Horváth Géza (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 16. (Budapest 1918)
Fejérváry, G.J.: Contributions to a Monography on fossil Varanidae and on Megalanidae 16
FOSSIL VA It A NID AE AND MEGALANIDAE. 371 fauna of Africa bearing much resemblance to the Quercy fauna and having many common characters with it, can be easily understood by the fact of the European individuals of this fauna having later on in the N e o g e n e passed over to A f r i c a, where finding conditions corresponding to the European P a 1 a e o g e n e, they were able to survive in the subtropical surroundings, to a certain degree thereby presenting epistatic character's ; another possibility would be that of certain members of the treated fauna originated simultaneously from common ancestors in the respective parts of Europe and North Africa; whilst yet another part of the Quercy Reptile world, proving more indifferent, may have adapted itself better to the cooler . Neogene climate, and though undergoing -certain changes, went on living in Europe. This explains why a part of Quercy Lacertilia, about which DE STEFANO does not give further particulars, «si approssimano a tipi generici oggi abitatori dell' Emisfero occidentale», w T hile other forms, as for instance the Varanidae, are almost entirely missing in Europe's Postglacial fauna. By the aforesaid I naturally only tried to give an exaeter and general biological explanation of DE STEFANO'S two statements, as mentioned above I am how r ever far from declaring the Quercy Reptile fauna to be, as such, the autochthonal fauna of Quercy ; there will also be, of course, more or less autochthonous forms amongst it, yet some, e v e n t ua 11 y, might have migrated from other regions ; in this matter I can give no opinion, as one cannot be too careful in generalizing, lest by forced explanations one were inclined to correct nature. More prudent it is for us to follow Du Bois REYMOND'S example and acknowledge of some things «ignoramus et ignorabimus», thus at least we are sure not to sin against the cardinal duty of those who study Nature, and do not risk stating «facts» which are contrary to truth. Hab.: Quercy (France). \a. Varanus ci.? Cayluxi FILH. — Miocene. (Pl. I, Figs. 1-5). Reptile très voisin du Monitor terrestre d'Ë g y p t e , JOTJRDAN, Soc. d'Agric. de Lyon, Procès verb., 1865, p. 37. 1 Sau ri en du genre Varanus, DEPÉRET, Rech. s. la suce, des Faunes de Vert. Miocènes de la Vallée du Rhône, Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Lyon, T. IV ième , 1887, p. 289. Among reptilian remains belonging to the Royal Hungarian Geological Institute I met with a fragmentary epistropheus obtained from La 1 On ground of CH. DEPÉRËT'S work here alluded to.
