186 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION C. 
‘Barrier, but would in like nianner hinder the migration of 
fish, and of the marine invertebrates generally. If this 
barrier was effectual and long-continued, the difficulties of 
correlating the marine Tertiaries in the two hemispheres 
would be materially increased, but the reascn for the diffi- 
culties would become more plain. 
Belief in the existence of this land connection has been 
arrived at on two lines of argument. In the first place the 
present and past. distribution of the terrestrial fauna and 
flora seems to point to it, and in the second place that of 
the marine fauna seems to lead in the same direction. 
Suess is of opinion that the Atlantic is of comparatively 
recent origin, and arose as a north and south extension from 
a westward enlargement of the Mediterranean. 
The close agreement of therecent faunaof the West Indies 
with that of tha Mediterranean Miocene has been frequently 
drawn attention to. (Gregory, 95, p. 306.) The agree 
ment runs through corals, echinoids, and molluscs, and as | 
the Tertiary Mediterranean fauna is not found in Northern 
_Europe and America, it must, as Gregory pomts out, have 
crept along the southern shore of this ancient sea. Osborne, 
as previously remarked, requires the land connection in early 
Tertiary times to explain the distribution of the Sirenia 1nd 
Edentates. The latter, he holds, originated in South 
America, crossed to Africa, and reached Europe in early 
Oligocene times. 
Blanford (Blanford, ’90, p. 106) suggests a further exten- 
sion of this land to the eastward in Mesozoic times. He 
says—‘‘ There may even, in the Mesozoic era . . . have 
been a girdle of land, chiefly in low latitudes, round 
nearly threequarters of the earth’s circumference, from 
Peru to New Zealand and the Fiji Islands.” This laid he 
believes broke up in early Tertiary times. 
Lydekker accepts this ancient land. He says (Lydekker, 
’96, p. 23)—“ Various lines of evidence indicate that during 
the Jurassic and Cretaceous epochs there was a continuous 
land connection between Africa (by way of Madagascar and 
the Seychelles) and India; while at some time in the 
Secondary era, im the opinion of Drs. Neumayer and Blan- 
ford, South America and Souch Africa were in communica- 
tion across the South Atlantic.” 
The existence of a South Pacific continent has a strong 
advocate in our President, Captain Hutton (Hutton, ’96), 
and his work will be fresh in the minds of most. 
The most recent advocate of the idea appears to be Pils 
bry. (Pilsbry, ’01, p. 576.) Basing his ideas on, an 
