ISLANDS 



83 



There is little room for doubting (see Fig. 21) that 

 Madagascar was at one time joined to Africa, and New 

 Zealand to Asia and Australia through New Guinea ; 

 New Zealand may have had also a polar connection 

 with South America. The Seychelles Islands are 

 formed of granite, a type of rock essentially associated 

 with the immense early solidifications of eruptions 

 which formed great continents. They doubtless were a 

 part of the Indo-African Continent, which is believed 



; c fh^^ 



&* 



m- Bengal ft££ 



Antarctic 



Ocean 



Fig. 21. — Chart of the World, showing the supposed Distri- 

 bution of Land (dotted) in the Cretaceous Period. (After 

 Neumayr.) 



by many to have once extended between Africa and 

 India — " Gondwanaland," as it is often termed. 



The Fiji Archipelago is a more doubtful case ; its 

 rocks are of recent volcanic types, overlaid by " soap- 

 stone," composed of submarine deposits formed largely 

 by Foraminifera, and by raised coral rocks. Its fauna 

 and flora, however, are, comparatively speaking, rich 

 and varied, but it must always be remembered that 

 the numbers of species and genera of animals and 



