384 



BULLETIN 120, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



due in part to influences other than their place of origin and avail- 

 able migration routes. As we have no fossil remains of this probably 

 waning family, the data from their present distribution deserves less 

 emphasis. 



KX^ 



Of two groups of fresh-water fishes Eigenmann (1909) writes: 



The Cichlidae [fig. 257] and Characinidae [fig. 258] are abundant in tropical 



America and in Africa, a few species of Cichlidae being also found in India. 



There is no known means by which these two forms could have crossed the 



existing gap between Africa and South America. There has been no exchange 



