Mesosaurus was a small lizardlike it could survive only shallow freshwater environments does it seem likely that the animal could traveled between those locations why or why not?

1. What kind of environment did the Mesosaurus live in?
2. Why could Mesosaurus not have swam across the Atlantic Ocean?
3. Could the Mesosaurus swim long distances?
4. Why did the Mesosaurus become extinct?
5. What was a Mesosaurus and what does it have to do with continents moving?
6. What continent was Mesosaurus?
7. Was Mesosaurus a fully aquatic reptile?
8. Is there a possibility that Mesosaurus from South America could have swam the Atlantic Ocean to reach Africa?
9. What is Mesosaurus in your own understanding?
10. What kind of creature was the Mesosaurus?
11. How is the land like where the Mesosaurus fossils were found?
12. What is the land like where Mesosaurus fossils are found quizlet?
13. How does the Mesosaurus fossil evidence support the continental drift theory?
14. What do you still wonder about why the fossils of Mesosaurus that once lived together are found in different locations on Earth now?
15. Which statement best explains why these freshwater Mesosaurus fossils are found today in some rock layers in both South America and Africa?

What kind of environment did the Mesosaurus live in?

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.

Why could Mesosaurus not have swam across the Atlantic Ocean?

Now if the continents were in still their present positions, there is no possibility that the Mesosaurus would have the capability to swim across such a large body of ocean as the Atlantic because it was a coastal animal. Modern day representation of the Cynognathus.

Could the Mesosaurus swim long distances?

Mesosaurus were among the first reptiles to live in and around water, and they spent most of their lives in the water. However, their bodies weren't built for swimming long distances, so they stayed close to land.

Why did the Mesosaurus become extinct?

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. During the Permian, all of the earth's land mass was combined into the supercontinent called Pangaea.

What was a Mesosaurus and what does it have to do with continents moving?

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 ...

What continent was Mesosaurus?

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.

Was Mesosaurus a fully aquatic reptile?

“Despite being considered the oldest-known fully aquatic reptile, mesosaurs share several anatomical features with terrestrial species,” says Professor Graciela Piñeiro, who completed this research at the Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.

Is there a possibility that Mesosaurus from South America could have swam the Atlantic Ocean to reach Africa?

For example, fossils of the ancient reptile mesosaurus are only found in southern Africa and South America. Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile only one meter (3.3 feet) long, could not have swum the Atlantic Ocean. ... South America and Africa were not the only continents with similar geology.

What is Mesosaurus in your own understanding?

Definition of Mesosaurus

: a genus of small aquatic presumably fish-eating Permian reptiles of South America and southern Africa.

What kind of creature was the Mesosaurus?

Mesosaurus was a lizard-like animal that lived in South America and Africa during the Permian Period. Mesosaurus is considered one of the earliest aquatic relatives of reptiles and mammals [1].

How is the land like where the Mesosaurus fossils were found?

Chapter 1: What is the land like where Mesosaurus fossils are found? Students figure out: The Mesosaurus fossils are found in hard, solid rock on two different plates of Earth's surface: the South American and African plates. Earth's outer layer is made of hard, solid rock, and divided into sections called plates.

What is the land like where Mesosaurus fossils are found quizlet?

Earth's outer layer is made of hard, solid rock, and divided into sections called plates. The plates of Earth's outer layer move. The Mesosaurus fossils are found in hard, solid rock on two different plates of Earth's surface: the South American and African Plates.

How does the Mesosaurus fossil evidence support the continental drift theory?

Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined. For example, fossils of Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile, have been found both in Brazil and western Africa.

What do you still wonder about why the fossils of Mesosaurus that once lived together are found in different locations on Earth now?

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.

Which statement best explains why these freshwater Mesosaurus fossils are found today in some rock layers in both South America and Africa?

Which statement best explains why these freshwater fossils are found today in some rock layers in both South America & Africa? The remains of Megasaurus were carried across by predators.