Using Wegener's Evidence
Name
Class
Directions: Using the Evidence Booklets provided by your teacher, transfer each set
of evidences to the continent pieces. Use different colors for each set of evidences and
make a key. Then cut out the pieces and using the evidence, reconstruct Pangaea.
Pangaea
KEY:
Wegener's Evidence Summary Questions:
1. What five kinds of evidence support Wegener's observation that South America was at one
!!!time joined to Africa. Be specific!
a
b
c
d
e
2. Where does Greenland join, and what evidence supports your claim?
3. Which dinosaur is found on almost every continent?
4. Since this dinosaur type cannot swim, explain how its fossil can be found on all continents.
5. It is generally considered that dinosaurs lived in warm climates, yet fossil remains are
!!!found in Antarctica. How can this be explained?
6. Stegosaur-type fossils have not been found on land masses #1, 5, 6, 8, and 10. Explain why
!!!is this probably so. (And it's not because no one has found any yet!)
7. Similar glacial deposits were found on land masses #1, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 10. What does this
!!!probably indicate about the overall climate of Pangaea at the time?
8. Where does Africa join Europe?
What is the evidence?
9. Why do the lystrosaur-type dinosaurs appear to be limited to only the eastern part of
!!!Pangaea?
10. Do you think the Appalachian Mountains are older or younger than Pangaea?
The Andes?
The Himalayas?
The Rockies?
The Alps?
Transfer all the evidence to this page:
Cut out and assemble Pangaea using the
evidence to guide you.
Wegener's
Evidence
Booklets
The last photo of Alfred Wegener and Rasmus Villumsen, taken on 1 November 1930
Fossil Evidence:
HINT: Make simple symbols for each of the four fossil evidences.
Glacial Evidence:
HINT: Use a light blue to color the glaciers. Add the arrows, too!
Rock Evidence:
HINT: Use two different colors. One for the solid outlined areas, on
for the lighter more generalized areas.
Mountain Belt Evidence:
FOSSIL EVIDENCE
FACT SHEET
Glossopteris, (pronounced ) a tree-like plant from the Permian Period
through the Triassic Period. It had tongue-shaped leaves and was about 12 ft (3.7 m)
tall. It was the dominant plant of Gondwana.
Mesosaurus (pronounced MESS-oh-SAWR-us; meaning "middle lizard")
was an odd, fresh-water dwelling reptile (not a dinosaur) that lived from the late
Carboniferous period to the early Permian period. It was a lightly-built, four-legged
animal with an elongated head and snout with nostrils near its eyes. It had a flattened
tail that was probably used for swimming. It was about 1.5 feet (45 cm) long. This
carnivore probably ate fish and shrimp, catching them with its mouth. Mesosaurus
was one of the first aquatic reptiles. Fossils have been found in South Africa and South
America, reinforcing Wegener's theory of continental drift.
Cynognathus (pronounced sy-nog-NAY-thus; means "dog jaw.") was a
mammal-like reptile, not a dinosaur that was the size of a wolf. It lived on open plains
during the early to middle Triassic period. It was probably warm-blooded and may
have given birth to live young. Cynognathus walked on four legs. It had a tail shorter
than that of most reptiles. Cynognathus was roughly 5 feet (1.5 m) long. Its long skull
was over 1 ft (30 cm) long. Cynognathus was a fast-moving carnivore (a meat-eater).
It had powerful jaws and dog-like teeth, including sharp incisors, long canines, and
shearing cheek teeth. This predator hunted herbivores in packs. Cynognathus Fossils
have been found in South Africa and Argentina.
Lystrosaurus has long been found in Antarctica, India, and Africa,
Russia, China and Mongolia. This may be the result of movement of animals from
Gondwana across the large landmass of northern and southern continents combined
Pangaea, at the time Lystrosaurus lived. The teeth of Lystrosaurus were reduced to a
pair of tusks. Both of these reptiles appear to have been herbivores. The structure of
the skull, with the nostrils and eye sockets placed near the top of the head, the snout
turned down at the tip and the teeth and jaws placed low, all suggest that
Lystrosaurus was an amphibious feeder, in much the same fashion as the living
hippopotamus.