Where did the Mesosaurus live in Pangea?

Mesosaurus fossils were found near what would be considered the southern half of Pangaea, also known as Gondwana.

Was the Mesosaurus real?

Remains of Mesosaurus, a freshwater crocodile-like reptile that lived during the early Permian (between 286 and 258 million years ago), are found solely in Southern Africa and Eastern South America. It would have been physiologically impossible for Mesosaurus to swim between the continents.

Does the Mesosaurus support continental drift?

For this reason, the existence of Mesosaurus helps support the theory of continental drift; that is, the now-well-attested fact that South America and Africa were joined together into the giant continent Gondwana 300 million years ago before the continental plates supporting them broke apart and drifted into their …

What evidence proved that South America Africa India and Australia were once covered by glaciers?

What evidence proved that South America, Africa, India, and Australia were once covered by glaciers? -reversals of Earth’s magnetic field are recorded by rocks in strips parallel to the ridges.

What is evidence that Africa was once cold?

Proof that shows Africa was once cold includes evidence of glacier scars and deposits.

Why are the Mesosaurus fossils separated by 4000 km of ocean?

Why are fossils of Mesosaurus separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean when the species once lived all together? They learn that the surface of the Earth has changed dramatically over the Earth’s history, with continents and ocean basins changing shape and arrangement due to the motion of tectonic plates.

What are the 4 evidences of continental drift?

They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils.

What’s the name of the continent before they split?

Many people have heard of Pangaea, the supercontinent that included all continents on Earth and began to break up about 175 million years ago. But before Pangaea, Earth’s landmasses ripped apart and smashed back together to form supercontinents repeatedly.

What are 5 pieces of evidence for Pangea?

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 does Pangaea mean in Greek?

Pangea was surrounded by a global ocean called Panthalassa, and it was fully assembled by the Early Permian Epoch (some 299 million to 273 million years ago). Its name is derived from the Greek pangaia, meaning “all the Earth.”

Where were Mesosaurus fossils found?

Mesosaurus, (genus Mesosaurus), early aquatic relative of reptiles, found as fossils from the Early Permian Period (299 million to 271 million years ago) in South Africa and South America. Mesosaurus lived in freshwater lakes and ponds.

Are there any amniotes before the Mesosaurus?

It’s widely believed that amniote animals existed a few million years before Mesosaurus, only recently evolved from the first tetrapods to climb up onto dry land, but we have yet to discern any conclusive fossil evidence for these very early amniote embryos. Strauss, Bob. “Mesosaurus Facts and Figures.”

What kind of reptile was the Mesosaurus?

About Mesosaurus. Mesosaurus was the odd duck (if you’ll excuse the mixed species metaphor) among its fellow prehistoric reptiles of the early Permian period. For one thing, this slender creature was an anapsid reptile, meaning it did not have any characteristic openings on the sides of its skull, rather than a more common synapsid…

When did Mesosaurus brasiliensis return to the water?

Early reconstruction of the skeleton of M. brasiliensis showing many small teeth in the jaws (MacGregor, 1908). Mesosaurus was one of the first reptiles known to have returned to the water after early tetrapods came to land in the Late Devonian or later in the Paleozoic.