The fossil remains of Mesosaurus were significant to Alfred Wegener because they provided important evidence for his theory of continental drift. Mesosaurus was a freshwater reptile that lived during the early Permian period and its fossils were found in both South America and Africa. This distribution posed a challenge for traditional explanations of species distribution, as it was unlikely that Mesosaurus could have crossed the vast Atlantic Ocean that separates these two continents.
Wegener used the presence of Mesosaurus fossils on both continents to argue that South America and Africa were once connected as part of a larger landmass (Pangaea) and later drifted apart. This evidence, along with other fossil finds, geological similarities, and the matching shapes of coastlines, helped support his idea that continents are not stationary but are instead capable of moving over geological time.
In summary, Mesosaurus fossils were critical to Wegener's argument for continental drift because they illustrated how certain species could only be found in geographically separated regions if those regions were once joined together.
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