V A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST 133 



with the rest of Australia : the prevalent Eucalypti, 

 the Honey-eaters and Parrots, and some of the 

 Marsupials, such as the Dasyures and Bandicoots, 

 are simply typically Australian. But in certain 

 characters, especially marked in the colder Alpine 

 districts of Tasmania, a new element enters that 

 is entirely wanting in the more arid and northern 

 regions, or in the tropical Queensland bush. The 

 vegetation of the Tasmanian mountains, especially 

 on the west coast, and to a much less extent of the 

 Victorian mountains, is characterized by a number 

 of genera, such as the Grass Trees and Bushes 

 (Richea), the tree Senecios, the evergreen and de- 

 ciduous Beeches {Fagus Cunninghami and Gunnii), 

 and various coniferous trees and shrubs (Athrotaxis, 

 &c.), which are absolutely unknown in the warmer 

 parts of the southern hemisphere and in the tro- 

 pics, but in most cases have closely allied repre- 

 sentatives in New Zealand and temperate South 

 America. The resemblance of the west coast Tas- 

 manian mountain bush to that of Terra del Fuego 

 and the southern part of the Andes has been 

 referred to in the last chapter. It is difficult to 

 see how this essentially temperate and Alpine flora 

 can have ever been derived from or continuous 

 with a flora northwards through the Australian 

 tropics and Asia, as there is no range of mountains, 

 nor is there any evidence of a range having existed 

 in the past, which would serve as a bridge from 

 the northern to the southern temperate hemi- 

 sphere in this part of the world. 



