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Pangaea or Pangea (/ p æ n ˈ dʒ iː ə / pan-JEE-ə) [1] was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. [2] It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana , Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million years ago, and began to break apart about 200 million years ...
According to modern definitions, a supercontinent does not exist today; [1] the closest is the current Afro-Eurasian landmass, which covers approximately 57% of Earth's total land area. The last period in which the continental landmasses were near to one another was 336 to 175 million years ago, forming the supercontinent Pangaea .
The Earth was relatively dry compared to the Carboniferous, with harsh seasons, as the climate of the interior of Pangaea was not moderated by large bodies of water. Amniotes still flourished and diversified in the new dry climate, particularly synapsids such as Dimetrodon , Edaphosaurus and therapsids , which gave rise to the ancestors of ...
The supercontinent Pangaea was rifting during the Triassic—especially late in the period—but had not yet separated. The first nonmarine sediments in the rift that marks the initial break-up of Pangea—which separated New Jersey from Morocco—are of Late Triassic age; in the U.S., these thick sediments comprise the Newark Supergroup. [44]
The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiocarbon dated to 43,000–46,000 BP, found in Bulgaria, Italy, and Great Britain. [33] [34] Europe: Bulgaria: 46-44: Bacho Kiro cave: A tooth and six bone fragments are the earliest modern human remains yet found in Europe. [35] Europe: Italy: 45–44: Grotta del Cavallo, Apulia
The idea that a supercontinent existed in the early Neoproterozoic arose in the 1970s, when geologists determined that orogens of this age exist on virtually all cratons. [9] [failed verification] Examples are the Grenville orogeny in North America and the Dalslandian orogeny in Europe. Since then, many alternative reconstructions have been ...
c. 180 Ma – Pangaea splits into two major continents: Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. c. 176 Ma – First stegosaurs. c. 170 Ma – First salamanders and newts evolve. Cynodonts go extinct. c. 167 Ma - First crown group mammals. [35] c. 165 Ma – First rays and glycymeridid bivalves.
Pangaea forms and later dissolves into Laurasia and Gondwana, which in turn dissolve into the current continents. Gradually, life expands to land and familiar forms of plants, animals and fungi begin appearing, including annelids, insects and reptiles, hence the eon's name, which means "visible life".