A FISHY THEORY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 4924, 11 January 1902, Page 4

A FISHY THEORY.

The logic of science is not always as conclusive to the lay mind as it is to the expert, and its deductions are also ape to progress by ways that are dark iv the average intellect. It is not given to us all to read sermons in tbe wayside stones are. peruse ' books in the running brooks,' to build a mastodon from a stray funny-bone, or to translate the eopbyte into terms of raspberry canes. The linking of continents by fishbones, and of islands by pebbles, is a science which we have to take a good deal on trust, expressing a modified surprise proportionate only with the scale of operations. Dr Keottlitz, on Mb recent visit here r found us a cousinship with Patagonia, as well as a few blood-relations with other South American States, a trust which we accepted amicably. But Dr A. E. Ortmann, Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology in the Princeton University, has beaten all precedents in family history by a discovery which he believes establishes the fact that there were formerly but two continents, known as Archbelinos and ArchinotOß. By investigating the distribution of the fresh-water crayfish Dr Ortmann has ascertained that one family of them is found in Europe, Eastern Siberia, Korea, North Japan, and in North America from Alaska to Mexico. There is a second family of the fish which is found only in New Zealand, Australia, Southern Brazil, the Argentine, Chili and Madagascar. INo fish arei ound in the West Indies, tropical America, tropical Africa and India. Prom these facts Dr Ortmann, deduces that those continents on which the fish are found must have been formerly connected, forming one continent, and that another continent was formed by those ~ localities were the fish do not exist, According to Dr Ortmann, the first main continent was made up of the southern part of South America, Australia and Eastern Asia. The other continent was iormed by India, Africa and tropical America. Europe and North America were probably insular at that period. Dr Ortmann has also found that many land animals which inhabit South A meriea are also to be found ia Africa and Australia. As these animals have no means of crossing a large body of watery' it must be inferred that at some time these continents were connected.