What does it mean when fossils of the same species are found on different continents, such as the reptile Mesosaurus which has been found in both Africa and South America?

Answer 1

This is usually taken to be evidence for plate tectonic movement of the contents.

Fossils of the same genus or species suggest that contents that were once together, must have been together in the geological past. Earth's plates have been moving for over 3 billion years, moving at a very slow rate that is typically measured in millions of years. Continents are either torn apart or collide together to form very large single continents.

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Answer 2

Audrey Adams

The presence of fossils of the same species on different continents suggests that these continents were once connected or closer together than they are today. This supports the theory of continental drift, which proposes that continents were once part of a single landmass called Pangaea and have since moved apart due to plate tectonics.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.