Eduard Suess
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Eduard Suess was an Austrian geologist and an expert on the geography of the Alps. He is responsible for hypothesising two major former geographical features, the supercontinent Gondwana and the Tethys Ocean.
Eduard Suess, 1869
Eduard Suess, c. 1890
Gondwana
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Gondwana was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Zealandia, Arabia, and the Indian Subcontinent.
Reconstruction showing final stages of assembly of Gondwana, 550 Mya
Banksia, a grevilleoid Proteaceae, is an example of a plant from a family with a Gondwanan distribution
The plant genus Nothofagus provides a good example of a taxon with a Gondwanan distribution, having originated in the supercontinent and existing in present-day Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and South America's Southern Cone. Fossils have also been found in Antarctica.
Image: Geology of Asia 450.Ma