24 Dr. E. C. A^. van Hocpen 



On Land Connections and the former extent of the 

 African Continent. 



An Address delivered before the Pretoria Branch 

 of the S.A.B.S. 



By Dr. E. C. N. van Hoepen, M.I. 



South Africa presents to the student of animal and plant 

 distribution many problems, which are still being explained by 

 many, and therefore unsatisfactory, hypotheses. Our nature 

 demands an explanation of some sort. Hypotheses are thought 

 out, criticised and dropped for better ones in a continuous string. 

 The most fascinating, and therefore the most tenacious, are those 

 grand ones, which are supported by a few facts of the same 

 character and which cannot be contradicted, or only with great 

 difficulty, by facts of another character. 



The geologist, who finds deposits with the same plant remains 

 in South Africa, Southern India and Australia, is easily led to 

 the conclusion, that these land -deposits are remnants of a vast 

 continent, which once connected the distant portions and covered 

 the whole of the Indian Ocean. 



The zoologist, who finds the nearest relation of a South 

 African animal in South America, has bridged the enormous 

 gap between the two sub-continents by a direct thought, and 

 the next step, that of consolidating this frail connection into a 

 more substantial land bridge, seems to be an easy matter. 



The paleontologist is struck by the remarkable resemblance 

 between the North American Permian fauna and that of our 

 Karroo rocks. The fauna of these two regions is already so 

 largely known, that he is constantly searching for and finding 

 the ties of relationship between them. The construction of the 

 land bridge, which had to secure his objects of study an easy 

 walk-over, has offered no special difficulties. Neither of these 



