Geological Events Flashcards
What is an example of a geological event that could affect life on earth?
Continental drift
What was the formation of the terrestrial land mass like on earth 200 mya?
All the continents were fused to form one giant continent
What is Pangea?
The giant continent that the earth’s terrestrial land mass used to be
What happened to Pangea?
It broke up into two super continents
What were the two super continents?
Laurasia
Gondwanaland
Where was Laurasia situated?
In the north
Where was Gondwanaland situated?
In the south
When were the two supercontinents formed?
135 mya
What happened to Laurasia and Gondwanaland?
They broke up into the seven continents we know today
When were the continents that we know today formed?
120 mya
How did continental drift affect life on earth?
The climate became different in the different continents
Habitats changed or were destroyed
The life forms had to adapt or become extinct
What is biogeography?
The study of the distribution of existing and extinct plant and animal species in specific geographical regions on earth
What affect did continental drift have on species?
Similar species can be found on different continents
Scientist suspect they shared a common ancestor
When the continents split up, this ancestor adapted to the new environment
Give examples of species on separate continents that may have shared a common ancestor
Ostrich (Africa)
Rhea (South America)
Emu (Australia)
Moa (New Zealand
