330 NATURAL HISTORY. [chap. xiv. 



render it quite impossible to explain those curious rela- 

 tions which the best known group of animals (the birds) 

 have been shown to exhibit. On the other hand, the 

 depth of the surrounding seas, the form of the submerged 

 banks, and the volcanic character of most of the islands, 

 all point to an independent origin. 



Before concluding, I must make one remark to avoid 

 misapprehension. When I say that Timor has never 

 formed part of Australia, I refer only to recent geological 

 epochs. In Secondary or even Eocene or Miocene times, 

 Timor and Australia may have been connected ; but if so, 

 all record of such a union has been lost by subsecpient' 

 submergence; and in accounting for the present land- 

 inhabitants of any country we have only to consider those 

 changes which have occurred since its last elevation above 

 the waters. Since such last elevation, I feel confident that 

 Timor has not formed part of Australia. 





