What fossil evidence supports continental drift?
What fossil evidence supports continental drift?
One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined.
What do you observe with the distribution of fossils across different continents?
More Fossil Evidence As well as linking Africa to South America, the distribution of fossils suggests that other continents were once contiguous with each other. This indicates that Glossopteris lived at a time when all of these continents were joined in a single super-continent, which geologists refer to as Pangaea.
How does the presence of similar fossils on different continents support the idea of tectonic plate movement?
Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed. Some life “rode” on diverging plates, became isolated, and evolved into new species.
How can the same species of fossil be found on different continents?
They move at a very slow rate – usually measured in millions of years – and continents are either torn apart or collide together to form very large single continents. Fossils of the same genus/species suggest that contents that were once together, must have been together in the geological past.
What do Glossopteris fossils tells us about the early position of the continents?
The glossopteris fossils reflects the evidence of separation of continents like southern Africa, Australia, India and Antarctica which was largely separated by huge and wide ocean which was larlier connected with each other.
What does the presence of Mesosaurus fossils tell us?
The Mesosaurus fossils tell us that South America, Africa and Antarctica were once connected because it is impossible for these reptiles to swim over the vast oceans and move from one continent to another.
Do the Glossopteris fossils tell us?
Answer. Answer: Yes. Because they indicate biological identity of these plants that were critical for recognizing former connections between the various fragments of Gondwana: South America, Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
Is the presence of animal fossils tells that South America?
Answer. Answer: Yes, because these fossils indicated the former connections of the continents before which was called Gondwana in the Triassic Period, 200 million years ago.
Why the fossil evidence is good?
Evidence for early forms of life comes from fossils. By studying fossils, scientists can learn how much (or how little) organisms have changed as life developed on Earth. There are gaps in the fossil record because many early forms of life were soft-bodied, which means that they have left few traces behind.
Is the presence of animals fossils tells that South America Africa and Antarctica were once connected?
Many scientists thought that Africa, India, Australia, South America, and Antarctica had once been connected into a large ancient continent known as Gondwana. Those fossils belonged to a species previously found in Africa, providing further evidence that the distant present-day continents were once connected.
Where are Glossopteris fossils found?
The Glossopteris fossil is found in Australia, Antarctica, India, South Africa, and South America—all the southern continents.
Why are Glossopteris fossils important?
Glossopteris fossils provide important evidence for currently accepted distribution of continental plates in the Permian period that ended 250 million years ago. The mass extinction that marks the end of the Permian period is believed to have led to the disappearance of Glossopteris.
Which fossil occurs on the most landmasses?
Glossopteris Plant
What are 5 pieces of evidence that support continental drift?
In the early part of the 20th century, scientists began to put together evidence that the continents could move around on Earth’s surface. The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.
What is the evidence of Pangea?
Glacial deposits, specifically till, of the same age and structure are found on many separate continents that would have been together in the continent of Pangaea. Fossil evidence for Pangaea includes the presence of similar and identical species on continents that are now great distances apart.
What are the evidence of seafloor spreading?
Abundant evidence supports the major contentions of the seafloor-spreading theory. First, samples of the deep ocean floor show that basaltic oceanic crust and overlying sediment become progressively younger as the mid-ocean ridge is approached, and the sediment cover is thinner near the ridge.
Why was the continental drift theory rejected?
The main reason that Wegener’s hypothesis was not accepted was because he suggested no mechanism for moving the continents. He thought the force of Earth’s spin was sufficient to cause continents to move, but geologists knew that rocks are too strong for this to be true.
What does Pangea mean in Greek?
Pangea’s existence was first proposed in 1912 by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener as a part of his theory of continental drift. Its name is derived from the Greek pangaia, meaning “all the Earth.”
What does Pangea mean in Latin?
Pangaea means “whole Earth” pan means “whole” and geae Means “Earth” comment. (plate tectonics) a hypothetical continent including all the landmass of the earth prior to the Triassic period when it split into Laurasia and Gondwanaland Familiarity information: PANGEA used as a noun is very rare.
What two major landmasses broke apart from Pangea?
Pangaea begins to break up and splits into two major landmasses — Laurasia in the north, made up of North America and Eurasia, and Gondwana in the south, made up of the other continents. Gondwana splinters further — the South America-Africa landmass separates from the Antarctica-Australia landmass.
Why did Pangea break up?
During the Triassic Period, the immense Pangea landmass began breaking apart as a result of continental rifting. A rift zone running the width of the supercontinent began to open up an ocean that would eventually separate the landmass into two enormous continents.
What would happen if Pangea never broke apart?
Regions in the middle of Pangea would have lush rainforests along their borders. And as you travel further inland, it would become a desert. The species at the top of the food chain today would most likely remain there, but some of today’s animals would not exist in Pangea. They wouldn’t have a chance to evolve.
Where will the Philippines be in Pangaea Ultima?
the Philippines will never be exist because Philippines is small country that made by oceanic oceanic convergence.. the Pangaea ultima is just a prediction of geologist to know what happens in the future.. the Philippines will not be seen because of compressed of other continents.