Geology And The Development Of Life

There is something that gets little notice in the development of life on earth that I have decided has got to be a significant factor. It is plate tectonics, the system of sliding plates upon which the continents slowly slide. I compared a chart of the history of life forms on earth with the history of plate tectonics.

It is well-known that all the continents were once together forming, in effect one super continent. This is usually referred to as Pangaea. This vast continent gradually broke apart as it's plates slid to form the world map that we have today. We can see how the coast of Brazil fits into west Africa. Norway and Sweden fit into Hudson and James Bay in Canada. The U.S Gulf Coast fits around Morocco, Algeria and, Tunisia.

I also notice that the continents drifted apart around the time that the dinosaurs began to die off. Could it be that land dinosaurs required a vast area to secure enough food and when the continents drifted apart, it caused the average dinosaur to have to wander further to procure the same amount of food and hastened their end?

I also notice that two important classifications of plants, ferns and gymnosperms, including conifers such as pine, spruce and cedar trees, are still around today but had their heyday when the continents were one vast land mass. These classifications do not have the closed seeds like the angiosperms that proliferate today and which include deciduous trees (non-conifers) and many common plants. Ferns spread by dropping spores and gymnosperms have uninclosed seeds.

Since the continental breakup, both have become distant seconds in importance to angiosperms. It seems clear to me that it is because angiosperm plant seeds are better suited to travelling the increased distances required in the new world of far separated continents.