1954] 
Gregg — Distribution of Mijrmoteras 
27 
has turned up independently in diverse and unrelated taxo- 
nomic groups. It may be regarded as an indication of the 
resilience of the hereditary composition of living material, 
enabling the organism, through selection, to make neces- 
sary adjustments to, and exploitation of, the available 
habitats, irrespective of evolutionary primitiveness or 
specialization which the animal may show in regard to its 
closest relatives. 
Text-figure 2. Estimated distribiiticn of the genus M yrmoteras. Malay 
Peninsula, Philippines, Borneo, Java, and the Island of Sipora. 
Apart from the extraordinary adaptations displayed by 
Myrmoteras, we are also concerned with geographic dis- 
tribution of this group. The distribution suggests that of 
an ancient and perhaps once more widespread and flourish- 
ing genus. The modern representatives are few in number 
(8 species), and appear to be very rare as individuals even 
in their geographic headquarters, if we may judge from 
the paucity of material that has found its way into collec- 
tions. The group was present, presumably, during the 
Tertiary Period, but there is no fossil evidence to confirm 
this assumption. In his study of the ants preserved in 
