248 ORIGIN OF LIFE IN AMERICA 



only mention Fuchsia, which is abundant in Chile and Pata- 

 gonia, reappears more sparingly in Colombia, and is almost 

 unknown further north until we come to Guatemala and 

 Mexico. The extreme antiquity of this genus is indicated 

 by its occurrence on the island of Haiti (F. triphylla), while 

 it is altogether absent from the rest of the West Indian 

 Islands. 



In his analysis of the flora of the whole region, Mr. 

 Hemsley * informs us that the northern province, that is 

 to say the plateau of Mexico, is the focus of a xerophilous 

 flora extending into the dry regions of south Mexico and into 

 the territories north of Mexico. The central province, com- 

 prising southern Mexico and Guatemala, possesses a mingling 

 of northern and southern types exhibiting an extraordinarily 

 rich production of local species. The southern province is 

 merely an outlier of the American tropical flora. The tropical 

 element of the whole flora is more closely allied to that of 

 eastern South America than to that of the West Indies. 



The relationship of the Mexican and Central American 

 floras to those of other parts of the world is also of import- 

 ance. Thus Mexico and Central America have a large number 

 of genera in common with eastern Asia, with Africa, Mada- 

 gascar and Europe. They likewise exhibit affinities with the 

 Galapagos islands, with New Zealand, Australia and Polynesia. 

 Now, if we compare the results of the study of botany with 

 those derived from an examination of the mammalian fauna, 

 we are struck at once by the fact that the plants among which 

 the mammals live must be of much greater antiquity than the> 

 latter. As Mr. Alston f tells us, the mammals of Mexico 

 and Central America are composed, partly of southern species 

 not found southward of Mexico, of a few that extend as far 

 south as Panama, and chiefly of South American ones which 

 have spread across Central America. There are also a number 

 of autochthonous species in this region. Yet very few of the 

 genera are found in other parts of the world than America. 



Among our new acquaintances we meet for the first time 

 with the kinkajous, one species of which (Potos flavus) has 

 succeeded in reaching the State of Vera Cruz in Mexico. 



* Hemsley, W. B., " Botany of Central America," pp. 306315. 

 t Alston, E. R., "Mammals of Central America," 



