a
reference to Lemuria, a
legendary lost continent that was supposed to have
sunk into the
Indian Ocean. The name Lemuria comes from lemur, a small
animal somewhat
similar to a
monkey, but
having a face like a
fox and woolly fur. Lemurs are found in Madagascar,
India and
Malaysia, all separated by the
Indian Ocean. In the nineteenth century, scientists
postulated a
theory to explain similarities in animals and plants found in these areas separated by thousands of miles of water. The explanation was that a continent (Lemuria) once existed where the
Indian Ocean is located and supposedly connected Madagascar,
India and
Malaysia. This continent came to be
thought of by some as the originating
point of the races of Earth.