Over a South Atlantic Continent 453 



description of "The Mesozoic Flora" (279: III 14) de- 

 scribes a pteridophytic, gymnospermic, and angiospermic 

 series of plant remains, that correspond closely with forms 

 from "Gondwana" Cretaceous rocks. 



Dusen in his paper "Ueber die Tertiare Flora der 

 Seymour Insel "(Schwed. S. Polar Exped. V. 3 p. 3) gives 

 a considerable list of what were probably late Eocene 

 or early Miocene plants, several of which he either identi- 

 fies with living South American species, or regards them 

 as closely allied species. Thus Fagus dicksoni, Nothofagus 

 magellamca, Caldecluvia mirabilis, and about a dozen ad- 

 ditional, all conform to one or other relation. The environ- 

 al conditions therefore must have existed, for migration 

 both of freshwater fishes and of marsupials, during Ter- 

 tiary times, over a considerable part of the southern hemi- 

 sphere. So whether one accepts the Forbes or the Hedley 

 theory of an antarctic landmass, or the view that the 

 writer inclines to accept, of a southern continent that 

 stretched with varying continuity from S. America and the 

 Falklands across to Norfolk Island, and whose middle line 

 was about 50° S. lat. the final distributional result would 

 be the same. 



The writer, therefore, definitely accepts it that the 

 Galaxidae and Aplochitonidae exhibit exactly the same geo- 

 graphical and biological connections as do many other 

 animal groups, and not a few genera of plants. Also that 

 their total absence from intermediate islands, is wholly due 

 to fundamental and wide-spread physical or biological con- 

 ditions of an adverse kind, that have caused their oblitera- 

 tion. 



But facts that we now possess strongly indicate, that 

 similar terrestrial forces which operated to alter and break 

 up land areas over the southern continent, were also opera- 

 tive over the South Australian continent, and at least in 

 part caused elevation of land-masses along with their fauna. 

 Thus Galaxias alpiniis and G. coxei are found, the former 

 in alpine lakes of Hardy peninsula, Tierra-del-Fuego; the 

 latter in a rivulet near the summit of Mount Wilson, and at 

 an elevation of about 3500 ft. Macleay {280:^^) in de- 

 scribing the latter states that it delights in cold shady 



