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Pangaea identification and geology

The supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras approximately 335–175 million years ago , comprising virtually all of Earth's continental landmasses assembled into a single body. Pangaea's breakup, driven by mantle convection and rifting, eventually produced the modern continents and ocean basins. Its assembly and disassembly fundamentally controlled global climate, ocean circulation, and biogeographic patterns. Field: structural geology. Example: Identical Permian fossil species such as the reptile Mesosaurus found on both sides of the South Atlantic provided some of the earliest evidence that Africa and South America were once joined as part of Pangaea.. Related terms: Plate tectonics, Continental drift, Gondwana, Laurasia.

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Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:42.055955+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Pangaea mean in geology?
The supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras approximately 335–175 million years ago , comprising virtually all of Earth's continental landmasses assembled into a single body. Pangaea's breakup, driven by mantle convection and rifting, eventually produced the modern continents and ocean basins. Its assembly and disassembly fundamentally controlled global climate, ocean circulation, and biogeographic patterns.
What is an example of Pangaea?
Identical Permian fossil species such as the reptile Mesosaurus found on both sides of the South Atlantic provided some of the earliest evidence that Africa and South America were once joined as part of Pangaea.
Which earth-science field uses the term Pangaea?
Pangaea is used in structural geology.
Which terms are related to Pangaea?
Related terms in this reference are Plate tectonics, Continental drift, Gondwana, Laurasia.

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