What prominent continents no longer exist?

throughout the known history of the country has more than a dozen continents and continental configurations that no longer exist. At the widest level, they tend to follow the "supercontinent cycle" - the continents combine together and create one giant supercontinent, then break down again into separate continents and the process is repeated again. The complete cycle occurs about once every 300-500 million years. The last supercontinent was Panga, which existed about 200 million years ago, and before the family that existed about 700 million years ago. Eurasia Together), Baltica (a small subcontinent composed of today's Baltic states), India (once an independent subcontinent) and Kerguelen continent (continent in the South Indian Ocean, which sank underwater for 20 million years).

The best known of all ancient continents is Panga. PANGEA, which formed about 250 million years ago, right after the worst hipThe ease of land, persisted about 70 million years, until it fell into three pieces 180 million years ago - Laurasia, Gondwan and Africa. Panga was a C -shaped CountMass, which was situated on a equator that consisted of more than 98% of today's total continental area. Panga was so huge that it would be possible for animals to walk from the South Pole to the North Pole on the ground. That was the only time known when such a thing was possible. The continuous mainland of the North-South also promoted ocean mixing, which meant that the temperature was relatively warm and uniform on the entire surface of the Earth.

Dinosaurs originally developed on a pange. Early dinosaur fauna was in the range of global and all ate the same food: cycades, conifers and each other. After Panga began to tear 180 million years ago, the dinosaurs began to distinguish strongly on the basis of their native continent. Three groups were divided from each other on the basis of three main continents at that time. About 130 million years ago with South AmericaAla drifting from Africa, which led to the creation of a full -fledged Atlantic Ocean 110 million years ago. About 60 million years ago, just after the dinosaurs disappeared, North America began to divide from Eurasia and created the Norwegian Sea.

The remaining continents - Laurasia, South America/Antarctica, Africa, Australia, have become the home of new dominant creatures on Earth, mammals. Just 90 million years ago, the first members of the mammalian Clade laurasiatheria (hoofs of animals, moths, shrews, bats, carnivorans, hedgehogs, Cetacena continent Laurasia developed on the continent of Laurasia and many others) primates). Meanwhile, a superior Afrotheria (Golden Moles, Elephant Shrews, Tenrecs, Aardvarks, Hyraxes, Elephants, Manatees and others) developed on the island continent in African. Australia and South America were dominated by marsupials. Finally, Laurasia divided and divided these groups into two and Africa collided with Eurasia and exchanged the fauna between themi. Just three million years ago, North America touched South America in Panama and the last faunal exchange occurred, especially at the expense of South American animals.