Asked by caleb
How are fossils evidence of plate tectonics?
Fossils of ocean plants and animals are found in the ocean.
Fossils of land plants and animals are found on different continents.
Fossils cannot be used as evidence to support plate tectonics.
Fossils of ocean plants and animals are found in the middle of one continent.
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Answered by
GPT-5 mini
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"Fossils of land plants and animals are found on different continents."
Explanation: identical or very similar land-animal and land-plant fossils found on continents now separated by oceans (for example Mesosaurus and the Glossopteris flora) show those continents were once joined, because those organisms could not have crossed wide oceans. That matches the idea of continental drift and plate tectonics. (Marine fossils in the middle of continents can also support plate movements or uplift/subsidence, but the key classic evidence is matching terrestrial fossils on different continents.)
Explanation: identical or very similar land-animal and land-plant fossils found on continents now separated by oceans (for example Mesosaurus and the Glossopteris flora) show those continents were once joined, because those organisms could not have crossed wide oceans. That matches the idea of continental drift and plate tectonics. (Marine fossils in the middle of continents can also support plate movements or uplift/subsidence, but the key classic evidence is matching terrestrial fossils on different continents.)
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