. Island life; or, the phenomena and causes of insular faunas and floras, including a revision and attempted solution of the problem of geological climates. artlaub himself points out, specks hardly distinguisliahle fromthose of Indift. Now all the evidence at our command leadsus to conclude that, even if these genera and species were inexistence in the early Miocene period, they must have had awidely different distribution from what they have now. Alongwith so many African and Indian genera of mammals they then )96 ISLAND LIFE. [rART II. probably inhabited Europe, which at that epoch enjoyed
. Island life; or, the phenomena and causes of insular faunas and floras, including a revision and attempted solution of the problem of geological climates. artlaub himself points out, specks hardly distinguisliahle fromthose of Indift. Now all the evidence at our command leadsus to conclude that, even if these genera and species were inexistence in the early Miocene period, they must have had awidely different distribution from what they have now. Alongwith so many African and Indian genera of mammals they then )96 ISLAND LIFE. [rART II. probably inhabited Europe, which at that epoch enjoyed a sub-tropical climate; and this is rendered almost certain by thediscovery in the Miocene of France of fossil remains of trogonsand jungle-fowl. If, then, these Indian birds date back to thevery period during which alone Lemuria could have existed,that continent was quite unnecessary for their introduction intoMadagascar, as they could have followed the same track as themammalia of Miocene Europe and Asia ; while if, as I maintain,they are of more recent date, then Lemuria had ceased toexist, and could not have been the means of their MAP OF THE INDIAN OCEAN. Shewing the position of banks less than 1,000 fathoms deep between Africa and tl;e Indian Peninsula. Sulmcrgcd Islands Idirecn Madnfjascar and India.—Looking atthe accompanying map of the Indian Ocean, we see that betweenMadagascar and India there are now extensive shoals and coral-reefs, such as are always held to indicate subsidence ; and wemay theref)re fairly postulate the former existence here ofseveral large islands, some of them not much inferior to itself These reefs are all separated from each other by cHAr. XIX.] THE MADAGASCAR GROUP. 397 very deep sea—much deeper than that which divides Mada-gascar from Africa, and we have therefore no reason to imaginetheir former union. But they would nevertheless greatly facili-tate the introduction of Indian birds into the Mascarene Islandsa
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