Revised World maps and introduction

1990/01/01 by Christopher R. Scotese, W. S. McKerrow · 1,113 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Computer Science · #Geological Studies and Exploration #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping #Computer science

paper · doi:10.1144/gsl.mem.1990.012.01.01

published in Geological Society London Memoirs 12(1), 1-21 (Zoological Society of London)

openalex publication_date 1990/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Abstract We review the highlights of the 1988 symposium on Palaeozoic Biogeography and Palaeogeography, and present a revised set of 20 Palaeozoic base maps that incorporate much of the new data presented at the symposium. The maps include 5 major innovations: (1) A preliminary attempt has been made to describe the motion of the Cathaysian terranes during the Palaeozoic; (2) a more detailed description of the events surrounding the Iapetus Ocean is presented; (3) an alternative apparent polar wandering path for Gondwana has been constructed using the changing distributions of palaeoclimatically restricted lithofacies; (4) new palaeomagnetic data have been incorporated that places Laurentia and Baltica at more southerly latitudes, and adjacent to Gondwana, during the Early Devonian; Siberia is also placed further south in the light of biogeographic data presented at the symposium; (5) Kazakhstan is treated as a westward extension of Siberia, rather than as a separate palaeocontinent. The relationships between climatic changes, sea level changes, evolutionary radiations and intercontinental migrations are discussed

Citations

• Paleozoic paleogeography of North America, Gondwana, and intervening displaced terranes: Comparisons of paleomagnetism with paleoclimatology and biogeographical patterns
• Breakup of a supercontinent between 625 Ma and 555 Ma: new evidence and implications for continental histories
• The Paleobathymetry of the Atlantic Ocean from the Jurassic to the Present
• Pangaean climates: Megamonsoons of the megacontinent
• Faunal evidence for oceanic separations in the Palaeozoic of Britain
• Tectonics of the Tethysides: Orogenic Collage Development in a Collisional Setting
• Marginal faunal belts and their structural implications, with examples from the Lower Palaeozoic

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• Some new plant finds from the Posongchong Formation of Yunnan, and consideration of a phytogeographic similarity between South China and Australia during the Early Devonian
• Cimmeria (continent) [wikipedia]