— 271 — 



As the result of careful morphological and anatomical 

 studies of the species of Rindera, it appears that the sub- 

 genus Mattia is the "central- type" of the genus, from which 

 the sub-genera Cyphomattia and Eurindera have developed 

 each in its own way. 



KusNEZow presumes that the ancestors of Rindera (and 

 Paracaryiim) at the beginning of the tertiary period were 

 widely distributed over the earth; the last remnants of them 

 are the two existing monotypes: Tysonia in south-eastern 

 Africa and Myositidium in New Zealand. 



During the latter half of the tertiary period Rindera must 

 have been widely distributed in the Mediterranean countries 

 (from Spain to Central Asia), and the genus at that period 

 had two sub-genera: Mattiaria (now one species) and Mattia 

 (now 6 species). These seven species are constant with no 

 intervening transitions, and they have small and well-defined 

 areas of distribution from Algeria to Persia, — they must 

 be regarded as relict forms. 



At the end of the tertiary period when the lowlands 

 were drying up, Kusnezow considers that the five species of 

 the sub-genus Eurindera were evolved in the mountains of 

 Turkestan; these species are harder to distinguish than those 

 of Mattia. One of them, Rindera tetraspis, had the faculty of 

 migration so that after the drying-up of the Transcaspian 

 lowlands it was able to propagate here as well as in Western 

 Siberia, South Russia and Ciscaucasia. 



Simultaneously with Eurindera, there came into existence 

 in Nearer Asia from Mattia the two species of the sub-genus 

 Cyphomattia of which one, Rindera lanata, is very polymorphic 

 and widely distributed. 



