A DROWNED CONTINENT 121 
in its fauna with that of Europe in early Tertiary times, | 
and to a certain extent with that of modern Africa; and 
the most satisfactory way of explaining these relationships 
is by assuming either the persistence of a land connection 
between the Cape and South America across the South 
Atlantic till a comparatively late geological epoch, or that 
such connection took place farther south by means of the 
Antarctic continent. There are several objections, which 
need not be considered here, in regard to the latter alter- 
native, and since there is other evidence in favour of the 
comparatively recent origin of the South Atlantic depres- 
sion, the persistence of a land connection in lower 
latitudes seems the more probable explanation. 
In addition to all this there are indications of a relation- 
ship between the land faunas of Australasia and South 
America; and as similar types are not met with in Africa, 
and several of them belong to groups unlikely to have 
endured Antarctic cold, it has been suggested that America 
and Australasia were in connection at no very remote epoch 
by way of the Coral Sea. It is known, for instance, that 
some of the Australian marsupials are more or less closely 
allied to others which inhabited South America before it 
was connected with North America; and as no kindred 
types are met with either in the latter area, in Europe, 
or in Africa, a land connection by way of the South Pacific, 
and that at a comparatively recent epoch, offers almost the 
only satisfactory explanation of the means of transit, if the 
Antarctic theory be rejected. And it may be mentioned 
in passing that the acceptance of even the latter would 
imply a large modification from the existing distribution 
of land and water in the southern hemisphere. Similar 
evidence is afforded by certain extinct tortoises common 
to South America and Australia, 
