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Pangaea is the most recent supercontinent to have existed and the first to be reconstructed by geologists. Origin of the concept. Alfred Wegener c. 1924–1930World map of Pangaea created by Alfred Wegener to illustrate his concept. The name "Pangaea" is derived from Ancient Greekpan(πᾶν, "all, entire, whole") and Gaiaor Gaea (Γαῖα ...
Gondwana formed part of Pangaea for c. 150 Ma [31] Gondwana and Laurasia formed the Pangaea supercontinent during the Carboniferous. Pangaea began to break up in the Mid-Jurassic when the Central Atlantic opened. [32] In the western end of Pangaea, the collision between Gondwana and Laurasia closed the Rheic and Palaeo-Tethys oceans.
End Ordovician: 440 million years ago, 86% of all species lost, including graptolites. Late Devonian: 375 million years ago, 75% of species lost, including most trilobites. End Permian, The Great Dying: 251 million years ago, 96% of species lost, including tabulate corals, and most trees and synapsids.
Pangaea's predecessor Gondwana is not considered a supercontinent under the first definition since the landmasses of Baltica, Laurentia and Siberia were separate at the time. [7] A future supercontinent, termed Pangaea Proxima, is hypothesized to form within the next 250 million years. [8]
The continents later recombined to form Pannotia, then finally Pangaea, which broke apart . The present pattern of ice ages began about , then intensified at the end of the Pliocene. The polar regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thawing, repeating every 40,000–100,000 years.
The first theory proposes a series of supercontinents: starting with Vaalbara (3.6 to 2.8 Ga); Ur (c. 3 Ga); Kenorland (2.7 to 2.1 Ga); Columbia (1.8 to 1.5 Ga); Rodinia (1.25 Ga to 750 Ma); and Pannotia (c. 600 Ma), whose dispersal produced the continents that ultimately collided to form Pangaea. [ 1 ][ 2 ] The kinds of minerals found inside ...
Pangaea Proxima (also called Pangaea Ultima, Neopangaea, and Pangaea II) is a possible future supercontinent configuration. Consistent with the supercontinent cycle, Pangaea Proxima could form within the next 250 million years. This potential configuration, hypothesized by Christopher Scotese in November 1982, earned its name from its ...
1991. The Mesozoic Era[3] is the era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about 252 to 66 million years ago, comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of gymnosperms and of archosaurian reptiles, such as the dinosaurs; a hot greenhouse climate; and the tectonic break-up of Pangaea.