INTRODUCTION 69 



In his notable paper of 1870 Rlanford ^ clearly implied the existence of an 

 African element in the fauna of India, but he referred to mammals ratiier of 

 recent than of early evolution in Africa. He believed ^ that an Indo-African 

 land connection (the Lemuria of other authors) across the Indian Ocean, per- 

 sisted through the Age of Rei)tiles and jorobably lasted into early Csenozoic 

 times, vestiges of this connection being indicated by Madagascar, the Sey- 

 chelles, and other islands and coral reefs. Madagascar continued to form 

 a part of the African mainland throughout the first half of the Age of Mam- 

 mals, but was severed from it before Africa was invaded from the north, 

 in older Pliocene and glacial times. Madagascar possesses among its fauna 

 (Insectivora, Lemuroidea) the older mammals of the African continent which 

 have become little modified since. Blanford also believed - (1890, p. 73) 

 in a connection between Africa and South America, in order to explain 

 certain supposed alliances between some South American antl African and 

 even Madagascan types. 



Similarly Lydekker ^ (1896) believed that the ancestral types of the 

 existing mammals of Madagascar entered the African continent some time 

 during the Oligocene period and soon after ranged over the whole of the Ethio- 

 pian and INIalagasy (Madagascar, Mascarene Islands) regions, which were 

 then ])roadly united and possessed a common mammalian fauna. In Lydek- 

 ker's opinion, Africa was peopled only with these primitive forms and not 

 until the Pliocene Age, when Madagascar became isolated as an island, did 

 there occur the great invasion from the north of the higher and larger mam- 

 mals such as apes, monkeys, and the great quadrupeds which were then 

 flourishing all along southern Europe and Asia. This migration took place 

 (p. 256) along the eastern side of the continent and the existence of certain 

 species of mammals which are still common to India and Africa, or were 

 so during the Pleistocene epoch, lends support to this view. 



Similar theories were expressed in 1888 by Schlosser,' namely, that the 

 mammals of Africa seem to be partly (1) a continuation of the primitive ani- 

 mal life found in the North American Eocene, and partly (2) a continuation 

 of the European and Asiatic life of the Upper Eocene. Thus the present 

 mammalian fauna of Africa seems to point to two migrations: (1) the first 

 occurred very early, including the primitive Insectivora, closely related to 

 forms found early in the Age of Mammals in North America ; (2) the second 

 migration into Africa occurred in the Pliocene, bringing in the apes, cats, 

 hysenas, civet cats, rhinoceroses, horses, elephants, pigs, hippopotami, ante- 

 lopes, etc. Up to this time these mammals had lived in Europe or in Asia. 



' Blanford, W. T., The African Element in the Fauna of India. Anti. Mnrj. Nat. Hist., 

 Ser. 4, Vol. XVIII, 1S76, pp. 277-294. 



^ Id., .Address Delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of the Geological Society of London, 

 Feb. 21, 1890, p. 68 (Proc. Geol. Soc, 1890, pp. 4.3-110). 



■' Lydekker, A Geographical History of Mammals, Cambridge, 1896, p. 25.5. 



^ Rchlosser, M., Uber die Beziehuiigen der ausgeatorbenen Siiugethierfaiinen und ihr 

 Verhiiltniss zur Siiugethierfauna der Gegenwart. Biol. Centralbl., 1888, Vol. VIII, pp. 582-G50. 



