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Gondwana
Gondwana A former supercontinent of the southern hemisphere from which South America, Africa, India, Australasia, and Antarctica are derived. Their earlier connection explains why related groups of plants and animals are found in more than one of the now widely separated southern land masses; examples include the conifer Araucaria (monkey puzzle, Chile pine, hoop pine, etc.) common to South America and Australia. Throughout Gondwana there existed floristic assemblages represented by a few species of fossil plants that are thought to have grown in a cold climate. This view is supported by palaeomagnetic evidence and by indications of glaciation in South America, Africa, India, and Australia, which must then have been in a much higher latitude than they are today.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-Gondwana.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-Gondwana.html |
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Gondwana
Gondwana A former supercontinent of the southern hemisphere from which S. America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica are derived. Their earlier connection explains why related groups of plants and animals are found in more than one of the now widely separated southern land masses; examples include the monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria) common to S. America and Australia. Throughout Gondwana there existed floristic assemblages represented by a few species of plants that are thought to have grown in a cold climate. This view is supported by indications of glaciation in S. America, Africa, India, and Australia, which must then have been in a much higher latitude than they are today.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-Gondwana.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-Gondwana.html |
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Gondwana
Gondwana a vast continental area believed to have existed in the southern hemisphere and to have resulted from the break-up of Pangaea in Mesozoic times. It comprised the present Arabia, Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, and the peninsula of India.
The name is recorded from the late 19th century, originally denoting any of a series of rocks in India, especially fluviatile shales and sandstones, from the name of a region in central northern India, from Sanskrit goṇḍavana ‘forest of Gond’. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Gondwana." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Gondwana." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Gondwana.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Gondwana." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Gondwana.html |
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Gondwana
Gondwana A former supercontinent of the southern hemisphere from which S. America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica are derived. Their earlier connection explains why related groups of plants and animals are found in more than one of the now widely separated southern land masses; examples include the Dipnoi (lungfish) common to S. America, Africa, and Australia, and the monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria) common to S. America and Australia.
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Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Gondwana.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "Gondwana." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Gondwana.html |
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Gondwana
Gondwana, India An historic region in central India which now includes parts of the states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Mahārāshtra. The name means the ‘Land of the Gonds’, a tribal group that ruled the region between the 14th and 18th centuries and still live there now. Gondwanaland is the name coined by an Australian geologist to describe a hypothetical ancient supercontinent in the southern hemisphere.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Gondwana." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Gondwana." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Gondwana.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Gondwana." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Gondwana.html |
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