Book 5, Question 38
Fossil Travelers! Why the Same Fossil on Two Continents?
The continents have slowly moved over millions of years, so they were not always where they are now. Some lands that are far apart today were once connected or closer together, and animals could travel between them. Finding the same kind of fossil in two places is a clue about that old map.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 5
More fun facts
- The Atlantic coasts of Africa and South America fit together like puzzle pieces.
- Scientists found fossils of the same animals in both places, from hundreds of millions of years ago.
- In 1910, Alfred Wegener wondered if the two continents had once been joined.
- Back then many scientists thought a land bridge had connected the continents and later sank into the sea.
- More than 260 matching dinosaur footprints, about 120 million years old, have been found in Brazil and Cameroon.
- Those sites are 3,700 miles apart today but were once only about 600 miles apart.
Sources: NASA, Smithsonian Magazine
Questions kids ask
How can the same fossil be on two continents?
Those continents were once joined. Animals lived across the land before it slowly split apart.