Word origin C20: from New Latin Laur ( entia ) (referring to the ancient N American landmass, from Laurentian strata of the Canadian Shield) + ( Eur ) asia You may also like This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Kenorland • Although Laurasia is known as a Mesozoic phenomenon, today it is believed that the same continents that formed the later Laurasia also existed as a coherent supercontinent after the breakup of Rodinia around 1 billion years ago. The origin of the worldwide-distributed morning glory family (Convolvulaceae) has been a matter of debate. In the Late Cambrian, the mid-ocean ridge in the Iapetus Ocean subducted beneath Gondwana which resulted in the opening of a series of large back-arc basins. As Laurussia formed during the Devonian and Pangaea formed, fish species in both Laurussia and Gondwana began to migrate between continents and before the end of the Devonian similar species were found on both side of what remained of the Variscan barrier. [35], North China, South China, Indochina, and Tarim broke off Gondwana during the Silurian-Devonian; Palaeo-Tethys opened behind them. A random rearrangement of the letters in the name (anagram) will give Asailrau. Rhymes:English/eɪʃə: …- see also -eɪʒə) fascia geisha (one pronunciation - see also -iːʃə) Three syllables Acacia acacia Laurasia (one pronunciation - see also -eɪʒə) Four… It is possible the name you are searching has less than five occurrences per year. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch. [25], Pangaea was completely assembled by the Permian except for the Asian blocks. [26] Heavy rainfall resulted in high groundwater tables, in turn resulting in peat formation and extensive coal deposits. Tina Turner exits stage with poignant documentary. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article [4] It separated from Gondwana 215 to 175 Mya (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pangaea, drifting farther north after the split and finally broke apart with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean c. 56 Mya. Laurasia (lôrāzh`ə): see continental driftcontinental drift, geological theory that the relative positions of the continents on the earth's surface have changed considerably through geologic time. Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press. Laurasia (/lɔːˈreɪʒə, -ʃiə/),[1] a portmanteau for Laurentia and Asia,[2] was the more northern of two large landmasses (the other being Gondwana) that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around 335 to 175 million years ago (Mya). Gondwana, ancient supercontinent that incorporated present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica. See more. By c. 83 Mya spreading had begun in the North Atlantic between the Rockall Plateau, a continental fragment sitting on top of the Eurasian Plate, and North America. O que é a Laurásia. [7], Laurentia and Baltica first formed a continental mass known as Proto-Laurasia as part of the supercontinent Columbia which was assembled 2,100—1,800 Mya to encompass virtually all known Archaean continental blocks. Origin Rhymes:English/eɪʃə: …- see also -eɪʒə) fascia geisha (one pronunciation - see also -iːʃə) Three syllables Acacia acacia Laurasia (one pronunciation - see also -eɪʒə) Four… Laurasia is the name given to the largely northern supercontinent that is thought to have formed most recently during the late Mesozoic era, as part of the split of the Pangaean supercontinent. It is possible the name you are searching has less than five occurrences per year. By the Permian, the climate had become arid and these rainforests collapsed, lycopsids (giant mosses) were replaced by treeferns. Tentional stresses across Eurasia developed into a large system of rift basins (Urengoy, East Uralian-Turgay and Khudosey) and floodbasalts in the West Siberian Basin, the Pechora Basin, and South China. [27], During the Cambrian and Early Ordovician, when wide oceans separated all major continents, only pelagic marine organisms, such as plankton, could move freely across the open ocean and therefore the oceanic gaps between continents are easily detected in the fossil records of marine bottom dwellers and non-marine species. Between eastern North America and northwest Africa, a new ocean formed—the Atlantic Ocean, even though Greenland (attached to North America) and Europe were still joined together. Laurasia ,[1] a portmanteau for Laurentia and Asia,[2] was the more northern of two minor supercontinents that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from c. 425 million years ago to 200 Mya. in reference to granite strata in eastern Canada, 1854 (Sir W.E. During the Cambrian, Laurasia was largely located in equatorial latitudes and began to break up, with North China and Siberia drifting into latitudes further north than those occupied by continents during the previous 500 million years. Italian (Basilicata): habitational name from Lauria in Potenza. Laurasia overview. The Old Red Sandstone Continent stretched across northern Laurentia and into Avalonia and Baltica but for most of the Devonian a narrow seaway formed a barrier where the North Atlantic would later open. The name combines the names of Laurentia and Eurasia. Origin Of The Gondwana Supercontinent Concept . In the reconstruction of some Russian geologists, however, the southern margin (modern coordinates) of Siberia merged with the northern margin of Laurentia, and these two continents broke up along what is now the 3,000 km (1,900 mi)-long Central Asian Foldbelt no later than 570 Mya and traces of this breakup can still be found in the Franklin dike swarm in northern Canada and the Aldan Shield in Siberia. This northward drift of terranes across the Tethys also included the Hunic terranes, now spread from Europe to China. Between 1900 and 2016 there were 1 birth of Laurisia in the countries below, which represents an average of 0 birth of children bearing the first name Laurisia per year on average throughout this period. Around 200 million years ago, Pangaea started to break up. Caused by the detachment of subducted mantle slabs, this reorganisation resulted in rising mantle plumes that produced large igneous provinces when they reached the crust. [23], The subduction of the Iapetus Ocean resulted in the first contact between Laurussia and Gondwana in the Late Devonian and terminated in full collision or the Hercynian/Variscan orogeny in the early Carboniferous (340 Mya). Laurasia • M arsupials [[HN1][1]] such as kangaroos, wombats, bandicoots, and opossums have long attracted widespread attention in public and biological circles alike. Synonyms for Laurasia in Free Thesaurus. [32], Laurasia and Gondwana were equal in size but had distinct geological histories. Laurasia Today . [28], The oldest tree fossils are from the Middle Devonian pteridophyte Gilboa forest in central Laurussia (today New York, United States). Climate of the supercontinent Pangea. Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". Adoption of the name. 1 word related to Laurasia: northern hemisphere. Pangaea is the most recent supercontinent to have existed and the first to be reconstructed by geologists. Tetrapods evolved from fish in the Late Devonian, with the oldest known fossils from Greenland. As suggested by the geologic naming, Laurasia included most of the land masses which make up today's continents of the Northern Hemisphere, chiefly Laurentia, Baltica, Siberia, Kazakhstania, and the North China and East China cratons. Laurentian . Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54 (3): 393–400. Parrish, J. T. 1993. Laurasia was assembled, then broken up, due to the actions of plate tectonics, continental drift and seafloor spreading. Laurasia: Meaning of Laurasia . The breakup of Pangaea some 250 million years ago lead to the continents we presently know: Africa, Antarctic, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe. He derived the name from a region in Northern India called Gondwana. The name Laurasia combines the names of Laurentia and Eurasia. After these three major landmasses collided, other smaller landmasses collided as well. By 56 Mya Greenland had become an independent plate, separated from North America by the Labrador Sea-Baffin Bay Rift. In the Late Carboniferous Laurussia and Gondwana formed Pangaea. [20] Rodinia, believed to have formed 1.1 billion years ago during the Proterozoic, was the supercontinent from which all subsequent continents, sub or super, derived. Pterosaur diversity reach a maximum in the Late Jurassic—Early Cretaceous and plate tectonic didn't affect the distribution of these flying reptiles. The landmass of this earlier period is sometimes referred to as Proto-Laurasia to avoid confusion with the Mesozoic supercontinent. Pangaea broke apart during the Triassic and Jurassic periods of the Mesozoic, separating first into the two supercontinents of Gondwana (or Gondwanaland) to the south and Laurasia to the north, and thereafter into the continents as they are observed today. The most recent version of Laurasia existed during the Mesozoic, and formed from the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea (or Pangea). The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. This book was a reformulation of the continental [21], The break-up of Rodinia also resulted in the opening of the long-lived Paleo-Asian Ocean between Baltica and Siberia in the north and Tarim and North China in the south. Journey of the Asian blocks from Gondwana to Laurasia 450, 350, 300, and 200 Mya. In contrast to the present Earth and its distribution of continental mass, Pangaea was centred on the Equator and surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa. in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'newworldencyclopedia_org-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',162,'0','0'])); The continents comprising the supercontinent Laurasia are believed to have formed this landmass on two separate occasions, although the earlier version is often known as "Proto-Laurasia" to distinguish it. Laurasia is the name given to the largely northern supercontinent that is thought to have formed most recently during the late Mesozoic era, as part of the split of the Pangaean supercontinent. Gondwana • Zealandia. By the middle Carboniferous, however, South China had already been in contact with North China long enough to allow floral exchange between the two continents. harvnb error: no target: CITEREFRogersSantosh (, "The late Archean record: a puzzle in ca. Paleozoic supercontinent comprising North America and Eurasia, 1931, from German (1928), from Laurentia, geologists' name for the ancient core of North America (see Laurentian) + second element of Eurasia. Proto-Laurasia may have split off about 750 million years ago. Laurasia . Opening of the North Atlantic Ocean 90, 50, and 30 Mya. [38], From the Triassic to the Early Jurassic, before the break-up of Pangaea, archosaurs (crocodiles and dinosaurs including birds) had a global distribution. [29] Rodinia • Between 1980 and 2019, 1 girl was born with the Name Laurasia The country where the first name Laurasia is the most common is: Quebec Gender of first name Laurasia : Girl 100 . Laurasia definition, a hypothetical landmass in the Northern Hemisphere near the end of the Paleozoic Era: split apart to form North America and Eurasia. The supercontinent was centred on the Equator during the Triassic and Jurassic, a period that saw the emergence of the Pangaean megamonsoon. He derived the name from a region in Northern India called Gondwana. Homeland Security chief fires almost entire advisory council. Laurasia finally divided into the continents after which it is named: Laurentia (now North America) and Eurasia (excluding India and Arabia). Between 1980 and 2019, 1 girl was born with the Name Laurasia Origin and meaning of name Laurasia Other languages Prénom Laurasia Nome Laurasia. All information about the first name Laurasia. Laurasia included most of the landmasses that make up today's continents of the northern hemisphere, chiefly Laurentia (the name given to the North American craton), as well as Baltica, Siberia, Kazakhstania, and the North China and East China cratons. This NZ Limited Company have been operating for 1990 days. Origin of concept In 1904-1909 Austrian geologist Eduard Suess proposed that the continents in the Southern Hemisphere were once merged into a larger continent called Gondwana. In some reconstructions, Baltica was attached to Greenland along its Scandinavian or Caledonide margin while Amazonia was docked along Baltica's Tornquist margin. The northern margins of the northern continent collided with Baltica and Siberia 310–250 Ma, and thus the formation of the East Asian continent marked Pangaea at its greatest extent. Padahal Wegener geus ngirimkeun hiji Superbuana, Pangea, Du Toit ngarahkeun. Laurasia was a supercontinent.It had been the northern part of the Pangaea global supercontinent. Pangea, supercontinent that incorporated almost all of Earth’s landmasses in early geologic time. Logan and T. Sterry Hunt), named for the Laurentian Mountains (where it is found), which are named for the nearby St. Lawrence River (see Laurence ). Fully assembled by the Early Permian Epoch (some 299 million to 273 million years ago), it began to break apart about 200 million years ago, eventually forming the … In 1904–1909 Austrian geologist Eduard Suess proposed that the continents in the Southern Hemisphere were once merged into a larger continent called Gondwana. In the Triassic–Early Jurassic (c. 200 Mya), the opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean was preceded by the formation of a series of large rift basins, such as the Newark Basin, between eastern North America, from what is today the Gulf of Mexico to Nova Scotia, and in Africa and Europe, from Morocco to Greenland.[42]. This cosmopolitanism ended as Gondwana fragmented and Laurasia was assembled. The important point here is that H.B. Torsvik, T. H. 2003. The name combines the names of Laurentia, the name given to the North American craton, and Eurasia. H.B Medlicott, a geologist also used the term Gondwana to describe a sedimentary sequence. By this time, the rifting of western Pangaea had already begun. Laurasia synonyms, Laurasia pronunciation, Laurasia translation, English dictionary definition of Laurasia. The fossil record, however, suggests the intermittent presence of a Trans-Tethys land bridge, though the location and duration of such a land bridge remains enigmatic. [13], Siberia was located near but at some distance from Laurentia's northern margin in most reconstructions. Similar surnames: Laura, Laurie, Lauri, Lamia, Lupia, Faria, Laurito, Maria, Labrie Low sea-levels during the Early Devonian produced natural barriers in Laurussia which resulted in provincialism within the benthic fauna. Origin of laurasia New Latin Laur(entia) geologic precursor of North America (after the Saint Lawrence River ) (Eur)asia From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition Earth subsequently underwent a series of glaciations – the Varanger (c. 650 Mya, also known as Snowball Earth) and the Rapitan and Ice Brook glaciations (c. 610-590 Mya) – both Laurentia and Baltica were located south of 30°S, with the South Pole located in eastern Baltica, and glacial deposits from this period have been found in Laurentia and Baltica but not in Siberia. [22] The Variscan orogeny closed the Rheic Ocean (between Avalonia and Armorica) and the Proto-Tethys Ocean (between Armorica and Gondwana) to form the supercontinent Pangaea. Laurasia finally divided into the continents after which it is named: Laurentia (now North America) and Eurasia (excluding India and Arabia). On the other hand, submerged areas occasionally divided continents: the Turgai Sea separated Europe and Asia from the Middle Jurassic to the Oligocene and as this sea or strait dried out, a massive faunal interchange took place and the resulting extinction event in Europe is known as the Grande Coupure. It separated from Gondwana 215 to 175 Mya during the breakup of Pangaea, drifting farther north after the split and finally broke apart with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean c. 56 Mya. United States Geological Survey (USGS). [9], Additional Proterozoic crust was accreted 1,800—1,300 Mya, especially along the Laurentia—Greenland—Baltica margin. 2009. Lemuria • [20][21], With the Caledonian orogeny completed Laurussia was delimited by:[22], During the Devonian (416-359 Mya) the combined landmass of Baltica and Avalonia rotated around Laurentia, which remained static near the Equator. It was fully assembled by Late Precambrian time, some 600 million years ago, and the first stage of its breakup began in the Early Jurassic Period, about 180 Entries with "Laurasia" continent: …Hyponyms Africa America Antarctica Asia Australia Europe Eurasia Gondwana Laurasia North America Oceania Pangaea South America Origin & history…. In biological terms, there are several reasons. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. While this group now has a mostly tropical distribution, they originated in the Arctic in the late Eocene c. 35 Mya from where they diversified across Laurasia and farther south across the Equator.[41]. [6], Several earlier supercontinents proposed and debated in the 1990s and later (e.g. The collision between these continents closed the Iapteus Ocean and formed Laurussia, also known as Euramerica or the Old Red Continent, which then covered 37,000,000 km2 (14,000,000 sq mi) including several large Arctic continental blocks. Out of 6,122,890 records in the U.S. Social Security Administration public data, the first name Laurasia was not present. [34] It also is believed that the same continents comprising Laurasia existed as a coherent landmass much earlier, forming after the breakup of the hypothesized supercontinent Rodinia about 1 billion years ago. During the Neoproterozoic-Early Paleozoic break-up of Rodinia the opening of the Proto-Tethys Ocean split the Asian blocks – Tarim, Qaidam, Alex, North China, and South China – from the northern shores of Gondwana (north of Australia in modern coordinates) and the closure of the same ocean reassembled them along the same shores 500–460 Mya resulting in Gondwana at its largest extent. Gondwana was assembled before the formation of Pangaea, but the assembly of Laurasia occurred during and after the formation of the supercontinent. How common is the name Laurasia. [16], A mantle plume (the Central Iapetus Magmatic Province) forced Laurentia and Baltica to separate ca. The origin of the word is hazy, but Indian historians seem to agree it was first used by Afghan traders who came into Gond territory in central India around the 11th or 12th centuries. In 1937 South African geologist Alexander du Toit proposed that Pangaea was divided into two larger landmasses, Laurasia in the Northern Hemisphere and Gondwana in the Southern Hemisphere, separated by the Tethys Ocean. The name combines the names of Laurentia, the name given to the North American craton, and Eurasia. [24] The Variscan orogeny is complex and the exact timing and the order of the collisions between involved microcontinent has been debated for decades. It separated from Gondwana 200 to 180 Mya during the breakup of Pangaea, drifting further north after... Laurasiatheria Biological Superorder, Organism Classification As a result, two groups of tribosphenic mammals evolved separately on the newly formed landmasses: the Boreosphenida (marsupials and placentals) in Laurasia and the Australosphenida (monotremes and extinct relatives) in Gondwana. [33], During the assembly of Pangaea Laurasia grew as continental blocks broke off Gondwana's northern margin; pulled by old closing oceans in front of them and pulled by new opening oceans behind them. This continent collided 240–220 Mya with a northern continent – North China, Qinling, Qilian, Qaidam, Alex, and Tarim – along the Central China orogen to form a combined East Asian continent. Weird things about the name Pangaea: The name spelled backwards is Aeagnap. The Laurentian library in Florence is named for Lorenzo (Latin Laurentius) de' Medici. In the dry climate a detritivorous fauna – including ringed worms, molluscs, and arthropods – evolved and diversified, alongside vertebrates – insectivores and piscivores such as amphibians and early amniotes (land-living reptiles). Terra Australis • 2009. This comic shows what the landmasses of Pangaea were hypothesized to have looked like when it had "just" broken up in the late Triassic Period (roughly 200 million years ago). Art, Music, Literature, Sports and leisure, Equal areas of Gondwana and Laurasia (ancient supercontinents), https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Laurasia&oldid=943341, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. The Rodina Jigsaw Puzzle. [15], The Proto-Pacific opened and Rodinia began to breakup during the Neoproterozoic (c. 750–600 Mya) as Australia-Antarctica (East Gondwana) rifted from the western margin of Laurentia, while the rest of Rodinia (West Gondwana and Laurasia) rotated clockwise and drifted south. Pangea, supercontinent that incorporated almost all of Earth’s landmasses in early geologic time. Laurasia Location, Dated location. In Laurentia the Transcontinental Arch divided brachiopods into two provinces, with one of them confined to a large embayment west of the Appalachians. Pangaea split in the Jurassic into Laurasia and Gondwana to the south.. Laurasia included most of the landmasses which make up today's continents of the northern hemisphere, chiefly Laurentia (the name given to the North American craton), Europe, Baltica, Siberia, Kazakhstan, and China. North China became, as it drifted southwards from near-Arctic latitudes, the last continent to join with Pangaea. 650–600 Mya and the Iapetus Ocean opened between them. [5] These original connections apparently survived through one and possibly even two Wilson Cycles, though their intermittent duration and recurrent fit is debated. Parrish, J. T., M. T. Bradshaw, A. T. Brakel, S. Mulholland, J. M. Totterdell, and A. N. Yeates. [2] The North China and South China cratons later collided with Siberia. To avoid confusion with the Mesozoic continent, this is referred to as Proto-Laurasia. [31], The Palaezoic-Mesozoic transition was marked by the reorganisation of Earth's tectonic plates which resulted in the assembly of Pangaea, and eventually its break-up. [34] 35 pieces", "Large Igneous Provinces and supercontinents: Toward completing the plate tectonic revolution", "Ecology and evolution of pine life histories", "Assembly, configuration, and break-up history of Rodinia: A synthesis", "Geochemical evidence of First Forestation in the southernmost euramerica from Upper Devonian (Famennian) Black shales", "The late Palaeozoic relations between Gondwana and Laurussia", "A Laurasian origin for a pantropical bird radiation is supported by genomic and fossil data (Aves: Coraciiformes)", "What's in a name? This cold period saw the re-joining of Laurentia and Baltica with the formation of the Appalachian Mountains and the vast coal deposits, which are today a mainstay of the economy of such regions as West Virginia, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The Uralian orogeny and the formation of Laurasia 300, 280, and 240 Mya. The closure of this ocean is preserved in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, the largest orogen on Earth. [36], During the Carboniferous and Permian, Baltica first collided with Kazakhstania and Siberia, then North China with Mongolia and Siberia. [8], Traces left by large igneous provinces provide evidences for continental mergers during this period. Origin [edit | edit source]. The current name of the etiological agent of visceral leishmaniasis in the New World has been changed. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in … What does Laurasia mean? The Columbia (Paleopangaea/Nuna) supercontinent", "Permo–Triassic intraplate magmatism and rifting in Eurasia: implications for mantle plumes and mantle dynamics", "Stratigraphic record of the early Mesozoic breakup of Pangea in the Laurasia-Gondwana rift system", "The Scandinavian Caledonides and their relationship to the Variscan belt", "Late Proterozoic plate tectonics and palaeogeography: a tale of two supercontinents, Rodinia and Pannotia", "Global continental and ocean basin reconstructions since 200Ma", "Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica", "Earth geography from 400 to 250 Ma: a palaeomagnetic, faunal and facies review", "Continental break-up and collision in the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic—a tale of Baltica and Laurentia", "Phanerozoic polar wander, palaeogeography and dynamics", "Late Riphean rifting and breakup of Laurasia: data on geochronological studies of ultramafic alkaline complexes in the southern framing of the Siberian craton", "A Paleo-Mesoproterozoic supercontinent: assembly, growth and breakup", "Geological reconstructions of the East Asian blocks: From the breakup of Rodinia to the assembly of Pangea", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laurasia&oldid=1015515048, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Paleoclimatology of Australia during the Pangaean interval. Columbia • Laurasia - New World Encyclopedi . East Antarctica was the highest ground within Pangaea and produced sediments that were transported across eastern Gondwana but never reached Laurasia. But the Telugan people of Andra Pradesh also may well have coined the word or used it. Out of 6,122,890 records in the U.S. Social Security Administration public data, the first name Pangaea was not present. Origin Gondwana supercontinent was named by Eduard Suess, a scientist from Austria. Pangaea or Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. Kerguelen Plateau • a major large igneous province 1,380 Mya during the breakup of the Nuna/Columbia supercontinent connects Laurentia, Baltica, Siberia, the western margin were the western shelves of Laurentia, later affected by the, and the southern margin was a Pacific-style, This page was last edited on 1 April 2021, at 22:25. The porcine crsp-3 gene contains an additional exon encoding a calcitonin (CT)-like sequence, but this exon could be a pseudo-exon since its mRNA is undetectable in porcine tissues. Kazakhstania and Siberia were then added to Pangaea 290–300 Ma to form Laurasia. [5], "Laurussia" was defined by Swiss geologist Peter Ziegler in 1988 as the merger between Laurentia and Baltica along the northern Caledonian suture. Other blocks that now form part of southwestern Europe and North America from New England to Florida were still attached to the African-South American margin of Gondwana. By the Middle Devonian, these two provinces had been united into one and the closure of the Rheic Ocean finally united faunas across Laurussia. The name Gondwana, one way or another, would have been well known to these geologists of the 1860s and early 1870s. Der Zerfall beschränkte sich zunächst auf den Südteil (), mit Öffnung der Tethys nach Westen und Öffnung des Zentral- und Südatlantiks, sowie des Antarktischen und Indischen Ozeans.Geologische Zeugnisse des beginnenden Zerfalls sind unter anderem die triassisch … Cinnamon Toast Crunch gaffe sparks meal meme When these two continents joined together, Laurasia was nearly reformed, and by the beginning of the Triassic, the East China craton had rejoined the redeveloping Laurasia as it collided with Gondwana to form Pangaea. During the Palaeozoic, c. 30–40% of the Laurasia but only 10–20% of Gondwana was covered by shallow marine water.