An Introduction to Plate Tectonics
Continental Drift-Fossils
Fossils of the same species were found on several different continents. Wegener
proposed that the species dispersed when the continents were connected and later
carried to their present positions as the continents drifted. For example,
Glossopteris, a fern, was found on the continents of South America, Africa, India,
and Australia. If the continents are reassembled into Pangaea, the distribution of
Glossopteris can be accounted for over a much smaller contiguous geographic area.
The distribution of other species can also be accounted for by initially spreading
across Pangaea, followed by the breakup of the supercontinent, and movement of the
continents to their present positions
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