What eras did the Iapetus Ocean exist in?
Q: What eras did the Iapetus Ocean exist in?
A: The Iapetus Ocean existed in the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic eras (between 600 and 400 million years ago).
Q: What is the name of the large continent that formed when three continents joined together?
A: The large continent has been given various names, such as Laurussia or the Old Red Sandstone continent. Probably the best name is Euramerica, because basically it was American and Europe stuck together.
Q: What are two different names for the fauna found on either side of the Iapetus Suture?
A: The so called "Pacific fauna" of Laurentia, as found in Scotland and western Newfoundland, was quite different from those of Baltica, often called the "Atlantic fauna".
Q: How did geologists come to understand that an ocean had preceded Pangaea?
A: With the development of plate tectonics in the 1960s geologists concluded that an Atlantic Ocean must have had a precursor before Pangaea's time. That ocean had closed as three continents joined, producing what is now known as Iapetus Suture.
Q: Who first noticed differences between early Paleozoic benthic trilobites on either side of what would later be called Iapetus Suture?
A: At the start of 19th century, American paleontologist Charles Doolittle Walcott noticed differences between early Paleozoic benthic trilobites on either side of what would later be called Iapetus Suture.
Q: Where are some places where Pacific Fauna can be found?
A: Pacific Fauna can be found in Scotland and western Newfoundland.
Q: Where are some places where Atlantic Fauna can be found?
A: Atlantic Fauna can be found in southern parts of British Isles and eastern Newfoundland.
