Series, throws some 

 fresh light on the question and appears to require a more direct line 

 of communication. This may most reasonably be supposed to have 

 existed in some nearer passage, situated between Africa and India, 

 as above indicated. The seeming absence of the Uitenhage cepha- 

 lopods or of the genus Seebachia from the Neocomian of German 

 East Africa may very probably be due to our imperfect knowledge 

 of the fauna in this less frequented district. The Cephalopoda of 

 the Uitenhage Series, although perhaps rarer in their occurrence 

 than the lamellibranchs, are well known because these beds have 

 been more thoroughly and more frequently searched than those in 

 German East Africa. 



We may here note Dr. G. Mliller's suggestion f to the effect that 

 Stow's record of Uitenhage lamellibranchs from the Zambesi, J 

 which was discredited by Holub, may after all prove to have 

 been authentic. Until this record can be substantiated, however, 

 the suggestion may perhaps be without special significance as 

 pointing to the direction in which a fauna of intermediate 

 character may be sought for. The fact that it is not in the 

 nearer East African Neocomian, but in the more remote Oomia 

 strata that the higher percentage of Uitenhage forms is found to 

 occur, may possibly indicate that the passage between north and 



* Kossmat (3), p. 78, footnote. f G. Miiller (1), p. 571. 



I Stow (1), p. 505, in editorial footnote. Suess (1), p. 541, note 28. 



