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This is a list of continental landmasses, continents, and continental subregions by population. For statistical convenience, the population of continental landmasses also include the population of their associated islands .
The name Africa was originally used by the ancient Romans to refer to the northern part of the continent that corresponds to modern-day Tunisia. There are many theories regarding its origin. Africa terra means "land of the Afri" (plural, or "Afer" singular), referring to the Afri tribe, who dwelt in Northern Africa around the area of Carthage.
Life colonized the land, first plants, then animals. Two significant extinctions occurred. The continents formed at the break-up of Pannotia and Rodinia at the end of the Proterozoic slowly moved together again, forming the supercontinent Pangaea in the late Paleozoic. [148] The Mesozoic ("middle life") era lasted from 251.9 Ma to 66 Ma. [105]
(Definitions of "continents" are a physical and cultural construct dating back centuries, long before the advent or even knowledge of plate tectonics; thus, defining a "continent" falls into the realm of physical and cultural geography (i.e. geopolitics), while continental plate definitions fall under plate tectonics in the realm of geology.)
A continent is a large geographical region defined by the continental shelves and the cultures on the continent. [1] In the modern day, there are seven continents. However, there have been more continents throughout history. Vaalbara was the first supercontinent. [2] Europe is the newest continent. [3]
A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single landmass or a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of Asia or Europe. Due to this, the number of continents varies; up to seven or as few as four geographical regions ...
c. 298.9 ± 0.15 Ma – End of Carboniferous and beginning of Permian Period. By this time, all continents have fused into the supercontinent of Pangaea. Seed plants and conifers diversify along with temnospondyls and pelycosaurs. c. 296 Ma – Oldest known octopus fossil. c. 295 Ma – Dimetrodon evolves. c. 295 Ma – First beetles appear. [28]
The distribution of fossils across the continents is one line of evidence pointing to the existence of Pangaea. The geography of the continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean was the first evidence suggesting the existence of Pangaea.