THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
89 
found in Algeria, upwards of eightly per cent are 
to be found flourishing in Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily 
and along the southern shores of Europe even as 
far east as the Grecian Islands. 
The lentisk, arbutus, myrtle, cistus, tree heath, 
and many others that are found in Algeria, are 
identical with those that grow in Corsica and 
Sardinia; while the dwarf palm ( Chamcierops 
kumilis) grows spontaneouly alike in Corsica, 
Sardinia, Algeria, Tunis, Sicily and in the islands 
of the Levant. The tailed baetrachians, that are 
found in these countries, is also another remark- 
able evidence of this continuity of the Mediter- 
ranean fauna. 
Prof. Gervais, (1) points out the' similarity bet- 
ween the genera and species of the living insect- 
ivora in the north of Africa, and those in the 
south of Europe; and Dawson (2) observes that 
the porcupine of Algeria presents no distinctive 
characters of sufficient importance to justify it 
being considered of a different species to the 
European one. 
The inferences to be drawn from the above facts 
have been corroborated by the work of the Admi- 
ralty Survey in the Mediterranean. 
Between Sicily and Malta there are two banks 
the Aventure bank on the west, and the bank 
on the east, the elevation of both which to a 
height of but 40 fathoms would again create a 
passage of dry land between the two islands. 
Between Malta and the African mainland the 
soundings showed a depth of 344 fathoms. 
Supposing, therefore, that the sea bed should 
be elevated 400 fathoms, a broad isthmus would 
again connect the continents, and Malta would 
from a part of the centre of it. 
That such an elevation of the Mediterranean 
region has occurred in time past is shown by the 
remnants of moraines, and other evidences of 
of glacier action that are now to be seen in the 
mountains of Lebanon, of Anatolia, (3) and of the 
Atlas mountains. 
When glaciers and snow fields existed in 
these districts, the whole area of the Mediter- 
ranean must have been situated at a much 
(1) Gervais, “Animaux Vertebres I Grants et 
Fossiles A p. 1,8. 
(2) Dawson , 11 Cave Hunting ” p. 8 SO. 
(8) Nature , vol. V, p. 1,1+1,; vol. 0, p. 586. 
greater elevation that now; at an elevation, 
in fact, such as would have raised the bed of the 
Mediterranean and have made a land passage both 
between Gibraltar and Morocco, and between 
Italy and Tripoli (1). In accounting for these 
and other phenomena of a similar nature Dawson 
computes the elevation to have been between 6000 
and 7000 ft. while Profs. Ramsay and Geikie con- 
sider an upheaval of from 1500 to 2000 feet to 
have been sufficient to have effected the same 
results (2). 
Nor are the paleontological evidences that are 
afforded, less conclusive. That Malta was inha- 
bited, and that free communication once existed 
between Europe and Africa by way of Malta, are 
proved by the mammalian, and other remains 
that have been discovered in Malta, and in the 
regions that lie on either side of it. 
The caves of Malta, Sicily and Italy abound with 
fossil mammals of a purely African type. The 
remains of Elephas africanus have, been found in 
great quantities in the caves of Syracuse, of Pa- 
lermo, and of San Teodoro; and intermingled 
with them have also been found two species of 
African hippopotami. (3). The presence also of the 
bones and teeth of Elephas antiq-uus , and of Ursus 
fero.r , a species of bear whose remains occur in 
abundance in the Gibraltar caves, in the caves of 
Provence and Mentone, as well as in the caves of 
Sicily, afford evidences of this elevation, and 
point to a connection between Sicily and Europe 
prior to the formation of the Straits of Messina. The 
Maltese-Sicilian isthmus that connected the two 
continents, afforded the means of migration to ani- 
mals and plants alike. And as the remainsof animals 
of a distinctly African type are at the present day 
to be found in Europe, so also are the remains of 
animals of a distinctly European type to be found 
in Africa. M. Bayle described an interesting 
stratum of clay that he found at Mansourah in 
Algeria, and with the assistance of Prof. Gervais 
it was demonstrated that the remains that were 
found in it, contained among others, the molars 
(1) Dawson TIT , "‘Cave Hunting", p. 880. 
(2) Ramsey A. C. and J. Geikie on “77/ Ge >- 
logy of Gibraltar '. Quart. Journ. Gt /. Aw., vol. 
XXiHV, p. p. 587, 531. 
(3) Falconer. Paleontological memoirs v. II 
. 51,3. 
