EDITORIAL GLEANINGS 199 



of its primitive isolation is attested by facts, and, to use the words of 

 the author, "during the deposition of the bone-bearing formation at 

 Santa Cruz, South America formed an isolated continent, perhaps 

 still partially connected by chains of islands with Australia or South 

 Africa, or both. Here flourished in undisturbed possession of the 

 country the ancestral Spider-Monkeys, Marmosets, Glyptodons, Arma- 

 dilloes, Ungulates, Rodents, and Selvas, some of which developed into 

 their gigantic successors of the pampas period, while others, like the 

 Astrapothere and Prototheres, died out without descendants. Subse- 

 quently the North and South American continents became connected, 

 and a mammalian invasion from the north, and some migration from 

 the south, is the almost certain story derived from zoological and 

 palseontological evidence." Mr. Lydekker has given a full review of 

 our latest information on the subject, and the pages are illustrated by 

 four plates. 



We much regret the death of Prof. J. Victor Carus, which took place 

 at Leipsic, in the eightieth year of his age. Apart from his eminence as 

 a zoologist, he was perhaps better known as the editor of the ' Zoolo- 

 gischer Anzeiger,' a position he held from the commencement of that 

 journal in 1878. He always took a very friendly interest in 'The 

 Zoologist,' and it was in deference to his wish made a few years ago 

 that we have since endeavoured to give the scientific as well as the 

 popular names of animals referred to in our pages. Our contributors 

 seem sometimes to scarcely realize that they are read by many 

 nationalities, and that our British or popular names for animals can 

 scarcely be recognized by foreign zoologists. 



The announcement has been received from Tiflis of the death of 

 M. Gustav Radde, the well-known naturalist and director of the 

 Caucasian Museum and the public library of Tiflis. His biological 

 work was principally connected with the fauna and flora of the South- 

 western Caspian region ; he also published accounts of his travels on 

 the Russo-Persian frontier. 



The ' Neue Freie Presse,' Vienna, publishes an interesting article 

 on a recent addition to the Sehbnbrunner Menagerie. The pair of 

 Wild Oxen, which have arrived at the Schonbrunner Menagerie as a 

 present from the Russian Emperor, are to be seen now in the finest 



