Why is the reptile Mesosaurus important?
Mesosaurus was significant in providing evidence for the theory of continental drift, because its remains were found in southern Africa, Whitehill Formation, and eastern South America (Melo Formation, Uruguay and Irati Formation, Brazil), two widely separated regions.
What was a Mesosaurus and why is it useful?
About Mesosaurus Mesosaurus was the odd duck (if you’ll excuse the mixed species metaphor) among its fellow prehistoric reptiles of the early Permian period. Mesosaurus is important for yet another reason: this is the earliest identified animal to have left amniote embryos in the fossil record.
Why are the Mesosaurus fossils important to scientists?
Mesosaurus and Its Fossils And that made it possible to use its fossils as evidence of the biggest idea in geology: plate tectonics. Mesosaurus, meaning middle lizard, is the name of a genus of extinct aquatic animals that lived in the southern hemisphere during early Permian time.
What did the Mesosaurus do?
Scientists can use the fossils of an extinct creature called the Mesosaurus to study Earth’s past. They find these fossils embedded in hard, solid rock. Mesosaurus fossils have been found in South America and Africa.
What is the land like where Mesosaurus was found?
Mesosaurus lived in freshwater lakes and ponds. Elongated and slim, it measured about 1 metre (3.3 feet) long. The skull and tail were both long and narrow, and the animal probably undulated through the water as it fed on small crustaceans and other prey with its jaws, which were full of long, thin, pointed teeth.
Are Mesosaurus dinosaurs?
During early Permian times (280–290 million years ago), life on land included several amphibians and lizard-like animals that were the ancestors of all the dinosaurs, reptiles, and mammals. Mesosaurus was a lizard-like animal that lived in South America and Africa during the Permian Period.
Can the Mesosaurus swim?
Remains of Mesosaurus, a freshwater crocodile-like reptile that lived during the early Permian (between 286 and 258 million years ago), are found solely in Southern Africa and Eastern South America. It would have been physiologically impossible for Mesosaurus to swim between the continents.
Who discovered Mesosaurus?
About Mesosaurus Mesosaurus is an extinct reptile which lived approximately 300 million years ago during the Early Permian Period. It was first discovered during the mid-19th century and was named by Francois-Louis Paul Gervais in 1864.
Where was Glossopteris found?
The Glossopteris fossil is found in Australia, Antarctica, India, South Africa, and South America—all the southern continents. Now, the Glossopteris seed is known to be large and bulky and therefore could not have drifted or flown across the oceans to a separate continent.
Where did the Mesosaurus reptile live in the past?
Mesosaurus, (genus Mesosaurus ), early aquatic relative of reptiles, found as fossils from the Early Permian Period (299 million to 271 million years ago) in South Africa and South America. Mesosaurus lived in freshwater lakes and ponds. Elongated and slim, it measured about 1 metre (3.3 feet) long.
Why are Mesosaurus fossils important to plate tectonics?
And that made it possible to use its fossils as evidence of the biggest idea in geology: plate tectonics. Mesosaurus, meaning middle lizard, is the name of a genus of extinct aquatic animals that lived in the southern hemisphere during early Permian time.
How big is a Mesosaurus lizard in feet?
Name: Mesosaurus (Greek for “middle lizard”); pronounced MAY-so-SORE-us Habitat: Swamps of Africa and South America Historical Period: Early Permian (300 million years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 10-20 pounds
Why did Alfred Wegener use Mesosaurus fossils?
They were used by Alfred Wegener, an early 20th century German geologist and meteorologist who came up with the concept of continental drift, as evidence for the existence of Pangaea, which was all of the Earth’s land mass combined into a supercontinent. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Mesosaurus, (genus Mesosaurus ), early aquatic relative of reptiles, found as fossils from the Early Permian Period (299 million to 271 million years ago) in South Africa and South America. Mesosaurus lived in freshwater lakes and ponds. Elongated and slim, it measured about 1 metre (3.3 feet) long.
Why was the distribution of mesosaurs so important?
Because it is unlikely that the mesosaurs could have traversed broad stretches of saline open ocean, their geographic distribution provided paleontological evidence corroborating the hypothesis that the continents of the Southern Hemisphere were once joined. The distribution of mesosaurs was thus some of the earliest proof of continental drift.
Name: Mesosaurus (Greek for “middle lizard”); pronounced MAY-so-SORE-us Habitat: Swamps of Africa and South America Historical Period: Early Permian (300 million years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 10-20 pounds
What kind of food does a Mesosaurus eat?
What is really fascinating about this reptile is that it lived a semi-aquatic lifestyle. It would roam the shoreline of rivers and lakes looking for small marine organisms and would occasionally get in the water to eat its favorite food: plankton.
How does the Mesosaurus help to explain the theory of continental drift?
For this reason, the existence of Mesosaurus helps support the theory of continental drift; that is, the now-well-attested fact that South America and Africa were joined together into the giant continent Gondwana 300 million years ago before the continental plates supporting them broke apart and drifted into their …
When did Mesosaurus become extinct?
around 260 million years ago
How This Relates to Plate Tectonics. Mesosaurus lived during the early Permian Period, from 299 to around 260 million years ago. They died out before the massive, end-Permian extinction that killed off a large percentage of marine and terrestrial animals.
What are four pieces of evidence that support continental drift?
They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils.
Why are the Mesosaurus fossils separated by 4000 km of ocean?
This means that these plates, and the continents on top of these plates, are moving away from each other. This divergent plate motion explains why the fossil remains of Mesosaurus that were once together are now found on continents thousands of kilometers apart.
What are the four pieces of evidence?
The four types of evidence recognized by the courts include demonstrative, real, testimonial and documentary.
Is the Mesosaurus extinct?
Mesosaurus is an extinct reptile which lived approximately 300 million years ago during the Early Permian Period.
