First phase of the Tethys Ocean's forming: the (first) Tethys Sea starts dividing Pangaea into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana.
The Tethys Ocean (/ˈtiːθɪs,ˈtɛ-/TEETH-iss, TETH-; Greek: ΤηθύςTēthús), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean during much of the Mesozoic Era and early-mid Cenozoic Era. It was the predecessor to the modern Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Eurasian inland marine basins (primarily represented today by the Black Sea and Caspian Sea).[1][2]
During the Early Mesozoic era, as Pangaea broke up, the Tethys Ocean was defined as the ocean located between the ancient continents of Gondwana and Laurasia. After the opening of the Indian and Atlantic oceans during the Cretaceous Period and the breakup of these continents over the same period, it came to be defined as the ocean bordered by the continents of Africa, Eurasia, India, and Australasia. During the early-mid Cenozoic, the Indian, African, Australian and Arabian plates moved north and collided with the Eurasian plate, which created new borders to the ocean, a land barrier to the flow of currents between the Indian and Mediterranean basins, and the orogenies of the Alpide belt (including the Alps, Himalayas, Zagros, Caucasian and Ural Mountains). All of these geological events, in addition to a drop in sea level rise from Antarctic glaciation, brought an end to the Tethys as it previously existed, fragmenting it into the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Paratethys.[1][2]
It was preceded by the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, which lasted between the Cambrian and the Early Triassic, while the Neotethys formed during the Late Triassic and lasted in some form up to the Oligocene–Miocene boundary (about 24–21 million years ago) when it completely closed.[1][3] A portion known as the Paratethys was isolated during the Oligocene (34 million years ago) and lasted up to the Pliocene (about 5 million years ago), when it largely dried out.[4] The modern inland seas of Europe and Western Asia, namely the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, are remnants of the Paratethys Sea.[1]
^ abBialik, Or M.; Frank, Martin; Betzler, Christian; Zammit, Ray; Waldmann, Nicolas D. (2019-06-20). "Two-step closure of the Miocene Indian Ocean Gateway to the Mediterranean". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 8842. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.8842B. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45308-7. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6586870. PMID 31222018.
^Torfstein, Adi; Steinberg, Josh (2020-08-14). "The Oligo–Miocene closure of the Tethys Ocean and evolution of the proto-Mediterranean Sea". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 13817. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-70652-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7427807. PMID 32796882.
^Stampfli, Gérard. "155 Ma - Late Oxfordian (an. M25)" (PDF). University of Lausanne. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-13.
The TethysOcean (/ˈtiːθɪs, ˈtɛ-/ TEETH-iss, TETH-; Greek: Τηθύς Tēthús), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean during...
and surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys and subsequent TethysOceans. Pangaea is the most recent supercontinent to have existed...
Look up Tethys in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Tethys or Tethis may refer to: Tethys (database), an online knowledge management system about the environmental...
when the northern region of the TethysOcean (Peri-Tethys) was separated from the Mediterranean region of the Tethys realm due to the formation of the...
European shores of the former TethysOcean and has, if so, maintained itself by vegetative growth, floating in the ocean for millions of years. Other species...
Hemisphere and Gondwana in the Southern Hemisphere, separated by the TethysOcean. "Laurussia" was defined by Swiss geologist Peter Ziegler in 1988 as...
135–125 Ma and as the TethysOcean north of India began to close 118–84 Ma the Indian Ocean opened behind it. The Indian Ocean, together with the Mediterranean...
either Peri-Gondwana or core Gondwana; the Rheic Ocean closed in front of it and the Palaeo-TethysOcean opened behind it. Precambrian rocks from the Iberian...
separated from the southern continent by an oceanic basin: the Paleo-Tethys. Although the western Paleo-TethysOcean had existed since the Cambrian, the eastern...
have been caused by fragments from the sunken floor of the much older TethysOcean in the narrowing gap between India and Central Asia, as the sinking fragments...
Mesoproterozoic Pontus Ocean, the western part of the early Mesozoic Panthalassa Ocean Proto-TethysOcean, Neoproterozoic Rheic Ocean, the Paleozoic ocean between Gondwana...
world's largest lake, but it is centered on an oceanic basin (a fragment of the ancient TethysOcean) rather than lying entirely over continental crust...
Paleo-TethysOcean – Ocean on the margin of Gondwana between the Middle Cambrian and Late Triassic Pan-African Ocean – Hypothesized paleo-ocean whose...
isolated landmass as the Indian Plate drifted across the TethysOcean, forming the Indian Ocean. The process of India's separation from Madagascar first...
Tethys Trench formed when the Cimmerian Plate was subducting under eastern Laurasia, around 200 million years ago, in the Early Jurassic. The Tethys Trench...
(the "universal ocean") covered the rest of the planet. Other minor oceans were Paleo-Tethys, Proto-Tethys, Rheic Ocean and Ural Ocean (which was closed...
older TethysOcean, at about 270 and up to 340 million years old. The oceanic crust displays a pattern of magnetic lines, parallel to the ocean ridges...
the Panthalassa–Tethys boundary is poorly known because little oceanic crust is preserved—both the Izanagi and the conjugate Pacific Ocean floor is subducted...
belt is the result of Mesozoic-to-Cenozoic-to-recent closure of the TethysOcean and process of collision between the northward-moving African, Arabian...
Basin to the south-west, the Paratethys Sea to the south-east, or the TethysOcean to the south. During the Late Cretaceous, about 85 million years ago...
geographical features, the supercontinent Gondwana (proposed in 1861) and the TethysOcean. Eduard Suess was born on 20 August 1831 in London, England, the oldest...
is complex. Underlain by oceanic crust, the sea basin was once thought to be a tectonic remnant of the ancient TethysOcean; it is now known to be a structurally...
Gondwana, separated by the newly formed TethysOcean. 100 million years ago the extension of the TethysOcean stopped and the Apulian plate broke from...
Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea. Askeptosauroids were endemic to the TethysOcean, their fossils have been found in Europe and China, and they were likely...
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