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Evidence of Continental Drift Theory

1. Fossil plants and animals clue


Fossils of creatures and plants discovered on different continents helped to him push his case that the continents were once
locked together before breaking up and drifting away. Some of the fossil evidence discovered on the continents includes
mesosaurus, lystosaurus, cygnognathus and glossopteris.
Mesosaurus
Mesosaurus are fossils originating from aquatic freshwater reptiles. These reptiles lived in freshwater bodies such as lakes and
rivers. If you take a look at the map before the continents drifted away, you find that Mesosaurus is located in the southern
parts of Africa and North America. If you look at the current map after the continents drifted away, you find that North
America and Africa are far away from each other separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
So, his theory is proved by the fact that the freshwater reptiles could not swim across the ocean waters, hence, their
distribution on every continent. The discovery of fossils on different continents indicated that the continents were once
together before they drifted away.
Lystrosaurus and Cygnognathus
Lystrosaurus is Fossil from land reptiles. Cygnognathus is Fossil from another species of reptile. If you look at the map before
the continents drifted away, you find that Cygnognathus was situated in South America and Africa. Lystrosaurus, on the other
hand, was located in Africa, India, and Antarctica. According to the Lystrosaurus and Cygnognathus body anatomy, they are
not designed for swimming. Now, looking at the current map after drifting of the continents, Cygnognathus is situated in Africa
and South America.
So, technically, the creature would not have traveled through the ocean to get to the next continent. The distribution of these
reptiles in different continents proves that these separate land masses were once together before splitting. On top of that,
Lystrosaurus is situated in Antarctica, India, and Africa according to the modern map. Again, for this creature to swim from
Africa to Antarctica would have been impossible. So, the fact that these organisms could not swim through the vast water
bodies helps to substantiate the fact that the continents were once together to allow distribution of these organisms in
various continents where their fossils were found on.
Glossopteris
Glossopteris was Fossil from fern. It is a fern that was discovered in Africa, South America, Antarctica, India, and Australia.
According to the modern day map, these continents are far apart. Its, therefore, impossible that the seeds of the fern were
blown by wind or floated across the ocean to have that kind of population on these 5 continents. The fact that the seeds
would have been unable to be blown or floated to these continents proves that these continents were once together.
2. Information from climate
Apart from fossil evidence, Wegener used climatic clues to substantiate his facts. One of the clues he used was the glacier.
Wegener, in his expedition, discovered glacier grooves in all the continents. Glacier grooves are the gaping trenches or
landmarks carved out by movement of glacier. He discovered glacier groves in continents that were not cold enough to
support snow formation in the present day. When he brought these continents together, the glacier grooves perfectly
matched up. This suggested that these continents were once together and drifted away over time.
3. The perfect fitting of continents
Wegener also provided evidence of continental drift by looking at the physical shape of continental coastlines. The shape of
continental coastlines visibly matched up like pieces of the puzzle. For example, the continents of South America and Africa fit
perfectly when brought together. This indicates that the continents were once fixed together and drifted apart over time.
4. Rock clues
Wegener specifically used rock composition and mountain ranges to provide evidence of continental drift. He provided
evidence that mountain ranges occurring on opposite continents matched up pretty well when brought together. This perfect
aligning of mountain ranges indicated that the continents were once together. For example, if you take the mountains ranges
of North America and Europe, they align perfectly well. Mountains are typically formed when two opposite land masses collide
with each other triggering the rock found at the point of collision to fold or bulge upwards.
In terms of rock composition, at locations where continents match up, the kinds of rocks on the opposite sides of the
continents were of the same kind. 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.
Despite Wegeners effort to try to prove his theory of continental drift, it was never accepted. When he was tasked with
proving how these continents moved to different places, he couldnt. However, this theory of continental drift came to be
accepted in the 90s after his death. He died of an alleged heart attacked when on an expedition to Greenland.

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