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Show Scientists Are Seeking Origin of West Indies Explorers Will Undertake to Solve Mystery. Washington. Light on the origin of the West Indies is being sought by the Smithsonian Institution in the dark caves of Porto Rico, where Ger-rit Ger-rit S. Miller, Jr., curator of mammals, Is now seeking clews to extinct animal ani-mal life. Two theories as to the origin of these islands exist. One is that they once were part of a continuous land mass connected with the North American Amer-ican continent, which was submerged ! in the ocean like the fabulous "Lost Atlantis" with only its mountains remaining re-maining above the water. The other is that they rose from the sea and were never connected with the continent. con-tinent. The animals of this region afford major puzzles to biologists. The peculiar pe-culiar mammal life, some of whose vanished forms are represented by bones burled in cavern floors, Smithsonian Smith-sonian scientists hope may illuminate the moot theories of origin. If a land connection ever existed, it is held, the continental mammals would have wandered freely into the West Indian area. However, none of the larger families, such as the bison or the bears, are represented among the living forms or fossils. Those who hold to the continental theory explain this by arguing that these larger forms were creatures of the lowlands which perished when the land was inundated. They believe that only smaller creatures of the high mountains, whose tops form the present West Indies, would have survived. sur-vived. They ask, If these islands were of oceanic origin, where did their animal an-imal life originate? Unfortunately the present mammal mam-mal life of the Islands, according to the Smithsonian experts, may be by no means representative of what it once was. At the time of Columbus' first voyage there was a large human population, part of whose sustenance was obtained by hunting. Some of the most interesting creatures had disappeared long before science became be-came Interested in them. It Is planned to reconstruct this extinct life, in so far as possible, from the cave deposits de-posits In order to establish any possible pos-sible relationships. The biology and archeology of the West Indies are considered among the major fields of Smithsonian Institution Institu-tion research. This is Miller's third expedition to the West Indies on this quest. |