Scientists have discovered a lost continent of Earth that disappeared 155 million years ago

Geologists from Utrecht University announced the discovery of the ancient continent of Argoland, which broke away from modern Australia about 155 million years ago and was long considered lost. This was reported by the portal No Worries with reference to the journal Gondwana Research, writes UNN.

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Its fragments are scattered beneath the seabed of Southeast Asia, a new study in the journal Gondwana Research reports.

The head of the study, Eldert Advokaat, explained that previous models were inconsistent with the real geological picture of the region. The team proposed a new term – "Argopelago", which describes the structure as an archipelago of continental fragments, rather than a continuous continent.

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Such reconstructions are important not only for studying geology, but also for understanding the evolution of biodiversity, climate change, and the distribution of minerals.

– emphasized co-author Douwe van Hinsbergen.

Fragments of Argoland on modern geological maps can be conditionally identified as areas of continental crust, marked in green. The discovery helps to explain the origin of Wallace's Line – a natural boundary between the fauna of Asia and Australia, as well as the difference in ecosystems on both sides of the Indonesian archipelago.

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