1902.] AND ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. 333 



scribed by sea — the Central Mediterranean Sea and the Ethiopian 

 Gulf of Neumayr. A connection with India in this direction, 

 and a migration of PotamonincB from India to Africa (or vice 

 versa) by this route was then impossible. 



Further, I should lil<:e to point out that we have to be careful 

 about this Indo Madagassian bridge. A case which has occurred 

 to me, and which might lead to misinterpretation, is furnished by 

 the distribution of the Reptile-family Chamaleontidce. According 

 to Gadow, ^ this family is found in Africa, Madagascar and India, 

 a distribution which is quite analogous to that of the Potamoni- 

 nce, and might induce us, at the first glance, to trace it back to 

 this old Indo-Madagassian connection. A closer study, however, 

 reveals the fact that the Chameleon of India has nothing to do with 

 the Madagassian species, but is related to the form widely dis- 

 tributed in North Africa, Syria and Asia Minor. Here the con- 

 nection apparently goes from North Africa over Syria and Arabia 

 to India, and this distribution belongs to a much later period when 

 Lemuria no longer existed. 



4. CONNECTION OF NEW ZEALAND WITH AUSTRALIA. 



We have seen that a genus of the family Parastacidce, Parane- 

 phrops, is found in New Zealand, and this fact points to a former 

 connection of these islands with Australia. We further are to 

 pay attention to some adaitional facts, which, although they do 

 not seem to be sufficiently established to be accepted witiiout com- 

 ment, are apt to throw some light upon this connection. 



First, according to Huxley ( 7> Zool. Soc., 1878, p. 771), 

 Paranephrops is said to be found in the Fiji Islands. This 

 locality is supported by two specimens in the British Museum, 

 which are in a very bad condition ; moreover, there is no report 

 as to the authenticity of the locality, and the genus has never again 

 been reported from these islands. 



Further, Nobili (1899) describes from southern New Guinea a 

 genus and species, Astaconephrops alhertisi^ which is said to be 

 closely allied to Paranephrops. It is impossible, however, to con- 

 trol the systematic position of this form, since only external char- 

 acters are given, and the most important one, the branchial 



1 Gadow, H., " Amphibia and Reptilia,' in The Cambridge Natural His- 

 tory, Vol. 8, 1 90 1, map, p. 568. 



