Click a region on the diagram and pick a point in time to see known fossil animals from that place and era.

Regional Events

Madagascar and India Break from Africa~160 Mya

Click a region to search there — click it again to search globally.

North AmericaEuropeAsiaOceaniaAntarcticaAfricaSouth America

Schematic. Shows which landmasses were connected, not where they were.

Gondwana / Laurasia Breakup

The Central Atlantic opens, splitting Laurasia in the north from Gondwana in the south.

Time period

160 million years ago
Late Jurassic~161.5143.1 Mya, Mesozoic
Today500 Mya

Global Events

Most recent

Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event ~183 Mya

A period of widespread oxygen depletion in the oceans, causing significant marine extinctions (especially among ammonites). Linked to eruptions of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province, centred on what's now southern Africa and Antarctica.

Centred on, or linked to, Africa.