128 THE NEOG^IC REALM. [CHAP. 



ungulates were only developed as such in America itself. Even 

 if they ever existed in Africa there is no more reason why they 

 should have survived there than in America. As the evidence 

 for the presence of Insectivora in the Santa Cruz deposits is 

 not very strong, the case of the West Indian solenodons must 

 not be pressed too strongly, but their affinity to the tenrecs of 

 Madagascar, and the absence of allied types in the North American 

 Tertiaries, both point to their having reached Neogsea with the 

 other eutherians. 



Regarding a possible connection between Africa and South 

 America by way of the Antarctic continent, Dr Blanford 1 writes 

 as follows: "Singularly enough, so far as our present information 

 as to the depths of the southern oceans goes, there would appear 

 at first sight to be less difficulty in supposing a former extension 

 of the southern continent to Australia and South America than to 

 Africa, the depth as shown on the ' Challenger' charts south of the 

 former continents nowhere exceeding 2000 fathoms, whereas to the 

 south of Africa there is represented a considerable belt of greater 

 depth. But on an Admiralty chart on which all the known deep 

 soundings are marked, none are shown south of the southern 

 extremity of Africa.... So far as our present information goes, 

 the ocean south of the Cape of Good Hope may be no deeper 

 than the Mozambique channel, though probably the depth is 

 greater in the former case." 



Before discussing certain relationships between the Ethiopian 

 fauna and that of Neogaea, it seems advisable to 



"Antarctica" . . . _ 



and the South refer to some recent views as to the existence of 



a S reat southern circumpolar continent in Tertiary- 

 Ethiopian times, extending into comparatively low latitudes, 



and connected, at all events temporarily, with 

 America, Africa, and Australia. For this continent the name 

 Antarctica has been suggested by Dr H. O. Forbes 2 , who urges 

 that many of the types of animal life now confined to the southern 

 hemisphere have originated there. It is chiefly to show the fallacy 

 of these latter views that the subject is referred to here ; palaeon- 

 tological evidence clearly proving that several of the groups of 



1 Appendix, No. 8, p. 100. 



2 Appendix, No. 15. 



