WebEvidence for continental drift is also found in the types of rocks on continents. Some of the fossil evidence discovered on the continents includes mesosaurus, lystosaurus, cygnognathus and glossopteris. WebWe would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. 5.5: Continental Drift - Geosciences LibreTexts Modern day representation of the Lystrosaurus. This is how they looked 250 million years ago. It worked! Dates when the polarity of Earths magnetism changed were determined from lava flows. The continents remained fixed and the north magnetic pole moved. There are various examples of fossils found on separate continents and in no other regions. Continental Drift versus Plate Tectonics The two paths merge into one if the continents are allowed to drift. Continental drift is a theory that assumes all continents of the earth were a part of a single super-continent.The fossil evidence of Lystrosaurus supports the theory of continental drift.. Continental drift: It is a theory that assumes all continents of the earth were a part of a single super-continent that later move away from each other.. The result is the Himalayan mountains. For example, the fossils of the primitive aquatic reptile Mesosaurus were found on the separate coastlines of Africa and South America. It lived during the early Permian period (286 to 258 million years ago) and its remains are found solely in South Africa and Eastern South America. Wilson, J. T. A new class of faults and their bearing on continental drift. Tolstoy, I. He provided evidence that mountain ranges occurring on opposite continents matched up pretty well when brought together. Salt evaporites/beds in cold parts of U.S.A, Britain, Germany and Russia is evidence for continental drift from tropics because salt evaporites occur in tropics Proximity of continental land masses to the North Pole than in South Pole. On top of that, Lystrosaurus is situated in Antarctica, India, and Africa according to the modern map. Glacial Deposits - The Geological Society There was almost certainly only one north magnetic pole through Earth's history. The continents fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Although Wegeners evidence was sound, most geologists at the time rejected his hypothesis of continental drift. Wegener himself did not collect the fossils but he called attention to the idea of using these scientific doc uments stating there were fossils of species present in separate continents in order to support his claim. The plate moving down gets heated tremendously due to the internal heat of the Earth and melts this way it gets destroyed. Take a look at this animation showing that Earths climate belts remain in roughly the same position while the continents move and this animation showing how the continents split up. This indicates that the continents were once fixed together and drifted apart over time. The findings suggest that sediment lubrication controls the rate at which Earths crust grinds and churns. Ch 13 and 14 questions 7 .docx - Retention Questions As constructive plates add new rock to the surface, this could and magnetic minerals within the rocks aligns itself with the direction of the earths magnetic field. Explain how ancient glacial deposits in Africa, India, Australia and South America support the idea of centennial drift. 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Since these match up points consisted of the same kind of rock further proves that the continents were once together before breaking away and drifting.