Pangaea

This map folio should be referenced as:
Scotese, C.R., 2013. Map Folio 70 Early Devonian (Emsian, 402.3 Ma), PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS, volume 4, Late Paleozoic Paleogeographic, Paleoclimatic and Plate Tectonic Reconstructions, PALEOMAP Project, Evanston, IL.

Introduction
These maps (rectilinear projection) are from the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS (Scotese, 2013a-f).  This is a digital atlas of plate tectonic, paleogeographic, and paleoclimatic reconstructions designed for use with the GIS software, ArcMap (ESRI).  Table 1 lists the various types of maps that comprise the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas.  The maps included in this folio are highlighted in bold text (Table 1).
The last map in each folio is a rectilinear graticule that can be overlain on the maps to provide a geographic reference frame.  A rectilinear projection was used because it can be easily georeferenced in ArcMap and transformed into a variety of other map projections.  The rectilinear map projection can also be directly “wrapped” onto a spherical projection, like the oneused by Google Earth. A set of Google Earth paleoglobes has made from the maps in this folio. These Google Earth paleoglobes can be downloaded at: www.globalgeology.com. 
If the map you need is missing, or if there doesn’t seem to be a map folio for the exact time interval of interest, please contact me (cscotese@gmail.com). Table 2 lists all the time intervals that comprise the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS. The PaleoAtlas contains one map for every stage in the Phanerozoic, as well as 6 maps for the late Precambrian.  Eventually, Map Folios, like this one, will be published for every time interval in the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas.  The following section is a brief description of the maps that makeup the Map Folio.

This beautiful volume introduces the incredible animals that populated the planet before the Age of the Dinosaurs. Readers voyage to a time, beginning about 370 million years ago, when the first four-footed vertebrates appeared, and ending 200 million years later at the moment when the dinosaurs begin their ascent. During this time, vertebrates emerge from the sea and there appears a parade of animals, each more astonishing than the last. On this expedition, we learn how paleontologists become detectives to understand the history of life and we discover that many widely held ideas about the evolution of species are completely false. Earth before the Dinosaurs is an entertaining and informative guide to an astonishing and little-known world.

"Un livre-événement pour tous les passionnés des mondes disparus !"
Ce livre répare une injustice ! Il braque l’objectif sur de grands oubliés de la paléontologie : des animaux qui, bien avant le règne des dinosaures, peuplaient notre planète.
Le lecteur est convié à un voyage dans le temps qui commence il y a environ 370 millions d’années, alors que les vertébrés à pattes font leur apparition, et se termine près de 200 millions d’années plus tard, au moment où les dinosaures prennent leur essor. Entre temps, il aura vu les premiers vertébrés sortir de l’eau et croisé la route d’animaux plus étonnants les uns que les autres. Il aura également compris comment, sur le terrain, les paléontologues se transforment en Sherlock Holmes de l’histoire de la vie.

2014.11 This Atlas of Jurassic Paleogeographic Maps shows the changing paleogeography from the Hettangian (198 Ma) to the Jurassic/Cretaceoous Boundary (145.5 Ma).  The maps are from volume 3 of the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS (Scotese, 2014). Absolute age assignments are from Gradstein, Ogg & Smith (2008). 

The following maps are included in the Atlas of Jurassic Paleogeographic Maps:

Map 32  Jurassic/Cretaceous Boundary (145.5 Ma) Berriasian Supersequence Boundary
Map 33  Late Jurassic (Tithonian, 148.2 Ma) Highstand Systems Track 
Map 34  Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian, 153.2) Maximum Flooding Surface
Map 35  Late Jurassic (Oxfordian, 158.4) Transgressive Systems Track
Map 36  Middle Jurassic (Callovian, 164.5 Ma) Transgressive Systems Tract
Map 37  Middle Jurassic (Bajocian & Bathonian, 169.7 Ma) Kimmeridgian-Oxfordian Supersequence Boundary & Maximum Flooding Surface
Map 38  Middle Jurassic (Aalenian, 173.2 Ma) Bathonian-Bajocian Supersequence Boundary
Map 39  Early Jurassic (Toarcian, 179.3 Ma) Toarcian Supersequence Boundary and Maximum Flooding Surface
Map 40  Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian, 186.3 Ma) Maximum Flooding Surface
Map 41  Early Jurassic (Sinemurian, 193 Ma) Transgressive Systems Track
Map 42  Early Jurassic (Hettangian, 198 Ma) Pliensbachian Supersequence Boundary


This work should be cited as
Scotese,  C.R., 2014.  Atlas of Jurassic Paleogeographic Maps, PALEOMAP Atlas for ArcGIS, volume 3, The Jurassic and Triassic, Maps 32-42, Mollweide Projection, PALEOMAP Project, Evanston, IL.

The evolution of eastern Pangea and Tethys during the late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic involved rifting of continental
slivers/fragments from northeastern Gondwanaland, northwards drift and amalgamation/accretion to form proto East
Asia. Three continental slivers or collages of terranes were rifted from the northeast margin of Gondwanaland in the
Silurian-Early Devonian (North China, South China, Indochina/East Malaya, Qamdo-Simao and Tarim terranes),
Early-Middle Permian (The Cimmerian continent, including the Sibumasu, Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes) and Late
Jurassic (West Burma terrane, Woyla terranes). The northwards drift of these terranes was effected by the opening and
closing of ttu·ee successive Tethys oceans, the Palaeo-Tethys, Meso-Tethys and Ceno-Tethys.
Assembly of Gondwanaland-derived terranes to form a major part of Asia took place between the late Palaeozoic
and Cenozoic, but the precise timings of amalgamation and accretion are still controversial. Amalgamation of South
China and Indochina/East Malaya occurred during the Early Carboniferous along the Song Ma Suture to form
"Cathaysialand". Cathaysialand and North China formed large continental regions within the Palaeotethys during the
Late Carboniferous and Permian. Palaeomagnetic data indicate that these continental regions were in equatorial to low
northern palaeolatitudes, which is consistent with the tropical Cathaysian flora developed on these terranes. The Tarim
terrane (together with the Kunlun, Qaidam and Ala Shan terranes) accreted to Kazakstan/Siberia in the Permian.
Opening of the Meso-Tethys occurred as a result of the rifting and northward drifting of the Cimmerian continent from
Northeast Gondwanaland. This was followed by the suturing of Sibumasu and Qiangtang to Cathaysialand in the Late
Permian - Early Triassic, largely closing the Palaeo-Tethys. North and South China amalgamated in the Late TriassicEarly
Jurassic and finally accreted to Laurasia around the same time. The Lhasa terrane accreted to the SibumasuQiangtang
terrane in the Late Jurassic and the Kurosegawa terrane of Japan, believed derived from Australian
Gondwanaland, also accreted to Japanese Eurasia in the Late Jurassic. The West Burma and Woyla terranes drifted
northwards during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous as the Ceno-Tethys opened and the Meso-Tethys was
destroyed by subduction beneath Eurasia. They were accreted to proto-Southeast Asia in the Early to Late Cretaceous.
The Southwest Borneo and Semitau terranes amalgamated to each other and accreted to Indochina/East Malaya in the
Late Cretaceous. The nature and origin of the small Hainanese terranes is still debatable, but they must have reached
their current position relative to South China sometime in the Jurassic-Cretaceous.
A series of palaeogeographic reconstrnctions of eastern Pangea and Tethys are presented which show postulated
palaeo-positions of the various continental blocks and fragments and successive Tethys oceans during the late
Palaeozoic and Mesozoic.

2013.51 These maps (rectilinear projection) are from the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS (Scotese, 2013a-f).  This is a digital atlas of plate tectonic, paleogeographic, and paleoclimatic reconstructions designed for use with the GIS software, ArcMap (ESRI).  Table 1 lists the various types of maps that comprise the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas.  The maps included in this folio are highlighted in bold text (Table 1).
The last map in each folio is a rectilinear graticule that can be overlain on the maps to provide a geographic reference frame.  A rectilinear projection was used because it can be easily georeferenced in ArcMap and transformed into a variety of other map projections.  The rectilinear map projection can also be directly “wrapped” onto a spherical projection, like the oneused by Google Earth. A set of Google Earth paleoglobes has made from the maps in this folio. These Google Earth paleoglobes can be downloaded at: www.globalgeology.com. 
If the map you need is missing, or if there doesn’t seem to be a map folio for the exact time interval of interest, please contact me (cscotese@gmail.com). Table 2 lists all the time intervals that comprise the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS. The PaleoAtlas contains one map for every stage in the Phanerozoic, as well as 6 maps for the late Precambrian.  Eventually, Map Folios, like this one, will be published for every time interval in the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas.  The following section is a brief description of the maps that makeup the Map Folio.

"The occurrence of arthropods in amber exclusively from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic is widely regarded to be a result of the production and preservation of large amounts of tree resin beginning ca. 130 million years (Ma) ago. Abundant 230 million-year-old amber from the Late Triassic (Carnian) of northeastern Italy has previously yielded myriad microorganisms, but we report here that it also preserves arthropods some 100 Ma older than the earliest prior records in amber. The Triassic specimens are a nematoceran fly (Diptera) and two disparate species of mites, Triasacarus fedelei gen. et sp. nov., and Ampezzoa triassica gen. et sp. nov. These mites are the oldest definitive fossils of a group, the Eriophyoidea, which includes the gall mites and comprises at least 3,500 Recent species, 97% of which feed on angiosperms and represents one of the most specialized lineages of phytophagous arthropods. Antiquity of the gall mites in much their extant form was unexpected, particularly with the Triassic species already having many of their present-day features (such as only two pairs of legs); further, it establishes conifer feeding as an ancestral trait. Feeding by the fossil mites may have contributed to the formation of the amber droplets, but we find that the abundance of amber during the Carnian (ca. 230 Ma) is globally anomalous for the pre-Cretaceous and may, alternatively, be related to paleoclimate. Further recovery of arthropods in Carnian-aged amber is promising and will have profound implications for understanding the evolution of terrestrial members of the most diverse phylum of organisms.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences08/2012; 109(37):14796-801. · 9.68 Impact Factor "

The Variscan suture exposed in NW Iberia contains a stack of terranes including two allochthonous units with
continental affinity and Gondwanan provenance (Upper and Basal Units), separated by an ophiolite belt where
the most common units show protolith ages at c. 395 Ma. Recent Lu–Hf zircon data obtained from these
ophiolites indicate interaction between the gabbroic magmas and old continental crust. Hence, the ophiolites
could not have originated in a deep ocean basin associated with a mature mid-ocean-ridge or intraoceanic
subduction. The tectonothermal evolution of the continental terranes bounding the suture zone records two
consecutive events of deep subduction. The Upper Units record an initial high-P/ultra-high-P metamorphic event
that occurred before 400–390 Ma, while the Basal Units were affected by a second high-P/low-to-intermediate-T
metamorphic event dated at c. 370 Ma. Continental subduction affected the most external margin of Gondwana
and developed in a setting of dextral convergence with Laurussia. Development of the two high-P events alternated
with the opening of an ephemeral oceanic basin, probably of pull-apart type, in Early Devonian times. This ephem-
eral oceanic domain is suggested as the setting for the protoliths of the most common ophiolites involved in the
Variscan suture. Current ideas for the assembly of Pangea advocate a single collisional event between Gondwana
and Laurussia in the Carboniferous. However, the new evidence from the allochthonous terranes of the Variscan
belt suggests a more complex scenario for the assembly of the supercontinent, with an interaction between the
colliding continental margins that started earlier and lasted longer than previously considered. Based on modern an-
alogs of continental interaction, the development of complex collisions, as here suggested for Gondwana and
Laurussia during the assembly of Pangea, could have been the norm rather than the exception throughout Earth
history.

2018. A re-evaluation of the enigmatic dinosauriform Caseosaurus crosbyensis from the Late Triassic of Texas, USA and its implications for early dinosaur evolution. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 63 (1): 129–145. The holotype specimen of the Late Triassic dinosauriform Caseosaurus crosbyensis is redescribed and evaluated phylogenetically for the first time, providing new anatomical information and data on the earliest dinosaurs and their evolution within the dinosauromorph lineage. Historically, Caseosaurus crosbyensis has been considered to represent an early saurischian dinosaur, and often a herrerasaur. More recent work on Triassic dinosaurs has cast doubt over its supposed dinosaurian affinities and uncertainty about particular features in the holotype and only known specimen has led to the species being regarded as a dinosauriform of indeterminate position. Here, we present a new diagnosis for Caseosaurus crosbyensis and refer additional material to the taxon—a partial right ilium from Snyder Quarry. Our comparisons and phylogenetic analyses suggest that Caseosaurus crosbyensis belongs in a clade with herrerasaurs and that this clade is the sister taxon of Dinosauria, rather than positioned within it. This result, along with other recent analyses of early dinosaurs, pulls apart what remains of the " traditional " group of dinosaurs collectively termed saurischians into a polyphyletic assemblage and implies that Dinosauria should be regarded as composed exclusively of Ornithoscelida (Ornithischia + Theropoda) and Sauropodomorpha. In addition, our analysis recovers the enigmatic European taxon Saltopus elginensis among herrerasaurs for the first time. This result suggests a greater body-size range for herrerasaurs than previously thought and provides further evidence for their presence in Europe during the Late Triassic. If this hypothesis is correct then this clade of herrerasaurs also represents the first clade of non-dinosaurian dinosauromorphs known to contain large-bodied carnivorous species. The results of our analyses also highlight the distinction between the clades Herrerasauridae and Herrerasauria, as they are currently defined, and necessitate a provisional revival of the latter until future works can better resolve the relationships among these important early taxa.

The Lost City hydrothermal system at the southern Atlantis Massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N) provides a natural laboratory for studying serpentinization processes, the temporal evolution of ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems, and alteration conditions during formation and emplacement of an oceanic core complex. Here we present B, O, and Sr isotope data to investigate fluid/rock interaction and mass transfer during detachment faulting and exhumation of lithospheric sequences within the Atlantis Massif. Our data indicate that extensive serpentinization was a seawater-dominated process that occurred predominately at temperatures of 150-250 °C and at high integrated W/R ratios that led to a marked boron enrichment (34-91 ppm). Boron removal from seawater during serpentinization is positively correlated with changes in d11B (11-16 per mil) but shows no correlation with O-isotope composition. Modeling indicates that B concentrations and isotope values of the serpentinites are controlled by transient temperature-pH conditions. In contrast to prior studies, we conclude that low-temperature marine weathering processes are insignificant for boron geochemistry of the Atlantis Massif serpentinites. Talc- and amphibole-rich fault rocks formed within a zone of detachment faulting at temperatures of approximately 270-350 °C and at low W/R ratios. Talc formation in ultramafic domains in the massif was subsequent to an early stage of serpentinization and was controlled by the access of Si-rich fluids derived through seawater-gabbro interactions. Replacement of serpentine by talc resulted in boron loss and significant lowering of d11B values (9-10 per mil), which we model as the product of progressive extraction of boron. Our study provides new constraints on the boron geochemical cycle at oceanic spreading ridges and suggests that serpentinization associated with ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems may have important implications for the behavior of boron in subduction zone settings.

2012.01 A study of using climate sensitive deposits as a compiled climatic data to locate global
climatic belt boundaries through time is developed by the present authors since the 1990s. Global
latitudinal belts were presented from Cambrian to Permian as well as the in terval from the early
Late Cretaceous to the present. However, during the later Permian and into the Early Cretaceous
we noted that the failure of the tropical subtropical belt to penetrate into the interior of Pangaean
resulted in the merging of the two arid belts associated with the northern and southern Hadley
Cells into one vast, interior arid region. A Pangaeanic paleogeography dominates and obviously
affects the climatic distribution from the Late Permian to Early Cretaceous. We employ the
dismission and reoccurrence of the global latitudinal climate belts to determine the aggregation
and disaggregation of the Pangaean.

Mots-Clés : Paléoflore, Permien inférieur (Autunien), Bassin d'Autun, France Résumé. Dans le cadre de fouilles paléontologiques reprises dans la Formation de schistes bitumineux de Muse en 2010, célèbre pour avoir fourni au début du 19 • siècle une flore et une faune très bien conservées, il a été recueilli de nouveau, pour la seconde année consécutive, une paléoflore dont on présente brièvement l'inventaire sous la forme d'un rapport préliminaire. Les possibles implications paléoenvironnementales sont aussi envisagées. Abstract. The bituminous shales of the Muse Formation, famous for the discovery in the 19th century of a well preserved flora and fauna, is presently the object of a taphonomic study. ln 2011, as in 2010, a iliverse flora has been sampled. These fmds are presented here as a preliminary report sketclling out the most prominent characteristics and exploring briefly its paleao-ecologic implications.

Uber die Subsistenzwirtschaft der Bevolkerung des 3. und 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr. (dem Ende der Jungsteinzeit und dem Beginn der Bronzezeit) liegen bislang nur wenige bioarchaologische Daten vor. Die augenscheinliche Dominanz von Grabern und Grabfunden und das fast vollstandige Fehlen von Siedlungsnachweisen fur diese Zeit fuhrt seit mehr als 70 Jahren zu Diskussionen und verschiedenen Erklarungsmodellen. Eine dieser Hypothesen geht davon aus, dass die Menschen der Schnurkeramik- und Glockenbecherzeit Viehhirten waren und als ein reisendes Volk von Bogenschutzen angesehen werden mussen. Dem stellen wir hier Resultate aus gut datierten palaookologischen Untersuchungen entgegen, die klar beweisen, dass in Mitteleuropa (zwischen der Schweiz und Danemark, sowie zwischen Rhein und Oder) im 3. und 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. ein voll funktionierendes Landwirtschaftssystem existiert hat. Dies bedeutet auch, dass die Siedlungen permanent bewohnt waren und die Bewohner auf den lokalen Anbau von Ku...

The "bituminous shales" of the Muse Formation, famous for the discovery in the 19th century of a well preserved flora and fauna, is presently the object of a taphonomic study. ln 2011, as in 2010, a diverse flora has been sampled. These finds are presented here as a preliminary report sketching out the most prominent characteristics and exploring briefly its palaeo-ecologic implications.

Turbidity current is one of the most important mechanisms for rapid transportation of terrigenous sediments from the continental margin to the deep sea. Although extensive work on turbidite systems has been carried out globally, the Tanzanian margin, off East Africa, is poorly understood. This paper will therefore use a well-dated high-resolution marine core (GeoB12624-1), obtained during RV Meteor Cruise M75/2, from the upper Tanzanian continental slope, offshore the Rufiji River delta, to demonstrate which environmental parameters, e.g., climate versus sea level, control the temporal distribution of the turbidite deposits during the last deglaciation and the Holocene. Results show that the turbidite deposits are composed of coarser-grained sediments with normally graded bedding. The thickness, mean grain size and frequency of the turbidite beds were estimated to detect turbidity current activity since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A total of 12 turbidite beds (TI-T12) was recognized and divided into three intervals, based on the presence and intensity of the turbidite deposits. (I) a glacial sea-level lowstand (LGM and Heinrich Stadial 1; 19.3-14.6 ka): suppressed turbidity current activity due to arid conditions in the hinterland and sea-level lowstand. (II) A deglacial sea-level rise period (Bølling-Allerød interval to the early Holocene; 14.6-8 ka): turbidity current activity started to be strengthened during the Bølling-Allerød warming interval (T1), followed by a first increase in turbidite frequency, thickness and mean grain-size during the Younger Dryas (T2-T4) and a second increase during the early Holocene (T5-T10). (III) An interglacial sea-level highstand period (mid-to late Holocene; 8-2.5 ka): turbidity current activity diminished from the mid- (T11, T12) to late Holocene. This temporal distribution of turbidite deposits indicates that turbidity currents were most active during the last sea-level rise, synchronous with more humid climate in the hinterland, than during a sea-level lowstand (e.g., [...]

... cooling ages to uplift and erosion controlled by late orogenic collapse and not to contractional deformation'' (Hartz and Andre-sen, 1995 ... Strachan, RA, 1994, Evidence in North-East Greenland for Late Siluri-an–Early Devonian regional extension during the Caledonian orogeny ...

NW Iberia includes a rather complete section of a Variscan suture, where different terranes with continental or oceanic affinities appear with clear structural relationships. Three groups of terranes, namely Upper, Ophiolitic and Basal units and a frontal tectonic mélange appear in Galicia, in Cabo Ortegal, Órdenes and Malpica-Tui complexes. They constitute a huge allochthonous pile thrust over the Iberian parautochthonous and autochthonous domains, which represent the section of the Gondwanan margin that escaped continental subduction during the Variscan cycle. Considering the allochthonous character of the nappe pile and the strong deformation associated to the Variscan collision, there are problems to identify the original tectonic setting of the terranes and thence, it is difficult to reconstruct the paleogeographic context during the Variscan and pre-Variscan times in detail. Key features to perform any model for the Variscan convergence should consider the existence of two different high-P metamorphic events (dated at c. 400 and 370 Ma, respectively), separated in time for the generation of mafic-ultramafic sequences at c. 395 Ma which constitute the most common ophiolites described in the Variscan suture. Some dynamic models developed in NW Iberia have important problems to explain the observed tectonothermal evolution, especially the older high-P metamorphic event and the exhumation of deeply subducted transitional-type sections. On the other hand, the recently discovered participation of an older continental crust in the generation of different protoliths of the Middle Devonian ophiolites, makes difficult the interpretation of these ophiolites in relation to open wide oceanic domains. This paper describes the distribution, structure, lithologies, geochronology and chemical composition of the terranes involved in the Variscan suture of NW Spain. The scope of this description ranges from detailed regional aspects to the discussion of the development of the Variscan Orogen in the context of the assembly of Pangea. A two-stage collisional model affecting a wide Gondwanan platform may explain most of the evidences in NW Iberia. The generation of a long pull-apart basin probably occurred after the first collision, where the Devonian ophiolites were formed. These ophiolites have been in general described in the context of the Rheic Ocean, but according to the new existing data they do not seem related to this ocean, but rather they were formed after its closure.