GONDWANA MOVES SOUTH

How a supercontinent changed life on Earth

560 MILLION YEARS AGO Thawing out

The Earth began to thaw out after a global ice age, flooding areas of land with water and raising global sea levels. This allowed marine life to flourish and diversify.

440 MILLION YEARS AGO Glaciation

Mass glaciation carved into Gondwana and caused sea levels to sink, reducing habitats and decreasing ocean oxygen. This led to the first mass extinction of marine life.

500 MILLION YEARS AGO Heading southward

The supercontinent Gondwana, made up of present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica, gathered at the South Pole.

400 MILLION YEARS AGO New life

Gondwana thawed and ascended to the equator. Diverse marine life returned to the oceans, and some species evolved to live on land, such as the first known insects.