View source for Gondwana

{{short description|Neoproterozoic to Cretaceous landmass}}
{{About|the supercontinent|the region in India|Gondwana (India)|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox historical continent
|name = Gondwana
|image = Gondwana 420 Ma.png
|caption = Gondwana 420 million years ago (late Silurian). View centered on the South Pole.
|formation_year = 600 Mya
|type = [[Supercontinent]]
|today = [[Africa]]<br />[[North America]]<br />[[South America]]<br />[[Australia (continent)|Australia]]<br />[[Indian subcontinent|India]]<br />[[Arabia]]<br />[[Antarctica]]<br />[[Balkan Peninsula|Balkans]]
|smaller_continents = [[South America]]<br />[[Africa]]<br />[[Australia (continent)|Australia]]<br />[[Antarctica]]<br />[[Zealandia (continent)|Zealandia]]
|plate = [[African Plate]]<br />[[Antarctic Plate]]<br />[[Indo-Australian Plate]]<br />[[South American Plate]]
}}
'''Gondwana''' ({{IPAc-en|pron|ɡ|ɒ|n|d|ˈ|w|ɑː|n|ə}})<ref>{{Cite web|title= Gondwana|url= http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gondwana|website= [[Reference.com|Dictionary.com]]|publisher= Lexico Publishing Group|access-date= 18 January 2010|archive-date= 3 March 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214206/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gondwana|url-status= live}}</ref> was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a [[supercontinent]]. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including [[South America]], [[Africa]], [[Antarctica]], [[Australia (continent)|Australia]], [[Zealandia]], [[Arabia]], and the [[Indian Subcontinent]].
Gondwana was formed by the [[Accretion (geology)|accretion]] of several [[craton]]s (large stable blocks of the Earth's crust), beginning {{Circa}}&nbsp;{{Ma|800|650|{{Abbr|Ma|million years ago}}}} with the [[East African Orogeny]], the collision of India and Madagascar with East Africa, and culminating in {{Circa}}&nbsp;{{Ma|600|530|Ma}} with the overlapping [[Brasiliano orogeny|Brasiliano]] and [[Kuunga orogeny|Kuunga]] orogenies, the collision of South America with Africa, and the addition of Australia and Antarctica, respectively.<ref>{{Harvnb|Meert|Van der Voo|1997|loc=Abstract}}</ref> Eventually, Gondwana became the largest piece of [[continental crust]] of the [[Palaeozoic]] Era, covering an area of some {{Convert|100,000,000|km2|abbr=on}},<ref>{{Harvnb|Torsvik|Cocks|2013|loc=Abstract}}</ref> about one-fifth of the Earth's surface. It fused with [[Euramerica]] during the [[Carboniferous]] to form [[Pangaea|Pangea]]. It began to separate from northern Pangea ([[Laurasia]]) during the [[Triassic]], and started to fragment during the Early [[Jurassic]] (around 180 million years ago). The final stages of break-up, involving the separation of Antarctica from South America (forming the [[Drake Passage]]) and Australia, occurred during the [[Paleogene]] (from around {{Ma|66|23}} (Ma)). Gondwana was not considered a supercontinent by the earliest definition, since the landmasses of [[Baltica]], [[Laurentia]], and [[Siberia (continent)|Siberia]] were separated from it.<ref name="Bradley-2011">{{Cite journal |last=Bradley |first=D.C. |date=2011 |title=Secular Trends in the Geologic Record and the Supercontinent Cycle |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=108 |issue=1–2 |pages=16–33 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.05.003|bibcode=2011ESRv..108...16B |citeseerx=10.1.1.715.6618 |s2cid=140601854 }}</ref> To differentiate it from the Indian region of the same name (see {{section link||Name}}), it is also commonly called '''Gondwanaland'''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gondwanaland|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gondwana|access-date=18 January 2010|publisher=[[Webster's Dictionary|Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]]|archive-date=29 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029234618/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gondwana|url-status=live}}</ref>
Regions that were part of Gondwana shared [[floral]] and [[zoological]] elements that persist to the present day.
==Name==
[[File:Wegener fossils-mapped.png|thumb|249x249px|Distribution of four [[Permian]] and [[Triassic]] fossil groups used as biogeographic evidence for continental drift, and land bridging]]
The continent of Gondwana was named by the Austrian scientist [[Eduard Suess]], after the [[Gondwana (India)|region in central India of the same name]], which is derived from [[Sanskrit]] for "forest of the [[Gondi people|Gonds]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chakrabarti |first1=Pratik |title=Gondwana and the Politics of Deep Past |journal=Past & Present |date=2019 |issue=242 |pages=119–153 |doi=10.1093/pastj/gty016|doi-access=free }}</ref> The name had been previously used in a geological context, first by [[Henry Benedict Medlicott|H. B. Medlicott]] in 1872,<ref>{{Harvnb|Suess|1885|p=768}}: [https://archive.org/stream/dasantlitzderer02suesgoog#page/n760/mode/1up "Wir nennen es Gondwána-Land, nach der gemeinsamen alten Gondwána-Flora, … "(We name it Gondwána-Land, after the common ancient flora of Gondwána …)]</ref> from which the Gondwana sedimentary sequences ([[Permian]]-[[Triassic]]) are also described.
Some scientists prefer the term "Gondwanaland" for the supercontinent to make a clear distinction between the region and the supercontinent.<ref name="McLoughlin 2001">{{Harvnb|McLoughlin|2001|loc=Gondwana or Gondwanaland?, pp. 272–273}}</ref>
==Formation==
[[File:Kuunga2.png|thumb|left|Eastern Gondwana. {{Ma|620|550|Ma}} post-collisional extension of the East African Orogeny in blue and {{Ma|570|530|Ma}} collisional metamorphism of the Kuunga orogeny in red.<ref>{{Harvnb|Meert|2003|loc=Fig. 10, p. 19}}</ref>|207x207px]]
The assembly of Gondwana was a protracted process during the [[Neoproterozoic]] and [[Paleozoic]], which remains incompletely understood because of the lack of paleo-magnetic data. Several [[Orogeny|orogenies]], collectively known as the [[Pan-African orogeny]], caused the continental fragments of a much older supercontinent, [[Rodinia]], to amalgamate. One of those orogenic belts, the [[Mozambique Belt]], formed {{Ma|800|650|Ma}} and was originally interpreted as the [[Suture (geology)|suture]] between East (India, Madagascar, Antarctica, and Australia) and West Gondwana (Africa and South America). Three orogenies were recognised during the 1990s as a result of data sets compiled on behalf of oil and mining companies:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fairhead |first=J.D. |date=2023-03-01 |title=The Mesozoic West and Central Africa Rift System (WCARS) and the older Kandi Shear Zone (KSZ): Rifting and tectonics of North Africa and South America and fragmentation of Gondwana based on geophysical investigations |journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences |volume=199 |pages=104817 |doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2022.104817 |issn=1464-343X|doi-access=free |bibcode=2023JAfES.19904817F }}</ref> the [[East African Orogeny]] ({{Ma|650|800|Ma}}) and [[Kuunga orogeny]] (including the [[Malagasy Orogeny]] in southern Madagascar) ({{Ma|550|Ma}}), the collision between East Gondwana and East Africa in two steps, and the [[Brasiliano orogeny]] ({{Ma|660|530|Ma}}), the successive collision between South American and African [[craton]]s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Meert|Van der Voo|1997|loc=Introduction, pp. 223–226}}</ref>
The last stages of Gondwanan assembly overlapped with the opening of the [[Iapetus Ocean]] between [[Laurentia]] and western Gondwana.<ref>{{Harvnb|Miashita|Yamamoto|1996}}</ref> During this interval, the [[Cambrian explosion]] occurred. Laurentia was docked against the western shores of a united Gondwana for a brief period near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary, forming the short-lived and still disputed supercontinent [[Pannotia]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Meert|Van der Voo|1997|p=229}}</ref>
The [[Mozambique Ocean]] separated the [[Congo Craton|Congo]]–[[Tanzania Craton|Tanzania]]–[[Bangweulu Block]] of central Africa from Neoproterozoic India (India, the [[Antongil]] Block in far eastern Madagascar, the [[Seychelles]], and the Napier and Rayner Complexes in [[East Antarctica]]). The [[Azania]] continent<ref>Defined but not named in {{Harvnb|Collins|Pisarevsky|2005}}: "Azania" was a Greek name for the East African coast</ref> (much of central [[Madagascar]], the [[Horn of Africa]] and parts of [[Yemen]] and Arabia) was an island in the Mozambique Ocean.
[[File:Positions of ancient continents, 550 million years ago.jpg|thumb|[[Plate reconstruction|Reconstruction]] showing final stages of assembly of Gondwana, 550 Mya|259x259px]]
The continent Australia/[[East Antarctic Shield|Mawson]] was still separated from India, eastern Africa, and Kalahari by {{Circa}} {{Ma|600|Ma}}, when most of western Gondwana had already been amalgamated. By {{Circa}} 550&nbsp;Ma, India had reached its Gondwanan position, which initiated the Kuunga orogeny (also known as the Pinjarra orogeny). Meanwhile, on the other side of the newly forming Africa, Kalahari collided with Congo and Rio de la Plata which closed the [[Adamastor Ocean]]. {{Circa}} 540–530&nbsp;Ma, the closure of the Mozambique Ocean brought India next to Australia–East Antarctica, and both North and South China were in proximity to Australia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Li|Bogdanova|Collins|Davidson|2008|loc=The birth of Gondwanaland (600–530 Ma), p. 201}}</ref>
As the rest of Gondwana formed, a complex series of orogenic events assembled the eastern parts of Gondwana (eastern Africa, Arabian-Nubian Shield, Seychelles, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, East Antarctica, and Australia) {{Circa}} {{Ma|750|530|Ma}}. First, the Arabian-Nubian Shield collided with eastern Africa (in the Kenya-Tanzania region) in the East African Orogeny {{Circa}}{{Ma|750|620|Ma}}. Then Australia and East Antarctica were merged with the remaining Gondwana {{Circa}} {{Ma|570|530|Ma}} in the Kuunga Orogeny.<ref>{{Harvnb|Meert|2003|loc=Abstract}}</ref>
The later Malagasy orogeny at about 550–515&nbsp;Mya affected Madagascar, eastern East Africa and southern India. In it, Neoproterozoic India collided with the already combined Azania and Congo–Tanzania–Bangweulu Block, suturing along the Mozambique Belt.<ref>{{Harvnb|Grantham|Maboko|Eglington|2003}}</ref>
The {{Convert|18000|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=mid|-long}} [[Terra Australis Orogen]] developed along Gondwana's western, southern, and eastern margins.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cawood|2005|loc=Definition and Tectonic Framework, pp. 4–6}}</ref> Proto-Gondwanan Cambrian arc belts from this margin have been found in eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and Antarctica. Though these belts formed a continuous arc chain, the direction of subduction was different between the Australian-Tasmanian and New Zealand-Antarctica arc segments.<ref>{{Harvnb|Münker|Crawford|2000|loc=Abstract}}</ref>
==Peri-Gondwana development: Paleozoic rifts and accretions ==
Many terranes were accreted to Eurasia during Gondwana's existence, but the Cambrian or Precambrian origin of many of these terranes remains uncertain. For example, some Palaeozoic terranes and microcontinents that now make up Central Asia, often called the "Kazakh" and "Mongolian terranes", were progressively amalgamated into the continent [[Kazakhstania]] in the late [[Silurian]]. Whether these blocks originated on the shores of Gondwana is not known.<ref>{{Harvnb|Torsvik|Cocks|2013|loc=Marginal microcontinents and terranes, p. 1008}}</ref>
In the Early Palaeozoic, the [[Armorican terrane]], which today form large parts of France, was part of either Peri-Gondwana or core Gondwana; the Rheic Ocean closed in front of it and the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean opened behind it. Precambrian rocks from the [[Iberian Peninsula]] suggest that it, too, formed part of core Gondwana before its detachment as an [[orocline]] in the [[Variscan orogeny]] close to the Carboniferous–Permian boundary.<ref>{{Harvnb|Torsvik|Cocks|2013|loc=Southern Europe, pp. 1008–1009}}</ref>
{{Multiple image | total_width = 400 | align = right | perrow = 2
| image1 = Geology of Asia 450.Ma.jpg
| image2 = Geology of Asia 350Ma.jpg
| image3 = Geology of Asia 300Ma.jpg
| image4 = Geology of Asia 200Ma.jpg
| footer = Journey of the Asian blocks from Gondwana to Laurasia, [[Late Ordovician]] to [[Early Jurassic]] (450, 350, 300, and 200 Mya).<br />View centred on 0°S,105°E.
}}
South-east Asia was made of Gondwanan and [[Cathaysia]]n continental fragments that were assembled during the Mid-Palaeozoic and Cenozoic. This process can be divided into three phases of rifting along Gondwana's northern margin: first, in the Devonian, [[North China (continent)|North]] and [[South China (continent)|South China]], together with [[Tarim Basin|Tarim]] and [[Quidam terrane|Quidam]] (north-western China) rifted, opening the Palaeo-Tethys behind them. These terranes accreted to Asia during Late Devonian and Permian. Second, in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian, [[Cimmeria (continent)|Cimmerian terranes]] opened Meso-Tethys Ocean; [[Sibumasu]] and [[Qiangtang terrane|Qiangtang]] were added to south-east Asia during [[Lopingian|Late Permian]] and Early Jurassic. Third, in the Late Triassic to Late Jurassic, [[Lhasa terrane|Lhasa]], [[West Burma block|West Burma]], [[Woyla]] terranes opened the Neo-Tethys Ocean; Lhasa collided with Asia during the Early Cretaceous, and West Burma and Woyla during the Late Cretaceous.<ref>{{Harvnb|McLoughlin|2001|loc=Cimmerian terranes, p. 278}}</ref>
Gondwana's long, northern margin remained a mostly passive margin throughout the Palaeozoic. The Early Permian opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean along this margin produced a long series of terranes, many of which were and still are being deformed in the [[Geology of the Himalaya|Himalaya Orogeny]]. These terranes are, from Turkey to north-eastern India: the Taurides in southern Turkey; the Lesser Caucasus Terrane in Georgia; the Sanand, Alborz, and Lut terranes in Iran; the Mangysglak or Kopetdag Terrane in the Caspian Sea; the Afghan Terrane; the Karakorum Terrane in northern Pakistan; and the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes in Tibet. The Permian–Triassic widening of the Neo-Tethys pushed all these terranes across the Equator and over to Eurasia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Torsvik|Cocks|2013|loc=South-central and eastern Asia}}</ref>
===Southwestern accretions===
During the Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic phase of the [[Terra Australis Orogen]], a series of terranes were rafted from the proto-Andean margin when the Iapteus Ocean opened, to be added back to Gondwana during the closure of that ocean.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cawood|2005|loc=Peri-Gondwanan continental basement assemblages, pp. 15–16}}</ref> During the Paleozoic, some blocks which helped to form parts of the [[Southern Cone]] of South America, include a piece transferred from Laurentia when the west edge of Gondwana scraped against southeast Laurentia in the [[Ordovician]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Rapalini|2001}}; {{Harvnb|Rapalini|1998|pp=105–106}}</ref> This is the [[Cuyania]] or Precordillera [[terrane]] of the [[Famatinian orogeny]] in northwest Argentina which may have continued the line of the [[Appalachians]] southwards.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dalla Salda|de Luchi|Cingolani|Varela|1998|loc=Abstract}}; {{Harvnb|Vujovich|van Staal|Davis|2004|loc=Conclusions, p. 1053}}</ref> [[Chilenia]] terrane accreted later against Cuyania.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ramos |first1=V.A.|author-link=Víctor Alberto Ramos |last2=Jordan |first2=T.E.|last3=Allmendinger |first3=R.W.|last4=Mpodozis |first4=C.|author-link4=Constantino Mpodozis|last5=Kay |first5=S.M.|last6=Cortés |first6=J.M. |last7=Palma |first7=M. |date=October 1986 |title=Paleozoic terranes of the central Argentina-Chilean Andes |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252991522 |journal=Tectonics |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=855–880 |doi= 10.1029/TC005i006p00855|bibcode=1986Tecto...5..855R}}</ref> The collision of the Patagonian terrane with the southwestern Gondwanan occurred in the late Paleozoic. Subduction-related igneous rocks from beneath the [[North Patagonian Massif]] have been dated at 320–330 million years old, indicating that the subduction process initiated in the early Carboniferous.<ref name="Pankhurst-2006">{{Cite journal|last1=Pankhurst|first1=R. J.|last2=Rapela|first2=C. W.|last3=Fanning|first3=C. M.|last4=Márquez|first4=M.|date=1 June 2006|title=Gondwanide continental collision and the origin of Patagonia|journal=Earth-Science Reviews|volume=76|issue=3–4|pages=235–257|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2006.02.001|bibcode=2006ESRv...76..235P|url=http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/211/1/Pankhurst_EARTH1090_Text.pdf|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=19 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719183250/http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/211/1/Pankhurst_EARTH1090_Text.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This was relatively short-lived (lasting about 20 million years), and initial contact of the two landmasses occurred in the mid-Carboniferous,<ref name="Pankhurst-2006" /><ref name="Ramos-2008" /> with broader collision during the early Permian.<ref name="Ramos-2008">{{Cite journal|last=Ramos|first=Victor A.|date=1 November 2008|title=Patagonia: A paleozoic continent adrift?|journal=[[Journal of South American Earth Sciences]]|volume=26|issue=3|pages=235–251 |doi=10.1016/j.jsames.2008.06.002|bibcode=2008JSAES..26..235R|hdl=11336/92748|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In the Devonian, an [[island arc]] named [[Chaitenia]] accreted to Patagonia in what is now south-central Chile.<ref name="Hervé-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Hervé |first1=Francisco|author-link1=Francisco Hervé |last2=Calderón |first2=Mauricio |last3=Fanning |first3=Mark |last4=Pankhurst |first4=Robert|author-link4=Robert John Pankhurst |last5=Rapela |first5=Carlos W. |last6=Quezada |first6=Paulo |date=2018 |title=The country rocks of Devonian magmatism in the North Patagonian Massif and Chaitenia |journal=[[Andean Geology]] |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=301–317 |doi=10.5027/andgeoV45n3-3117  |doi-access=free |hdl=11336/81577 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
==Gondwana as part of Pangaea: Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic==
{{Main|Pangaea}}
[[File:Laurasia-Gondwana.svg|thumb|Gondwana formed part of Pangaea for {{Circa}} 150&nbsp;Ma<ref>{{Harvnb|Li|Bogdanova|Collins|Davidson|2008|loc=Abstract}}</ref>]]
Gondwana and [[Laurasia]] formed the [[Pangaea]] supercontinent during the Carboniferous. Pangaea began to break up in the Mid-Jurassic when the [[Central Atlantic magmatic province|Central Atlantic opened]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Torsvik|Van der Voo|2002|loc=Data selection and reconstruction fits, p. 772}}</ref>
In the western end of Pangaea, the collision between Gondwana and Laurasia closed the [[Rheic Ocean|Rheic]] and [[Paleo-Tethys Ocean|Palaeo-Tethys]] oceans. The obliquity of this closure resulted in the docking of some northern terranes in the [[Marathon Uplift|Marathon]], [[Ouachita orogeny|Ouachita]], [[Alleghanian orogeny|Alleghanian]], and [[Variscan orogeny|Variscan]] orogenies, respectively. Southern terranes, such as [[Chortis Block|Chortis]] and [[Oaxaca Terrane|Oaxaca]], on the other hand, remained largely unaffected by the collision along the southern shores of Laurentia. Some Peri-Gondwanan terranes, such as [[Maya Block|Yucatán]] and [[Florida]], were buffered from collisions by major promontories. Other terranes, such as [[Carolina terrane|Carolina]] and [[Meguma terrane|Meguma]], were directly involved in the collision. The final collision resulted in the Variscan-[[Appalachian Mountains]], stretching from present-day Mexico to southern Europe. Meanwhile, [[Baltica]] collided with [[Siberia (continent)|Siberia]] and [[Kazakhstania]] which resulted in the [[Uralian orogeny]] and [[Laurasia]]. Pangaea was finally amalgamated in the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian, but the oblique forces continued until Pangaea began to rift in the Triassic.<ref>{{Harvnb|Blakey|2003|loc=Assembly of Western Pangaea: Carboniferous–Permian, pp. 453–454}}</ref>
In the eastern end, collisions occurred slightly later. The [[North China Craton|North China]], [[South China Craton|South China]], and [[Indochina Block|Indochina]] blocks rifted from Gondwana during the middle Paleozoic and opened the [[Proto-Tethys Ocean]]. North China docked with Mongolia and Siberia during the Carboniferous–Permian, followed by South China. The [[Cimmeria (continent)|Cimmerian]] blocks then rifted from Gondwana to form the [[Paleo-Tethys Ocean|Palaeo-Thethys]] and [[Tethys Ocean|Neo-Tethys]] oceans in the Late Carboniferous, and docked with Asia during the Triassic and Jurassic. Western Pangaea began to rift while the eastern end was still being assembled.<ref>{{Harvnb|Blakey|2003|loc=Assembly of Eastern Pangaea: Late Permian–Jurassic, p. 454}}</ref>
The formation of [[Pangaea]] and its mountains had a tremendous impact on global climate and sea levels, which resulted in glaciations and continent-wide sedimentation. In North America, the base of the [[Absaroka sequence]] coincides with the Alleghanian and Ouachita orogenies and are indicative of a large-scale change in the mode of deposition far away from the Pangaean orogenies. Ultimately, these changes contributed to the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event]] and left large deposits of hydrocarbons, coal, evaporite, and metals.<ref>{{Harvnb|Blakey|2003|loc=Summary: significance of Pangaean events, pp. 454–455}}</ref>
The breakup of Pangaea began with the [[Central Atlantic magmatic province]] (CAMP) between South America, Africa, North America, and Europe. CAMP covered more than seven million square kilometres over a few million years, reached its peak at {{Circa}} {{Ma|200|Ma}}, and coincided with the [[Triassic–Jurassic extinction event]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Marzoli|Renne|Piccirillo|Ernesto|1999|loc=Abstract}}</ref> The reformed Gondwanan continent was not precisely the same as that which had existed before Pangaea formed; for example, most of [[Florida]] and southern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Alabama]] is underlain by rocks that were originally part of Gondwana, but this region stayed attached to North America when the [[Atlantic Ocean#Central Atlantic|Central Atlantic opened]].<ref>{{Cite web | title = Gondwana Remnants in Alabama And Georgia: Uchee Is An 'Exotic' Peri-Gondwanan Arc Terrane, Not Part of Laurentia | work = ScienceDaily | date = 4 February 2008 | url = https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204212810.htm | access-date = 22 October 2011 | archive-date = 15 May 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190515080430/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204212810.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>
==Break-up==
===Mesozoic===
Antarctica, the centre of the supercontinent, shared boundaries with all other Gondwana continents and the fragmentation of Gondwana propagated clockwise around it. The break-up was the result of the eruption of the [[Karoo-Ferrar|Karoo-Ferrar igneous province]], one of the Earth's most extensive [[large igneous province]]s (LIP) {{Circa}} {{Ma|200|170|Ma}}, but the oldest [[Magnetic anomaly|magnetic anomalies]] between South America, Africa, and Antarctica are found in what is now the southern [[Weddell Sea]] where initial break-up occurred during the Jurassic {{Circa}} {{Ma|180|160|Ma}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jokat|Boebel|König|Meyer|2003|loc=Introduction, pp. 1–2}}</ref>
====Opening of western Indian Ocean====
{{Multiple image
| width =180
| image1 = Opening of western Indian Ocean 150 Ma.png
| image2 = Opening of western Indian Ocean 70 Ma.png
| footer = The first ocean floor formed between Madagascar and Africa c. 150&nbsp;Ma (left) and between [[India]] and [[Madagascar]] c. 70&nbsp;Ma (right).
}}
Gondwana began to break up in the early [[Jurassic]] following the extensive and fast emplacement of the [[Karoo-Ferrar]] [[flood basalt]]s {{Circa}} {{Ma|184|Ma}}. Before the Karoo plume initiated rifting between [[Africa]] and [[Antarctica]], it separated a series of smaller continental blocks from Gondwana's southern, Proto-Pacific margin (along what is now the [[Transantarctic Mountains]]): the [[Antarctic Peninsula]], [[Marie Byrd Land]], [[Zealandia]], and [[Thurston Island]]; the [[Falkland Islands]] and [[Ellsworth–Whitmore Mountains]] (in Antarctica) were rotated 90° in opposite directions; and South America south of the [[Gastre Fault]] (often referred to as [[Tectonic evolution of Patagonia|Patagonia]]) was pushed westward.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encarnación|Fleming|Elliot|Eales|1996|loc=Early rifting and Gondwana breakup, pp. 537–538}}</ref> The history of the Africa-Antarctica break-up can be studied in great detail in the fracture zones and magnetic anomalies flanking the [[Southwest Indian Ridge]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Royer|Patriat|Bergh|Scotese|1988|loc=Figg. 7 a–j, pp. 248–257}}</ref>
The Madagascar block and the [[Mascarene Plateau]], stretching from the [[Seychelles]] to [[Réunion]], were broken off India, causing [[Geography of Madagascar|Madagascar]] and [[Insular India]] to be separate [[landmass|landmasses]]: elements of this break-up nearly coincide with the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]]. The India–Madagascar–Seychelles separations appear to coincide with the eruption of the [[Deccan Traps|Deccan basalts]], whose eruption site may survive as the [[Réunion hotspot]]. The Seychelles and the [[Maldives]] are now separated by the [[Central Indian Ridge]].
During the initial break-up in the Early Jurassic a [[transgression (geology)|marine transgression]] swept over the [[Horn of Africa]] covering Triassic [[planation surface]]s with [[sandstone]], [[limestone]], [[shale]], [[marl]]s and [[evaporite]]s.<ref name="Abbate-2015">{{cite book |last1=Abbate |first1=Ernesto|last2=Bruni |first2=Piero|last3=Sagri |first3=Mario |date=2015|editor-last=Billi|editor-first=Paolo |title=Landscapes and Landforms of Ethiopia |chapter=Geology of Ethiopia: A Review and Geomorphological Perspectives|series=World Geomorphological Landscapes |pages=33–64 |isbn=978-94-017-8026-1 |doi=10.1007/978-94-017-8026-1_2}}</ref><ref name="Coltorti-2007">{{cite journal |last1=Coltorti |first1=M. |last2=Dramis |first2=F.|last3=Ollier |first3=C.D.|author-link3=Cliff Ollier |date=2007 |title=Planation surfaces in Northern Ethiopia |journal=[[Geomorphology (journal)|Geomorphology]] |volume=89 |issue= 3–4|pages=287–296 |doi= 10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.12.007|bibcode=2007Geomo..89..287C }}</ref>
{{Clear|right}}
====Opening of eastern Indian Ocean====
{{Multiple image
| width =180
| image1 = Opening of eastern Indian Ocean 120 Ma.png
| image2 = Opening of eastern Indian Ocean 80 Ma.png
| image3 = Opening of eastern Indian Ocean 40 Ma.png
| footer = The first ocean floor formed between India and Antarctica c. 120&nbsp;Ma (left).  The Kerguelen LIP began to form the Ninety East ridge c. 80&nbsp;Ma (centre).  The Indian and Australian plates merged c. 40&nbsp;Ma (right).
}}
East Gondwana, comprising Antarctica, Madagascar, India, and Australia, began to separate from Africa.<!-- w/o source --> East Gondwana then began to break up {{Circa}} {{Ma|132.5|96|Ma}} when India moved northwest from Australia-Antarctica.<ref>{{Harvnb|Powell|Roots|Veevers|1988|loc=Abstract}}</ref> The [[Indian Plate]] and the [[Australian Plate]] are now separated by the [[Capricorn Plate]] and its diffuse boundaries.<ref>{{Harvnb|DeMets|Gordon|Royer|2005|loc=Introduction; Fig. 1, p. 446}}</ref> During the opening of the Indian Ocean, the [[Kerguelen hotspot]] first formed the [[Kerguelen Plateau]] on the [[Antarctic Plate]] {{Circa}} {{Ma|118|95|Ma}} and then the [[Ninety East Ridge]] on the [[Indian Plate]] at {{Circa}} {{Ma|100|Ma}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Müller|Royer|Lawver|1993|loc=Model results, pp. 277–278}}</ref> The Kerguelen Plateau and the [[Broken Ridge]], the southern end of the Ninety East Ridge, are now separated by the [[Southeast Indian Ridge]].
Separation between Australia and [[East Antarctica]] began {{Circa}} {{Ma|132|Ma}} with seafloor spreading occurring {{Circa}} {{Ma|96|Ma}}. A shallow seaway developed over the [[South Tasman Rise]] during the Early [[Cenozoic]] and as [[oceanic crust]] started to separate the continents during the [[Eocene]] {{Circa}} {{Ma|35.5|Ma}} global ocean temperature dropped significantly.<ref>{{Harvnb|McLoughlin|2001|loc=East Antarctica–Australia, p. 280}}</ref> A dramatic shift from arc- to rift magmatism {{Circa}} {{Ma|100|Ma}} separated [[Zealandia]], including [[New Zealand]], the [[Campbell Plateau]], [[Chatham Rise]], [[Lord Howe Rise]], [[Norfolk Ridge]], and [[New Caledonia]], from [[West Antarctica]] {{Circa}} {{Ma|84|Ma}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|McLoughlin|2001|loc=West Antarctica–Tasmania, p. 280}}</ref>
{{Clear|right}}
====Opening of South Atlantic Ocean====
{{Multiple image
| width =180
| image1 = Opening of South Atlantic 126 Ma.png
| image2 = Opening of South Atlantic 83 Ma.png
| footer = At c. 126&nbsp;Ma (left) the Falkland Plateau began to slide past southern Africa and the Paraná-Etendeka LIP had opened the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.  At c. 83&nbsp;Ma (right) the South Atlantic was fully opened and the Romanche Fracture Zone was forming near the Equator.
}}
The [[Atlantic Ocean#South Atlantic|opening of the South Atlantic Ocean]] divided West Gondwana (South America and Africa), but there is considerable debate over the exact timing of this break-up. Rifting propagated from south to north along Triassic–Early Jurassic lineaments, but intra-continental rifts also began to develop within both continents in Jurassic–Cretaceous sedimentary basins, subdividing each continent into three sub-plates. Rifting began {{Circa}} {{Ma|190|Ma}} at Falkland latitudes, forcing Patagonia to move relative to the still static remainder of South America and Africa, and this westward movement lasted until the Early Cretaceous {{Ma|126.7|Ma}}. From there rifting propagated northward during the Late Jurassic {{Circa}} {{Ma|150|Ma}} or Early Cretaceous {{Circa}} {{Ma|140|Ma}} most likely forcing dextral movements between sub-plates on either side. South of the [[Walvis Ridge]] and [[Rio Grande Rise]] the [[Paraná and Etendeka traps|Paraná and Etendeka magmatics]] resulted in further ocean-floor spreading {{Circa}} {{Ma|130|135|Ma}} and the development of rifts systems on both continents, including the [[West and Central African Rift System|Central African Rift System]] and the [[Central African Shear Zone]] which lasted until {{Circa}} {{Ma|85|Ma}}. At Brazilian latitudes spreading is more difficult to assess because of the lack of palaeo-magnetic data, but rifting occurred in Nigeria at the [[Benue Trough]] {{Circa}} {{Ma|118|Ma}}. North of the Equator the rifting began after {{Ma|120.4|Ma}} and continued until {{Circa}} {{Ma|100|96|Ma}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Seton|Müller|Zahirovic|Gaina|2012|loc=South Atlantic, pp. 217–218}}</ref> Dinosaur footprints representing identical species assemblages are known from opposite sides of the South Atlantic (Brazil and [[Cameroon]]) dating to around {{Ma|120|3=Ma}}, suggesting that some form of land connection still existed between Africa and South America as recently as the early [[Aptian]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matching dinosaur footprints found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean |url=https://www.smu.edu/news/research/matching-dinosaur-footprints-different-continents |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.smu.edu |language=en}}</ref>
{{Clear|right}}
====Early Andean orogeny====
The first phases of [[Andean orogeny]] in the [[Jurassic]] and [[Early Cretaceous]] were characterised by [[extensional tectonics]], [[rift]]ing, the development of [[back-arc basin]]s and the emplacement of large [[batholith]]s.<ref name="Ramos-2009">{{Harvnb|Ramos|2009|loc=Abstract}}</ref><ref name="Charrier-2006">{{Harvnb|Charrier|Pinto|Rodríguez|2006|pp=45–46}}</ref> This development is presumed to have been linked to the subduction of cold [[oceanic crust|oceanic]] [[lithosphere]].<ref name="Charrier-2006"/> During the mid to [[Late Cretaceous]] ({{circa|90 million years ago}}), the Andean orogeny changed significantly in character.<ref name="Ramos-2009"/><ref name="Charrier-2006"/> Warmer and younger oceanic lithosphere is believed to have started to be subducted beneath South America around this time. Such kind of subduction is held responsible not only for the intense contractional [[Deformation (engineering)|deformation]] that different lithologies were subject to, but also the [[mountain building|uplift]] and [[erosion]] known to have occurred from the Late Cretaceous onward.<ref name="Charrier-2006"/> [[Plate tectonics|Plate tectonic]] reorganisation since the mid-Cretaceous might also have been linked to the [[rift|opening]] of the [[South Atlantic Ocean]].<ref name="Ramos-2009"/> Another change related to mid-Cretaceous plate tectonic rearrangement was the change of subduction direction of the oceanic lithosphere that went from having south-east motion to having a north-east motion about 90 million years ago.<ref name="Hoffmann-2006">{{Harvnb|Hoffmann-Rothe|Kukowski|Dresen|Echtler|2006}}</ref> While subduction direction changed, it remained oblique (and not perpendicular) to the coast of South America, and the direction change affected several [[subduction|subduction zone]]-parallel faults including [[Atacama Fault|Atacama]], [[Domeyko Fault|Domeyko]] and [[Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault|Liquiñe-Ofqui]].<ref name="Charrier-2006"/><ref name="Hoffmann-2006"/>
===Cenozoic===
[[Insular India]] began to collide with Asia circa {{Ma|70|Ma}}, forming the [[Indian subcontinent]], since which more than {{Convert|1400|km|abbr=on}} of crust has been absorbed by the [[Himalayas|Himalayan]]-[[Tibet]]an orogen. During the Cenozoic, the orogen resulted in the construction of the [[Tibetan Plateau]] between the Tethyan Himalayas in the south and the [[Kunlun Mountains|Kunlun]] and [[Qilian Mountains|Qilian]] mountains in the north.<ref>{{Harvnb|Yin|Harrison|2000|loc=Abstract}}</ref>
Later, South America was connected to North America via the [[Isthmus of Panama]], cutting off a circulation of warm water and thereby making the [[Arctic]] colder,<ref>{{Harvnb|Luyendyk|Forsyth|Phillips|1972|loc=Abstract}}</ref> as well as allowing the [[Great American Interchange]].
The break-up of Gondwana can be said to continue in eastern Africa at the [[Afar triple junction]], which separates the [[Arabian Plate|Arabian]], [[Nubian Plate|Nubian]], and [[Somali Plate|Somali]] plates, resulting in rifting in the [[Red Sea]] and [[East African Rift]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Jestin|Huchon|Gaulier|1994|loc=Abstract}}</ref>
====Australia–Antarctica separation====
In the Early [[Cenozoic]], Australia was still connected to Antarctica {{Circa}} 35–40° south of its current location and both continents were largely unglaciated. A rift between the two developed but remained an embayment until the Eocene-Oligocene boundary when the Circumpolar Current developed and the glaciation of Antarctica began.<ref>{{Harvnb|Martin|2006|loc=Palaeogeography, pp. 538–539}}</ref>
Australia was warm and wet during the Palaeocene and dominated by rainforest. The opening of the Tasman Gateway at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary ({{Ma|33|Ma}}) resulted in abrupt cooling but the Oligocene became a period of high rainfall with swamps in southeast Australia. During the Miocene, a warm and humid climate developed with pockets of rainforests in central Australia, but before the end of the period, colder and drier climate severely reduced this rainforest. A brief period of increased rainfall in the [[Pliocene]] was followed by drier climate which favoured grassland. Since then, the fluctuation between wet interglacial periods and dry glacial periods has developed into the present arid regime. Australia has thus experienced various [[climate change]]s over a 15-million-year period with a gradual decrease in precipitation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Martin|2006|loc=Conclusions, pp. 557–558}}</ref>
The Tasman Gateway between Australia and Antarctica began to open {{Circa}} {{Ma|40|30|Ma}}. Palaeontological evidence indicates the [[Antarctic Circumpolar Current]] (ACC) was established in the Late Oligocene {{Circa}} {{Ma|23|Ma}} with the full opening of the [[Drake Passage]] and the deepening of the Tasman Gateway. The oldest oceanic crust in the Drake Passage, however, is {{Ma|34|29|Ma}}-old which indicates that the spreading between the Antarctic and South American plates began near the Eocene/Oligocene boundary.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lagabrielle|Goddéris|Donnadieu|Malavieille|2009|loc=Timing of opening of the Drake Passage region, pp. 198–199}}</ref> Deep sea environments in [[Tierra del Fuego]] and the [[North Scotia Ridge]] during the Eocene and Oligocene indicate a "Proto-ACC" opened during this period. Later, {{Ma|26|14|Ma}}, a series of events severally restricted the Proto-ACC: change to shallow marine conditions along the North Scotia Ridge; closure of the Fuegan Seaway, the deep sea that existed in Tierra del Fuego; and uplift of the Patagonian Cordillera. This, together with the reactivated [[Iceland plume]], contributed to global warming. During the Miocene, the Drake Passage began to widen, and as water flow between South America and the [[Antarctic Peninsula]] increased, the renewed ACC resulted in cooler global climate.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lagabrielle|Goddéris|Donnadieu|Malavieille|2009|loc=Conclusions, p. 210}}</ref>
Since the Eocene, the northward movement of the Australian Plate has resulted in an [[arc-continent]] collision with the [[Philippine Sea Plate|Philippine]] and [[Caroline Plate|Caroline]] plates and the uplift of the [[New Guinea Highlands]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|Hall|2003|loc=Abstract}}</ref> From the Oligocene to the late Miocene, the climate in Australia, dominated by warm and humid rainforests before this collision, began to alternate between open forest and rainforest before the continent became the arid or semiarid landscape it is today.<ref>{{Harvnb|Travouillon|Legendre|Archer|Hand|2009|loc=Abstract}}</ref>
==Biogeography==
{{See also|Evolutionary history of plants}}
[[File:Dryandra formosa-IMG 0335.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Banksia]]'', a [[Grevilleoideae|grevilleoid]] Proteaceae, is an example of a plant from a family with a Gondwanan distribution]]
The adjective "Gondwanan" is in common use in [[biogeography]] when referring to patterns of distribution of living organisms, typically when the organisms are restricted to two or more of the now-discontinuous regions that were once part of Gondwana, including the [[Antarctic flora]].<ref name="McLoughlin 2001" /> For example, the plant family [[Proteaceae]], known from all continents in the Southern Hemisphere, has a "Gondwanan distribution" and is often described as an archaic, or [[Relict (biology)|relict]], lineage. The distributions in the Proteaceae is, nevertheless, the result of both Gondwanan rafting and later oceanic dispersal.<ref>{{Harvnb|Barker|Weston|Rutschmann|Sauquet|2007|loc=Abstract}}</ref>
===Post-Cambrian diversification===
During the Silurian, Gondwana extended from the Equator (Australia) to the South Pole (North Africa and South America) whilst Laurasia was located on the Equator opposite to Australia. A short-lived [[Late Ordovician glaciation]] was followed by a Silurian [[Greenhouse and icehouse Earth|Hot House]] period.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=SILURIAN: terrestrial life appears in the tropics, p. 148}}</ref> The [[Ordovician–Silurian extinction events|End-Ordovician extinction]], which resulted in 27% of marine invertebrate families and 57% of genera going extinct, occurred during this shift from Ice House to Hot House.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=The First Extinction, p. 151}}</ref>
{{Multiple image
| image1 = Cooksonia sp. - MUSE.jpg | width1 = 210
| image2 = Archaeopteris sp. - MUSE.jpg | width2 = 160
| footer = Reconstructions of (left) a late Silurian ''[[Cooksonia]]'', the first known land plant, and (right) a Late Devonian ''[[Archaeopteris]]'', the first large tree
}}
By the end of the Ordovician, ''[[Cooksonia]]'', a slender, ground-covering plant, became the first known vascular plant to establish itself on land. This first colonisation occurred exclusively around the Equator on landmasses then limited to Laurasia and, in Gondwana, to Australia. In the late Silurian, two distinctive lineages, [[zosterophyll]]s and [[Rhyniopsida|rhyniophytes]], had colonised the tropics. The former evolved into the [[Lycopodiopsida|lycopods]] that were to dominate the Gondwanan vegetation over a long period, whilst the latter evolved into [[Equisetum|horsetails]] and [[gymnosperm]]s. Most of Gondwana was located far from the Equator during this period and remained a lifeless and barren landscape.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=The Silurian revolution, p. 151}}</ref>
West Gondwana drifted north during the [[Devonian]], bringing Gondwana and Laurasia close together. Global cooling contributed to the [[Late Devonian extinction]] (19% of marine families and 50% of genera went extinct) and glaciation occurred in South America. Before Pangaea had formed, terrestrial plants, such as [[pteridophyte]]s, began to diversify rapidly resulting in the colonisation of Gondwana. The [[Baragwanathia]] Flora, found only in the [[Yea Flora Fossil Site|Yea Beds]] of Victoria, Australia, occurs in two strata separated by {{Convert|1700|m|abbr=on}} or 30&nbsp;Ma; the upper assemblage is more diverse and includes Baragwanathia, the first primitive [[herbaceous]] lycopod to evolve from the zosterophylls. During the Devonian, [[Lepidodendron|giant club mosses]] replaced the Baragwanathia Flora, introducing the first trees, and by the Late Devonian this first forest was accompanied by the [[progymnosperm]]s, including the first large trees ''[[Archaeopteris]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=DEVONIAN: colonising Gondwana; The Second Extinction; Global colonisation of plants, pp. 151, 153}}</ref> The Late Devonian extinction probably also resulted in [[Osteolepiformes|osteolepiform]] fishes [[Evolution of tetrapods|evolving into the amphibian tetrapods]], the earliest land vertebrates, in Greenland and Russia. The only traces of this evolution in Gondwana are amphibian footprints and a single jaw from Australia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=Amphibian prelude, p. 153}}</ref>
The closure of the Rheic Ocean and the formation of Pangaea in the Carboniferous resulted in the rerouting of ocean currents that initiated an Ice House period. As Gondwana began to rotate clockwise, Australia shifted south to more temperate latitudes. An ice cap initially covered most of southern Africa and South America but spread to eventually cover most of the supercontinent, save for northernmost Africa-South America and eastern Australia. Giant lycopod and horsetail forests continued to evolve in tropical Laurasia together with a diversified assemblage of true insects. In Gondwana, in contrast, ice and, in Australia, volcanism decimated the Devonian flora to a low-diversity seed fern flora&nbsp;– the pteridophytes were increasingly replaced by the gymnosperms which were to dominate until the Mid-Cretaceous. Australia, however, was still located near the Equator during the Early Carboniferous, and during this period, [[Temnospondyli|temnospondyl]] and [[Lepospondyli|lepospondyl]] amphibians and the first [[amniote]] reptilians evolved, all closely related to the Laurasian fauna, but spreading ice eventually drove these animals away from Gondwana entirely.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=CARBONIFEROUS: competing with ice, pp. 153–154}}</ref>
{{Multiple image
| image1 = Walchia piniformis.jpg | width1 = 170
| image2 = Lebachia piniformis.jpg | width2 = 180
| footer = Fossilised ''[[Walchia]]'' and ''[[Utrechtia]]'', two [[Voltziales|voltzialean]] pines from which modern conifers evolved
}}
{{Multiple image
| total_width = 350 | perrow = 2 | align = left
| image1 = Agathis robusta cone.jpg
| image2 = Wollemia nobilis M2.JPG
| image3 = Araucaria (La Mer de sable) cone.jpg
| image4 = Podocarpus macrophyllus (seed s3).jpg
| footer = Still extant Triassic conifers (''[[Agathis]]'', ''[[Wollemia]]'', ''[[Araucaria]]'', and ''[[Podocarpus]]'') that once dominated Gondwana
}}
The Gondwana ice sheet melted, and sea levels dropped during the Permian and Triassic global warming. During this period, the extinct [[Glossopteridales|glossopterids]] colonised Gondwana and reached peak diversity in the Late Permian when coal-forming forests covered much of Gondwana. The period also saw the evolution of [[Voltziales]], one of the few plant orders to survive the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event|end-Permian extinction]] (57% of marine families and 83% of genera went extinct) and which came to dominate in the Late Permian and from whom true conifers evolved. Tall lycopods and [[Equisetopsida|horsetails]] dominated the wetlands of Gondwana in the Early Permian. Insects co-evolved with glossopterids across Gondwana and diversified with more than 200 species in 21 orders by the Late Permian, many known from South Africa and Australia. Beetles and cockroaches remained minor elements in this fauna. [[Tetrapod]] fossils from the Early Permian have only been found in Laurasia but they became common in Gondwana later during the Permian. The arrival of the [[therapsid]]s resulted in the first plant-vertebrate-insect ecosystem.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=PERMIAN: the glossopterid empire, pp. 153–154}}</ref>
===Modern diversification===
During the Mid- to Late Triassic, hot-house conditions coincided with a peak in biodiversity&nbsp;– the end-Permian extinction was enormous and so was the radiation that followed. Two families of conifers, [[Podocarpaceae]] and [[Araucariaceae]], dominated Gondwana in the Early Triassic, but ''[[Dicroidium]]'', an extinct genus of fork-leaved seed ferns, dominated woodlands and forests of Gondwana during most of the Triassic. Conifers evolved and radiated during the period, with six of eight extant families already present before the end of it. [[Bennettitales]] and [[Pentoxylales]], two now extinct orders of gymnospermous plants, evolved in the Late Triassic and became important in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. It is possible that gymnosperm biodiversity surpassed later angiosperm biodiversity and that the evolution of angiosperms began during the Triassic but, if so, in Laurasia rather than in Gondwana. Two Gondwanan classes, [[Lycopodiophyta|lycophytes]] and [[Equisetopsida|sphenophytes]], saw a gradual decline during the Triassic while ferns, though never dominant, managed to diversify.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=TRIASSIC: the gymnosperm heyday, pp. 155–156}}</ref>
The brief period of icehouse conditions during the [[Triassic–Jurassic extinction event]] had a dramatic impact on dinosaurs but left plants largely unaffected. The Jurassic was mostly one of hot-house conditions and, while vertebrates managed to diversify in this environment, plants have left little evidence of such development, apart from [[Cheirolepidiaceae|Cheiroleidiacean]] conifers and [[Caytoniales]] and other groups of seed ferns. In terms of biomass, the Jurassic flora was dominated by conifer families and other gymnosperms that had evolved during the Triassic. The [[Pteridophyte]]s that had dominated during the Palaeozoic were now marginalised, except for ferns. In contrast to Laurentia, very few insect fossils have been found in Gondwana, to a considerable extent because of widespread deserts and volcanism. While plants had a cosmopolitan distribution, dinosaurs evolved and diversified in a pattern that reflects the Jurassic break-up of Pangaea.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=JURASSIC: volcanism, conifers and bennettitaleans, pp. 156, 158}}</ref>
The Cretaceous saw the arrival of the [[angiosperm]]s, or flowering plants, a group that probably evolved in western Gondwana (South America–Africa). From there the angiosperms diversified in two stages: the [[Monocotyledon|monocots]] and [[magnoliids]] evolved in the Early Cretaceous, followed by the [[Hamamelidaceae|hammamelid]] [[Dicotyledon|dicots]]. By the Mid-Cretaceous, angiosperms constituted half of the flora in northeastern Australia. There is, however, no obvious connection between this spectacular angiosperm radiation and any known extinction event nor with vertebrate/insect evolution. Insect orders associated with pollination, such as [[beetle]]s, [[Fly|flies]], [[Lepidoptera|butterflies and moths]], and [[Hymenoptera|wasps, bees, and ants]], radiated continuously from the Permian-Triassic, long before the arrival of the angiosperms. Well-preserved insect fossils have been found in the lake deposits of the [[Santana Formation]] in Brazil, the [[Koonwarra, Victoria#Koonwarra fossil bed|Koonwarra Lake fauna]] in Australia, and the [[Orapa diamond mine]] in Botswana.<ref name="Anderson-1999">{{Harvnb|Anderson|Anderson|Archangelsky|Bamford|1999|loc=Cretaceous: of flowers and pollination, pp. 158–159}}</ref>
Dinosaurs continued to prosper but, as the angiosperm diversified, conifers, bennettitaleans and pentoxylaleans disappeared from Gondwana {{Circa}} 115&nbsp;Ma together with the specialised herbivorous [[ornithischia]]ns, whilst generalist browsers, such as several families of [[Sauropodomorpha|sauropodomorph]] [[Saurischia]], prevailed. The [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]] killed off all dinosaurs except birds, but plant evolution in Gondwana was hardly affected.<ref name="Anderson-1999" /> [[Gondwanatheria]] is an extinct group of non-[[theria]]n mammals with a Gondwanan distribution (South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Zealandia and Antarctica) during the Late Cretaceous and Palaeogene.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gurovich|Beck|2009|loc=Introduction, pp. 25–26}}</ref> [[Xenarthra]] and [[Afrotheria]], two placental clades, are of Gondwanan origin and probably began to evolve separately {{Circa}} {{Ma|105|Ma}} when Africa and South America separated.<ref>{{Harvnb|Woodburne|Rich|Springer|2003|loc=Gondwana and early mammal evolution, p. 375}}</ref>
[[File:Nothofagus demis.JPG|thumb|upright=1.35|The plant genus ''[[Nothofagus]]'' provides a good example of a taxon with a Gondwanan distribution, having originated in the supercontinent and existing in present-day Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and South America's [[Southern Cone]]. Fossils have also been found in Antarctica.<ref>{{Harvnb|HaoMin|ZheKun|2007}}</ref>]]
The [[laurel forest]]s of Australia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand have a number of species related to those of the [[laurissilva]] of Valdivia, through the connection of the [[Antarctic flora]]. These include gymnosperms and the deciduous species of ''Nothofagus'', as well as the New Zealand laurel, ''[[Corynocarpus laevigatus]]'', and ''[[Laurelia novae-zelandiae]]''. New Caledonia and New Zealand became separated from Australia by [[continental drift]] 85 million years ago. The islands still retain plants that originated in Gondwana and spread to the Southern Hemisphere continents later.
==See also==
* [[Continental drift]], the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other
* [[Australasian realm]]
* [[Gondwana Rainforests of Australia]]
* The [[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|Great Escarpment]] of Southern Africa
* [[Plate tectonics]], a theory which describes the large-scale motions of Earth's lithosphere
* [[South Polar dinosaurs]], which proliferated during the Early Cretaceous (145–100 Mya) while Australia was still linked to Antarctica to form East Gondwana
* ''[[Gondwana Research]]'', a scholarly journal including Gondwana among its emphases
==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}
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{{Refend}}
== External links ==
* {{Cite web
| last = Houseman | first = Greg
| title = Animation of the dispersal of Gondwanaland | publisher = [[University of Leeds]]
| url = http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~eargah/Gond.html | access-date = 21 October 2008}}
* {{Cite web
| title = Interactive animation of the breakup of Gondwana | publisher = [[ITC Enschede|ITC]], [[University of Twente]]
| url = http://kartoweb.itc.nl/gondwana/gondwana.html | access-date = 16 October 2017 |author1=Barend Köbben |author2=Colin Reeves |author3=Maarten de Wit }}
* [http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm Graphical subjects dealing with Tectonics and Paleontology]
* [http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/97019/index.htm Gondwana Reconstruction and Dispersion]
* [http://www.gondwana.geologia.ufrj.br/en/?page_id=41 The Gondwana Map Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920223629/http://www.gondwana.geologia.ufrj.br/en/?page_id=41 |date=20 September 2019 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=van Hinsbergen |first1=Douwe J.J. |last2=Torsvik |first2=Trond H. |last3=Schmid |first3=Stefan M. |last4=Maţenco |first4=Liviu C. |last5=Maffione |first5=Marco |last6=Vissers |first6=Reinoud L.M. |last7=Gürer |first7=Derya |last8=Spakman |first8=Wim |title=Orogenic architecture of the Mediterranean region and kinematic reconstruction of its tectonic evolution since the Triassic |journal=Gondwana Research |date=September 2019 |volume=81 |pages=79–229 |doi=10.1016/j.gr.2019.07.009|bibcode=2020GondR..81...79V |doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11850/390104 |hdl-access=free }}
{{Continents of the world}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Historical continents]]
[[Category:Former supercontinents]]
[[Category:Biogeography]]
[[Category:Paleozoic paleogeography]]
[[Category:Mesozoic paleogeography]]
[[Category:Geology of Africa]]
[[Category:Geology of Antarctica]]
[[Category:Geology of Asia]]
[[Category:Geology of India]]
[[Category:Geology of Australia]]
[[Category:Geology of South America]]
[[Category:Prehistoric Antarctica]]
[[Category:Paleozoic Africa]]
[[Category:Paleozoic Antarctica]]
[[Category:Paleozoic Asia]]
[[Category:Paleozoic South America]]
[[Category:Mesozoic Africa]]
[[Category:Mesozoic Antarctica]]
[[Category:Mesozoic Asia]]
[[Category:Mesozoic South America]]