Menu Close

In what ways do fossils help support the hypothesis of Continental Drift?

In what ways do fossils help support the hypothesis of Continental Drift?

Wegener used fossil evidence to support his continental drift hypothesis. The fossils of these organisms are found on lands that are now far apart. Grooves and rock deposits left by ancient glaciers are found today on different continents very close to the equator.

What fossil helped support Continental Drift?

Lystrosaurus fossils may serve as indicators of the boundary between the Permian and Triassic periods and also are part of the body of evidence supporting the theory of continental drift . Lystrosaurus was roughly 1 metre (about 3 feet) long and was heavily built.

What evidence was noticed in the fossils that supports Continental Drift?

One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined.

What role did fossils play in the continental drift theory?

There are many examples of fossils found on separate continents and nowhere else, suggesting the continents were once joined. If Continental Drift had not occurred, the alternative explanations would be: They swam to the other continent/s in breeding pairs to establish a second population.

What was the hypothesis of continental drift?

Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents were once united into a single supercontinent named Pangaea, meaning all earth in ancient Greek. He suggested that Pangaea broke up long ago and that the continents then moved to their current positions. He called his hypothesis continental drift.

Which explanation provide support for continental drift theory?

Which explanation provides support for continental drift theory? Coal fields match up across continents. What name did Wegener give to the single large landmass composed of all continents?

How did Wegener discover continental drift?

Fossils of similar organisms across widely disparate continents encouraged the revolutionary theory of continental drift. He called this movement continental drift. Pangaea. Wegener was convinced that all of Earth’s continents were once part of an enormous, single landmass called Pangaea.

How do fossils support the theory of plate tectonics?

Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed. This distribution of fossils led to theories that the southern continents were once joined in a supercontinent called Gondwana.

What is the name of the two fossils that the scientist used to support his theory of Pangaea?

Evidence. Two fossils in particular served as good evidence for the idea that the continents were once joined but have since separated: Glossopteris and Mesosaurus.

Which two pieces of fossil evidence supports the idea of continental drift quizlet?

How does each fossil support the hypothesis of continental drift? Each fossil supports this idea because they were found on different continents. What three key evidence supports continental drift? Fossil clues, plants, rock clues and climate clues were discovered on the different continents.