374 ORTMANN — DISTRIBUTION OF DECAPODS [Aprils, 



times, as is shown by a continuous series of sediments lying upon 

 Azoic rocks. Here ^ has been found Jurassic, Cretaceous, Eocene, 

 Oligocene and Miocene. The latter deposits (Miocene) belong 

 to the Sarmatian inland sea. Beginning with the Pontic stage, the 

 sea recedes on the southern side of the Caucasus (freshwater 

 deposits), while on the northern side marine deposits, belonging 

 to the Ponto-Caspian Sea, continue. The latter disappear after the 

 Glacial period. 



The map, given by Neumayr, of the Eastern Mediterranean 

 countries during the Lower Pliocene (1890, Vol. i, p. 330, see 

 also Vol. 2, p. 526) exhibits a much more extended development 

 of land than at the present time. Especially striking is the direct 

 connection of Asia Minor with the Balkan Peninsula and Central 

 Europe. The corresponding rrap for the Later Pliocene, given by 

 Scharff (1895, p. 465, and 1897, p. 461), indicates an additional 

 land connection from Dalmatia over Southern Italy and Sicily to 

 Algiers (see also 1895, P- 47°» ^^^ 1897, p. 461), which is repre- 

 sented in Neumayr's map only by a series of islands." Thus we 

 obtain a continuous land connection from Asia Minor to North- 

 western Africa, belonging to the Pliocene age. 



In the Pleistocene (Glacial) time, according to ScharfF (1897, 

 map p. 466), this connection is still present. 



In the northern parts of Europe we have no land connection in 

 an easterly direction during the Cretaceous time. According to 

 Koken (1893), however, North Asia was connected with Scandi- 

 navia in the Upper Cretaceous, forming part of a huge circumpolar 

 Arctic continent ; but the evidence for its existence seems to be 

 very doubtful. For the Older Tertiary, Koken again indicates a 

 separation of Northern Europe from Asia. In subsequent times, up 

 to the Later Pliocene, the Sarmatian Sea covered the whole of 

 Northeast Europe (Scharff, 1897, map p. 461), thus perpetuating 

 the separation from Asia. During Glacial times this separation 

 was maintained by the ice sheet covering Northern Russia and by 

 the existence of the Aralo Caspian basin, and it was not until 

 Interglacial times that a communication of Asia and Central 



' See Fournier, in Ann. Fac. Sci. Marseille, Vol. 7, 1896. 



■•* The large extension of the Mediterranean Sea to the south of Algiers over 

 the Sahara desert in a westerly direction, as shown by Scliarft's map (p. 470), is 

 probably erroneous. 



