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Geological Society, London, Special Publications

The Palaeozoic palaeogeography of central Gondwana

Trond H. Torsvik and L. Robin M. Cocks

Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2011, v.357;

p137-166.
doi: 10.1144/SP357.8

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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Duke University on August 23, 2012

The Palaeozoic palaeogeography of central Gondwana

TROND H. TORSVIK1,2,3* & L. ROBIN M. COCKS4
1
PGP and Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048, 0316 Oslo, Norway
2
Geodynamics Centre, Geological Survey of Norway, Leif Eirikssons vei 39,
N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
3
School of Geosciences, University of Witwatersrand, WITS 2050, South Africa
4
Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road,
London SW7 5BD, UK
*Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected])

Abstract: Nine new palaeogeographical maps of central Gondwana are presented at intervals
within the Palaeozoic from the Middle Cambrian at 510 Ma to the end of the Permian at
250 Ma. The area covered includes all of Africa, Madagascar, India and Arabia as well as adjacent
regions, including parts of southern Europe, much of South America (including the Falkland Isles)
and Antarctica. After final assembly in the Late Neoproterozoic the southern margin was largely
passive throughout the Palaeozoic, apart from some local orogeny in the Cambrian in the final
stages of the largely Neoproterozoic Pan-African Orogeny and during the Late Palaeozoic Gond-
wanide Orogeny. The northern peri-Gondwana margin was active during the Early Palaeozoic but
the NW part became passive by the earliest Ordovician when the Rheic Ocean opened between
Gondwana and Avalonia. This was eventually followed by the latest Silurian or Early Devonian
opening of the Palaeotethys Ocean between Gondwana and Iberia, Armorica and associated
terranes and, much later, the rifting and opening of the Neotethys Ocean near the close of the
Permian. In the Late Carboniferous, Gondwana merged with Laurussia to form Pangea. That accre-
tion took place outside the area to the NW, although the consequent orogenic activity extended to
Morocco and Algeria. Most of the centre of Gondwana was land throughout the Palaeozoic but with
extensive shelf seas over the craton margins, particularly the northern margin from the Cambrian to
the Devonian on which the important north African and Arabian hydrocarbon source rocks were
deposited in the Lower Silurian (with the chief reservoirs in the adjacent Upper Ordovician) and
Upper Devonian. There were also substantial Upper Carboniferous and later non-marine lake
basins in central and southern Africa in which the Karroo Supergroup was deposited. The South
Pole was located within the area from the Early Palaeozoic to the Mid-Permian and central Gond-
wana was therefore greatly affected by two ice ages: the short but sharp Hirnantian glaciation at the
end of the Ordovician and another lasting sporadically for more than 25 Ma during the later
Carboniferous and Early Permian.

Following preliminary global reviews of the Palaeo- Figure 3 shows the progressive movements of
zoic (Cocks & Torsvik 2002; Torsvik & Cocks Africa throughout the Palaeozoic, and there are
2004), we are subsequently describing the palaeogeo- also Lower Palaeozoic reconstructions of the
graphy of the major continents in separate papers. entire core of Gondwana in Torsvik & Cocks
However, because the supercontinent of Gondwana (2009, fig. 2). Gondwana rotated and drifted slightly
was so big, our treatment of it is in sectors. The NE as Palaeozoic time progressed, but the South Pole
sector from Turkey round to New Zealand is pub- lay under this central sector of the continent from
lished (Torsvik & Cocks 2009), and the present the late Precambrian until the middle of the
paper deals with the central sector (Fig. 1) which Permian. We have also assessed Africa as having
includes Africa, Arabia and India and some of the been the continent which has moved the least
adjacent South American and Antarctic areas. Parts distance in relation to Earth’s underlying mantle
of Palaeozoic Gondwana which are now in Europe during the whole Phanerozoic (Torsvik et al.
and North America are also included, which we 2008a). As can be seen from Figure 3b, the latitudi-
term peri-Gondwana. The Precambrian cratons nal displacement rate of Africa remained relatively
forming the old basement (.1 Ga) of Gondwana low throughout the Palaeozoic except for an appar-
and kimberlite locations (the main carrier of dia- ent acceleration just prior to Pangea assembly.
monds) are shown in Figure 2. The northern Gondwana margin was active from

From: Van Hinsbergen, D. J. J., Buiter, S. J. H., Torsvik, T. H., Gaina, C. & Webb, S. J. (eds) The Formation
and Evolution of Africa: A Synopsis of 3.8 Ga of Earth History. Geological Society, London, Special Publications,
357, 137–166. DOI: 10.1144/SP357.8 0305-8719/11/$15.00 # The Geological Society of London 2011.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Duke University on August 23, 2012

138 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

◦S
60
Av
Iberia
It Sx
MO
a n France
O ce M
South Pole
e i c
Rh WS T P

Algeria
Mauritania Taurides
Libya
Sen Mali Alborz
Si
FL Guinea Egypt

Sa
Niger

na
SL BKF

nd
G Ivory
L Coast Chad
ana Nigeria
Gh
Arabia
Sudan

CAM E
CAF

Gabon
Brazil ROC Ethiopia

Democratic ROC Uganda

Somalia
Bol
Kenya
Angola Tanzania
r
ca

Para
as
ag

India
ad
M

Zambia
30◦
S Namibia
Urug Moz Sr
Zim
Botswana
Argentina
Moz
South Africa
DML

FK East
Antarctica
Pa
EWM FB Trans
an
Moun tarctic
tains

Fig. 1. Map of the central Gondwana area, showing most of the terrane areas discussed here as they were positioned at
480 Ma, and the modern country boundaries within Africa and South America. The boundaries of the separate
Precambrian cratons are shown in Africa. Red lines show modern latitudes and longitudes in Africa and black arcs the
480 Ma palaeolatitudes. (Av, Avalonia; BKF, Burkino Fasso; Bol, Bolivia; CAF, Central African Republic; CAM,
Cameroon; DML, Dronning Maud Land; E, Eritrea; EWM, Ellsworth– Whitmore Mountains; FB, Filchner Block,
Antarctica; FK, Falklands; FL, Florida; G, Guyana; It, Italian terranes; L, Liberia; M, Morocco; MO, Moldanubia;
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Duke University on August 23, 2012

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 139

Mesoproterozoic (1.6-1.0 Ga)

Paleoproterozoic (2.5-1.6 Ga)
Archaean (3.8-2.5 Ga)
Palaeozoic kimberlites
Re

West African
NW AFRICA
Uw
Ke

NE AFRICA
Am

SL
azo
nas

Gabon
Sao
Francisco

Congo LVB SOMALIA

Ta
Rio de
Ba Ma
La Plata Bu
Dh
La
RICA
S AF
N
Z Am
Kalahari
W

Kaapvaal
NPS L
M

East Antarctic

Fig. 2. Older Precambrian (Archaean– Mesoproterozoic) cratons which make up the basement of Central Gondwana
(Gubanov & Mooney 2009), plotted on a new 480 Ma reconstruction. Palaeozoic kimberlites are also shown
(Torsvik et al. 2010). (A, Adélie; Am, Amery; Ba, Bangweulu; Bu, Bundelkhand; Dh, Dharwar; K, Kenema-Man;
L, Lambert; Lu, Luis Alves; LVB, Lake Victoria Block; M, Martha; Ma, Madagascar; N, Napier; NPS, North
Patagonian shelf; Re, Reguibat; SL, São Luis; Ta, Tanzania; Uw, Uwcinat; W, Westfold; Z, Zimbabwe.)

Mexico to Turkey (e.g. Fig. 6), but passive from history accompanied by palaeogeographical maps
Turkey to Australia during most of the Palaeozoic for selected times (Figs 5–13).
(Torsvik & Cocks 2009). Most of the southern
Gondwanan margin was largely passive throughout North and west Africa
the Palaeozoic, except at the beginning of the
Cambrian and the end of the Palaeozoic. After This area is underlain by two major intra-cratonic
short summaries of the Palaeozoic geology of the units, NW and NE Africa (Fig. 2). Its Lower Palae-
different areas, we present a brief Palaeozoic ozoic geology has been summarized by Holland

Fig. 1. (Continued) Moz, Mozambique; Para, Paraguay; Pa, Patagonia; P, Perunica; ROC, Republic of Congo (there are
two different countries, one Democratic ROC); Sen, Senegal; Si, Sinai; SL, Sierra Leone; Sr, Sri Lanka; Sx,
Saxothuringia; T, Tunisia; Urug, Uruguay; WS, Western Sahara; Zim, Zimbabwe.)
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Duke University on August 23, 2012

140 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

(a) Equator Equator

310
410
280

250
440
30 30
S˚ S˚
480

60 60
380 S˚ S˚

350

South Pole South Pole

510

(b)
Africa 20N, 15E Latitude N-S Velocity (cm a–1)

20
0
Tropics
20S
40S
Temperate
60S
80S

510 490 470 450 430 410 390 370 350 330 310 290 270 250 Ma
Pa

Rif
Rif
Rif
n

Rif
Va

tin
tin
-A

tin

tin
ris

g(
fri

g(
g(

g(
c

C.
ca

Pa

an
Rh

Ne

At
n(

lae
eic

(Pa

ote

lan
Go

ote
)

ng

thy

tic
nd

thy

ea

)
wa

s)
s)

)
n
a)

Fig. 3. Progressive palaeomagnetic reconstructions of Africa throughout the Palaeozoic: (a) as it migrated over the
South Pole and (b) its changing latitudinal velocities (above) and the latitudinal position of a location in southern Libya
(208N, 158E) with time, with the main tectonic episodes (below).

(1981, 1985) and, for the whole Phanerozoic of NW during the union of Gondwana and Pangea, the
Africa, by Piqué (2001). A set of palaeogeographical Palaeozoic successions in the Meseta are broadly
maps was published by Guiraud et al. (2005), and a similar to the rest of Morocco; the two were prob-
useful summary of the geology of all the countries ably not far apart. On the main African Craton
in Africa can be found in Schlüter (2006). The Silur- there is an important succession of Lower Palaeo-
ian and Devonian of north Africa contain significant zoic fossiliferous rocks well exposed in the Anti-
hydrocarbon source rocks (Arthur et al. 2003). Sum- Atlas Mountains (Destombes et al. 1985), which
maries of the individual areas within the region are form the northern margin of the east –west trending
provided in the following. Tindouf Basin. The Upper Palaeozoic also includes
shallow to deeper-water Devonian and Lower Car-
Morocco and the Meseta boniferous marine rocks with rich faunas, including
the varied and beautiful Emsian trilobites which
The north-western part of Morocco (about half of are mined and exported for sale in markets round
the country) is termed the Meseta, which is divided the world as well as volcanics of Pragian age in
into west and east Meseta by the Middle Atlas the east Anti-Atlas. The Middle and Upper Car-
Mountains. Although separate from the main African boniferous rocks are of terrestrial origin. In the
Craton until its accretion in the Late Carboniferous Meseta, the rocks also include Early Cambrian
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 141

archaeocyathid limestones and Middle Cambrian Eritrea includes some Hirnantian glaciogenic rocks
deeper shelf sequences including turbidites and vol- and granites of assumed Lower Palaeozoic age
canics, all probably representing the final stages of (Schlüter 2006). Ethiopia has Upper Carboniferous
the Pan-African Orogeny. There are also Ordovician glaciogenic sandstones, described by Bussert &
granites, Silurian and Devonian shelf deposits and Schrank (2007). Schandelmeier & Reynolds (1997)
Carboniferous volcanics. provided palaeogeographical maps for the Upper
Palaeozoic and later rocks for all of northeast Africa.
Algeria and Tunisia
West Africa
There are extensive Lower Palaeozoic rocks in the
several basins of Algeria which extend eastwards, The geology of the countries in western Africa is
largely in the subsurface, into Tunisia as reviewed summarized by Schlüter (2006). Deynoux et al.
by Legrand (1974) and Holland (1985). Although (in Holland 1985) reviewed the Lower Palaeozoic
the Cambrian is sparse, the Ordovician is well rep- of western Africa from Mauritania to Niger, includ-
resented including the spectacular Hirnantian ing the southern margin of the extensive Tindouf
glacial deposits so well illustrated by Beuf et al. Basin. Willefert (1988) described Mauritania, with
(1971) which are the clastic reservoir rocks for particular reference to its Late Ordovician and
many of the hydrocarbons in the area. Those are fol- Early Silurian rocks. Further south, the substantial
lowed by the Llandovery ‘hot’ shales, which were Taoudeni Basin (whose northern half is depicted
the prime source rocks in the region. There are in Fig. 6) underlies the boundaries of Mauretania,
also many later Silurian, Devonian and Carbonifer- Mali, southern Algeria and Burkino –Faso and con-
ous rocks in the various basins, although the tinues into Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal,
Permian is known only from Tunisia. where it is termed the Bové Basin. It includes
Cambro-Ordovician Skolithos-bearing sandstones
Libya and Niger with inarticulate brachiopods, Hirnantian tillites,
Llandovery graptolitic shales and Devonian shales
Libya includes several oil-rich basins, including the and reef limestones. In Guinea there are Ludlow–
Murzuq Basin which has varied sediments from the Devonian marine sandstones with Emsian, Eifelian
Cambrian to the Carboniferous but with several and Givetian brachiopods. In Mali the Devonian
unconformities (Ramos et al. 2006). Mergl & shales are unconformably overlain by Lower
Massa (2000) summarized the rocks and fossils of Carboniferous clastics containing brachiopods and
the Devonian and Carboniferous there, which which extend upwards into evaporite deposits.
include varied Middle and Upper Devonian brachio- In Niger, Cambro-Ordovician clastics are uncon-
pods and other shelly invertebrates deposited on the formably overlain by Silurian graptolitic shales,
shallow shelf. The Murzuq Basin extends south- Devonian sandstones and shales and Upper Carbon-
wards from Libya into Niger, and includes Upper iferous– Permian deltaic sandstones, all in basins
Ordovician rocks in which Denis et al. (2006) ident- which are southern extensions of those in Algeria
ified two phases within the Hirnantian glaciation. and Libya. In Ghana, Lower and Middle Devonian
Hallett (2002) has summarized the geology of the marine rocks are termed the Accra Group. The
whole of Libya and the volumes edited by Salern geology of Sierra Leone and Guinea was reviewed
& Oun (2003) describe the NW part of Libya, which by Culver & Williams (1979). The Saionia Scarp
includes the Sirte and Ghademes basins. The latter Group unconformably overlies the Precambrian,
spans the Algerian –Libyan border (Lüning et al. and has Early Ordovician (probably Arenig) clastics
2000), and has significant Early Cambrian–Late unconformably overlain by Hirnantian glaciogenic
Devonian (Famennian) successions below the deposits which are in turn unconformably overlain
unconformity with the Jurassic. In contrast, the Sirt by Jurassic volcanics. In Liberia, there are several
Basin has only Middle Cambrian –Early Silurian small outcrops on the coast near Monrovia of the
(Llandovery) rocks beneath the sub-Mesozoic Paynesville Formation, where a Lower Devonian
unconformity. marine sandstone unconformably overlies the
Precambrian.
Northeast Africa
Palaeozoic rocks in Egypt are essentially an east- Southern, central and eastern Africa and
wards extension of the basins seen in Libya. The Madagascar
substantial Kufra Basin, which largely comprises
Lower Palaeozoic rocks, underlies the tripartite The area includes the large south African Precam-
junction between Libya, Chad and Sudan and there brian area with two major Mesoproterozoic or
are also Permo-Triassic continental rocks there. older cratons and three much smaller ones, Lake
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142 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

(a)
Age (Ma) Pole Lat. Pole Lon.
250 -49.6 55.4
280 -38.4 48.6
310 -30.5 49.9
350 1.1 24.1
380 -14.0 18.0
410 -24.0 9.3 4 80 30ºN
445 17.3 351.5
480 32.1 6.4 4 45
510 17.5 0.7 5 10
550 -12.9 330.2

350
Equator

550
3 80
000°

60°N
410
Perunica 470 Ma 310 30ºS

280

Africa 250
480 Ma 30°N

000º
Armorica
477-493 Ma
Saxothuringia
478 Ma

480 Ma fit (NW Africa frame) (b)

Fig. 4. (a) Apparent Polar Wander (APW) path for Gondwana (550–320 Ma; Torsvik & Van der Voo 2002) and
then a global APW path for 320–250 Ma (Torsvik et al. 2008c). The APW path is shown and listed in the left-hand
table in south African co-ordinates. Open white stars with numbers (in million years) denote reconstruction times
illustrated in Figures 1 and 5– 13. (b) Early Ordovician poles from Perunica and Saxothuringia (shown with dp/dm 95%
confidence ovals) compared to mean poles from Armorica and Africa (shown with A95 circles). The latter is a mean
Gondwana pole and all poles are shown in an Africa reference frame.

Victoria, Somalia and Madagascar, as shown in Late Carboniferous, when deposition started of
Figure 2. Summaries of the individual areas within the non-marine Karroo Supergroup which con-
the region are provided in the following. tinued on until the early Jurassic (Schlüter 1997).
Madagascar (together with India and the Seychelles)
East Africa and Madagascar finally left east Africa in the Late Jurassic
(c. 145 Ma) but soon after became part of Africa
In eastern Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania), again in the Early Cretaceous (c. 120 Ma) when sea-
Mozambique and adjacent Madagascar there are floor spreading ceased. No Palaeozoic rocks are
no strata known between the Proterozoic and the known there.
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 143

Central and south-western Africa Carboniferous –Jurassic Karroo Supergroup. This

consists mainly of non-marine lake sediments
The central African Republic has Palaeozoic rocks although there were some marine incursions, par-
in the NW part of this large area, which consist of ticularly to the east (Tankard et al. 2009). Within
some Permo-Carboniferous tillites. The adjacent the Karroo, there is the latest Carboniferous and ear-
Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) liest Permian glaciogenic Dwyka Group (Visser
has Early Cambrian marine shales with acritarchs 1997), which was deposited over more than 12 Ma
unconformably followed by an arkosic, probably during c. 302–290 Ma (Isbell et al. 2008a). That
terrestrial, sequence of uncertain age, unconform- is succeeded by the Permian Ecca Group which con-
ably followed in turn by Late Carboniferous and sists of marine to brackish-water sediments with
Permian Karroo rocks (Daly et al. 1992). Further to substantial coals (particularly in the Transvaal)
the south, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia and the first appearance of the characteristic flora
and Lesotho all have Upper Carboniferous and of the Glossopteris Province. The Ecca contains
later continental deposits loosely attributed to the interlayered ashfall tuffs dated at 275–270 Ma
Karroo Supergroup. At the base of this is the (Bangert et al. 1999). It is followed in turn by the
Upper Carboniferous Dwyka Group, which has 3 km thick Permo-Triassic Beaufort Group, which
noted fossil amphibians and also ashfall tuffs in was deposited in an intracratonic lake basin which
Namibia (Bangert et al. 1999). Previously in covered half of south Africa and is noted for its
Namibia, the shallow-marine Nama Group had fossil reptiles (also reviewed by Tankard et al.
been laid down in the Cambrian. 1982, 2009). The Cape Orogeny was a series of oro-
genic events in the south of the country and lasted
South Africa from the Early Permian (290 Ma) to the Trias
(220 Ma), and which Tankard et al. (2009) inter-
The Neoproterozoic– Lower Cambrian rocks and preted as representing a thick-skinned strike –
history of the area are summarized by Gaucher slip orogen.
et al. (2010). The Palaeozoic of south Africa (includ-
ing Lesotho and Swaziland) is more extensive and
varied than elsewhere in the continent south of the Arabia
Sahara. It commences with the 2 km thick Klipheu-
wel (or Klipheuvel) Group which is mostly slightly The Arabian Plate consists of Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
metamorphosed sediments of Late Neoprotero- Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, south-
zoic –Early Cambrian age, and there are also Early east Turkey and southwest Iran, and formed part
Cambrian metagranites (Tankard et al. 1982, of the core Gondwana Craton until the Miocene
2009). That group is succeeded by the 4 km thick opening of the Red Sea. Stratigraphy within the
Ordovician–Devonian Table Mountain Group, various parts of the area was reviewed by Sharland
which includes the latest Ordovician Hirnantian gla- et al. (2001) and the tectonic history described by
ciogenic deposits of the Pakhuis Formation (Rust in Ruban et al. (2007). The Sinai–Levant region to
Holland 1981) followed above by the Cedarberg the west of the Dead Sea (sometimes termed the
Formation which carries a Hirnantia brachiopod Levant Plate) was part of the main Arabian Plate
Fauna (although Hirnantia itself is not present; until separated from it by transform faulting in the
Cocks et al. 1970). Early Devonian (Pragian) bra- Neogene. Millson et al. (1996) reviewed the exten-
chiopods occur in the Baviaanskloof Formation sive Lower Palaeozoic rocks of Oman, which
near the top of the group. Tankard et al. (2009) inter- include Hirnantian glaciogenic deposits. Martin
preted most of the Table Mountain Group as progra- et al. (2008) reviewed the Upper Palaeozoic there,
dational fluvial systems with occasional marine which also includes glaciogenic deposits. Post-
incursions, and the Natal Group of SE Africa as glacial Early Silurian (Llanedovery) shales are
contemporaneous with the lower parts of it. The widespread and form the prime hydrocarbon
Table Mountain is succeeded by the Devonian source rocks. However, strata of Late Silurian –
Bokkeveld Group which is over 3 km thick and con- Devonian age are largely absent from the main
sists largely of deltaic deposits with the occasional Arabian plate (Brew et al. 2001), but some shales
marine incursion, one of which has yielded charac- with Devonian spores occur in the foothills of the
teristic shallow-water Emsian brachiopod faunas of Zagros Mountains (Bordenave & Hegre 2010). The
the Malvinokaffric Province (Boucot et al. 1969). succeeding Early Permian –Trias shallow marine
This is followed by the Lower Devonian –Lower clastic sediments and carbonates (including Middle
Carboniferous Witteberg Group, which is a Permian reefs) include many reservoirs which host
mixture of shallow shelf and deltaic deposits. the originally Silurian hydrocarbons.
After a 25 –30 Ma hiatus, the Bokkeveld was Adjacent to the main Arabian area and separated
followed by deposition of the thick Upper from it by the Zagros Thrust is the Sanand Terrane
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144 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

(sometimes termed the Sanandaj–Sirjah Terrane), Peninsula (N.C. Hughes, pers. comm. 2009); how-
which stretches from north-eastern Turkey and ever, many which have previously been considered
Armenia through to eastern Iran. The Sanand Cambrian are actually Neoproterozoic (Gregory
Terrane has a basement of probably Lower Palaeo- et al. 2006). Above those Early Cambrian rocks
zoic metamorphic rocks (the Bajgan Complex) there is a substantial unconformity between the
which is unconformably overlain by Carboniferous, Neoproterozoic and Cambrian ‘basement’ and the
Permian and later shelf limestones (McCall 1997). Gondwana Group of the Permian, from which
Beyond the Sanand Terrane to the NE lies the the Glossopteris Flora is recorded at many sites.
Alborz Terrane which fringes the Caspian Sea, There are latest Carboniferous to earliest Permian
although some authors (e.g. Ruban et al. 2007; (Gzhelian –Asselian; 304– 294 Ma) glaciogenic
Gaetani et al. 2009) recognized a three-fold division rocks in the Salt Range of Pakistan. The continental
in Iran: the Sanand Terrane and a northerly area basins of India were reviewed by Veevers (2004).
divided between a central Iranian Terrane and
a smaller Alborz Terrane. Gaetani et al. (2009)
described the Carboniferous–Triassic stratigraphy
of the Alborz Terrane in Iran. They presented palae- Adjacent sectors of Gondwana
ogeographical maps which include the Permian South America and the Falkland Islands
volcanics of different ages associated with the
opening of the Neotethys Ocean, which started Only the eastern and southern parts of South
with rifting between the Sanand Terrane and the America are shown on our maps, together with the
main Arabian Plate. Konert et al. (2001) noted the Falkland Isles and their associated surrounding sub-
absence of Devonian and Carboniferous rocks marine areas now to the SE. The South American
from most of Iran. sector covers most of Brazil, eastern Argentina,
Konert et al. (2001) summarized the Palaeozoic Uruguay and Paraguay and a small part of Bolivia.
geology of the whole of Arabia. Schandelmeier & It includes the substantial Palaeozoic Paraná,
Reynolds (1997) also included the Arabian area in Parnáiba and Amazon basins, all of which lie uncon-
their palaeogeographical maps for the Upper Palae- formably on the Precambrian craton (Caputo 1998).
ozoic and later rocks of northeast Africa, which we The Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian palaeogeo-
have used to help create our new figures. The rocks graphy is described by Gaucher et al. (2010) and
and Palaeozoic history of the parts of Gondwana glacial episodes in the Late Devonian (Famennian)
further east in Asia were reviewed by Torsvik & and Early Carboniferous (Tournaisian and Visean)
Cocks (2009). Arabia began its accretion to by Caputo et al. (2008). Outside the left-hand map
Eurasia along the Zagros Belt by subduction of the margin, the Precordillera (or Cuyania) Terrane
Neotethyan Ocean beneath the Iran block in the of west Argentina appears to have been peri-
Cretaceous, followed by obduction of Neotethyan Laurentian in the Cambrian and Early Ordovician,
ophiolites over the northeast Afro-Arabian margin but drifted across the intervening ocean to be at a
in the Late Cretaceous and finally collision of Afro- high enough palaeolatitude by the end of the Ordo-
Arabia with central Iran in the Miocene (Farzipour- vician to bear Hirnantian glacial deposits and a
Saein et al. 2009). Hirnantia brachiopod fauna. Its accretion to Gond-
wana was certainly before the Mid-Silurian, and
may have been as early as the Late Ordovician at
The Indian Peninsula 450 Ma (Astini 2003).
The geology of Patagonia (the southern parts of
Palaeozoic rocks older than Permian occur in Argentina and Chile) during the Palaeozoic is sum-
today’s northern Himalayan rim of the Indian Penin- marized by Ramos (2008). The northern sector has
sula, located at the right-hand edge of the maps pre- Ordovician granitoids dated at 475 Ma intruded
sented here. There are numerous small terranes into lightly metamorphosed Cambrian and Early
there, many of which had previously left India in Ordovician clastics unconformable on a Neoproter-
the opening of the Neotethys Ocean in the ozoic basement. Above them lie metamorposed
Permian. Torsvik & Cocks (2009) published geo- Late Carboniferous amphibolites and undeformed
logical summaries and palaeogeographical maps Late Permian granitoids, as well as orthoquartzites
for the north-eastern Gondwana area. Torsvik deposited on a Silurian –Early Devonian passive
et al. (2009a) published palaeomagnetic data from margin. The western sector is metamorphosed and
Spiti in the Himalayas, which constrains our includes plutonic rocks with a wide range of Palaeo-
positioning of the Gondwana margin there in the zoic ages from 540 (Early Cambrian) to 280 Ma
Ordovician. There are sporadic outcrops of Early (Early Permian), which are overlain by terrestrial
Cambrian marine sediments at several places clastic rocks which have yielded a sequence of
on the Precambrian craton throughout the Indian Early–Late Permian floras. The southern sector
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 145

has at its core the Palaeozoic rocks of the Deseado Peri-Gondwana

Massif. The tectonic development of Patagonia is
uncertain; Ramos (2008) considered that both the Avalonia
northern and southern sectors formed an indepen-
The geology and history of Avalonia, which
dent microcontinent that was accreted to southwest
included eastern North America north of Cape
Gondwana in the Early Permian. In his model, a
Cod (Massachusetts), Newfoundland, SE Ireland,
northern magmatic arc developed by southwards
England, Wales, Belgium, Holland and NW
subduction beneath north Patagonia. In contrast,
Germany, was summarized by Cocks & Fortey
Pankhurst et al. (2006) concluded that northern
(2009). The continent left Gondwana with the
Patagonia has always been autochthonous to Gond-
initial rifting of the Rheic Ocean in the Early Ordo-
wana while only southern Patagonia was allochtho-
vician at c. 485 Ma. It was only an independent
nous and collided with the North Patagonian Massif
terrane during the Ordovician, until its oblique col-
in the Late Carboniferous (c. 320– 210 Ma) but with
lision with Baltica at about the Ordovician–Silurian
deformation lasting until the Early Triassic (see also
boundary time at 443 Ma. Different authors have
Vaughan & Pankhurst 2008).
shown Avalonia outboard of different sectors of
Before the Middle Jurassic, the Falklands
core Gondwana, but we think that it lay outside
Terrane was situated to the SE of South Africa
northeast South America, Florida and northwest
(Marshall 1994; Stone et al. 2008; Torsvik et al.
Africa, all of which remained as parts of the Gond-
2008b, 2009b) as shown on our Palaeozoic maps.
wanan core until Gondwana’s Carboniferous amal-
The geology of the Falkland Isles consists of a
gamation with Laurussia to form Pangea.
Neoproterozoic basement unconformably overlain
by possibly Silurian and certainly Devonian and
later sediments. From the latter, Emsian brachio- Iberia and Italy
pods typical of the Malvinokaffric Province are
known from the Fox Bay Formation (Boucot et al. The geology of the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and
1969) which conformably underlies Late Devonian Portugal is summarized by Gibbons & Moreno
and Early Carboniferous rocks. Above this is (2002). It is an amalgamation of at least six Lower
an unconformity below the latest Carboniferous– Palaeozoic zones. From north to south, these zones
Triassic Lafonian Supergroup, which includes early are: the Cantabria, west-Asturian-Leone, Galicia-
Permian glaciogenic deposits. The old terrane Tras os Montes, Central Iberian, Ossa Morena and
included a substantial area of modern shelf under South Portugal zones, all separated by NE–
the south Atlantic. SW-trending Variscan shear zones. Opinions differ
as to whether or not the Iberian zones were orig-
inally a single part of the Lower Palaeozoic Gond-
Antarctica wanan margin, or whether they represent several
The varied sectors and geological history of Antarc- pre-Variscan terranes. However, since no palinspas-
tica are summarized by Torsvik et al. (2008b). Only tic reconstructions are agreed, Iberia is simply
a part of the continent features on our maps, consist- shown as a single unit on our reconstructions. Italy
ing largely of the substantial East Antarctica Shield was substantially affected by both Variscan and
which comprises a variety of Archaean and Pro- Alpine orogenies and Sardinia and Calabria were
terozoic terranes (Harley 2003) including Lützow probably separate from the Appenines in the
Holm Bay, Raynor Province and Victoria Land. Lower Palaeozoic. All formed parts of the Lower
The adjacent Dronning Maud Land was a separate Palaeozoic Gondwanan margin and, like Iberia,
terrane which now forms a large part of western Sardinia contains the characteristic higher-latitude
Antarctica. The smaller but also separate Gondwanan Mediterranean Province brachiopod
Ellsworth –Whitmore Mountains Terrane, whose faunas in the Lower and Middle Ordovician
geology was reviewed by Duebendorfer & Rees (Leone et al. 1991). All the Iberian and Italian
(1998), demonstrates active volcanism in the units left Gondwana when the Palaeotethys Ocean
Cambrian. Marie Byrd Land and the Antarctic opened near the end of the Silurian.
Peninsula were also separate from east Antarctica
to the east, but we do not show the latter here. Armorica
The Transantarctic Mountains are an orogenic belt
at the margin of east Antarctica which represent Although the name is often used for the Armorican
much Palaeozoic tectonic activity from the Mid- Peninsula of northwest France, we use the term
Cambrian onwards, and they are situated near the loosely here to include all of Palaeozoic France
lower boundary of our maps (Fig. 1). Isbell et al. which was reviewed by Keppie (1994); some
(2008b) described the Lower Permian glaciogenic authors refer to it as Cadomia. There are several
deposits there. Palaeozoic terranes there (as many as ten, according
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146 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

Iberia

Avalonia
++ Armorica

NW
Africa
South Pole

Arabia
NE
Africa

South
America
60
◦S

South Africa

ar
++ ad
aga
sc

+ M India

510 Ma
Middle Cambrian
30◦S Land Kimberlite
F East Shallow Shelf
Antarctica
Deep Shelf
Ocean
Volcanics
++ + + Plutons

Fig. 5. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area in the Middle Cambrian at 510 Ma. Political boundaries
are single lines and the boundaries of the Precambrian cratons in Africa (e.g. Northeast Africa) are shown as double
lines. Some modern latitude and longitude lines are shown in Africa (F, Falklands; P, Perunica).
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 147

to Shelley & Bossière 2000), and we group them later rocks. The Taurides, whose Lower Palaeozoic
into north and south Amorica as shown in Figure 6. geology and faunas were reviewed by Dean et al.
Although in many publications Armorica was (1999) and the Devonian by Wehrmann et al.
considered to be part of an assemblage of terranes (2010), was an integral part of northern Gondwana
(including Iberia and others) which left Gondwana until the opening of the Neotethys Ocean in the
very early in the Palaeozoic (including Cocks 2000), Permian; Hirnantian glacial deposits are known
we now follow the conclusions of Robardet (2002, there (Monod et al. 2003). However, the Pontides
2003) who demonstrated that they did not leave area is more controversial. Some authors consider
Gondwana until the opening of the Palaeotethys the Pontides to have been several terranes, including
Ocean near the end of the Silurian at the earliest. an Istanbul Terrane, but we follow Dean et al.
(2000) who described the Lower Palaeozoic strati-
Moldanubia and Saxothuringia graphy there and treated it as a single terrane unit.
The Tremadocian is unconformable on basement
The Vosges area of France and the Black Forest of gneiss, which is undated but possibly Precambrian,
Germany made up Moldanubia. Moldanubia and and there is no known Cambrian. After descrip-
the Saxothuringia area, largely in Germany, were tion and analysis, Dean et al. (2000) noted that
both relatively small but separate terranes which the Ordovician faunas in the Pontides were quite
had complex Palaeozoic histories. Moldanubia different from those in the Taurides but similar
may have been an eastwards extension of part of to Avalonia, and therefore concluded that the Pon-
the South Armorican Terrane of France, as shown tides were much further to the west and at higher
in Figure 1. The geology of Saxothuringia was latitudes in the Ordovician than the Taurides.
reviewed by Linnemann (2003) and, together with However, since their Lower Palaeozoic positions
all the adjacent areas of central Europe, in the are so poorly known, the Pontides are omitted
book edited by McCann (2008). Their various from our Cambrian and Ordovician maps. The
parts in the Upper Palaeozoic Variscan Orogeny terrane is shown conservatively in its present pos-
were described by Franke (2006). ition attached to the north of the Taurides in the
Upper Palaeozoic.
Perunica
Florida (Suwanee)
This area, often termed Bohemia, occupies the
eastern part of the Czech Republic and adjacent The area lying in the SE of the US and to the east of
areas and includes the classic Barrandian area to the Mexican terranes (which are outside the maps
the SW of Prague: the Cambrian to Devonian presented here, located to today’s west) was also
geology was reviewed by Chlupáč et al. (1998). Per- peri-Gondwanan. This includes most of Florida, and
unica was definitely included within core Gond- the outcrops consist only of Tertiary and later rocks.
wana in the Cambrian and Early Ordovician, but However, as known from boreholes, the Mesozoic
its Ordovician progress after 470 Ma is contro- unconformably overlies Lower Palaeozoic rocks
versial. After analysis of the benthic faunas, some which are termed the Florida or Suwanee Terrane,
authors (e.g. Havlı́ček et al. 1994) considered that which is bounded to the north by an east –west
Perunica left Gondwana in the Middle Ordovician trending suture zone in southern Georgia and
as a separate terrane; others (e.g. Robardet 2003) Alabama. The Upper Proterozoic and Lower Palaeo-
concluded that it remained an integral part of zoic includes volcanic arc rocks, some dated to
Gondwana until the Palaeotethys Ocean opened in c. 550 Ma and with subsequent 520 Ma granites.
the latest Silurian or even later. Some previous Other beds have yielded Ordovician trilobites such
reconstructions have favoured the former option, but as Plaesiocomia of undoubted Gondwanan affinity
it is shown in this paper (e.g. Fig. 7; see also Torsvik (Whittington 1953). After the Cambrian, Florida
& Cocks in press) as remaining peri-Gondwanan was not tectonically active prior to its merger with
until the Early Devonian. Its part in the Variscan the rest of North America during the accretion of
Orogeny was described by Franke (2006). Gondwana with Laurussia to form Pangea in the
Late Carboniferous.
Turkey
Geological history
The Anatolia Plate today consists of all of Turkey
(apart from the Pontides) and its adjacent areas in We now present a brief Palaeozoic history of central
southern Greece, Syria and Iraq. However, the Gondwana, together with some new palaeogeogra-
many Palaeozoic rocks there are divided between phical maps. The latter were plotted using the
a northern Pontides Terrane and a southern Taurides SPlates reconstruction system, which is based on
Terrane, with the two separated by a central zone of digitized modern-day polygons (Labails et al. 2009)
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148 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

and relative rotation parameters (mostly listed in Cambrian

Torsvik et al. 2008a, 2009b). Before 320 Ma, the
location of Gondwana through time (Figs 3a & 4) We present a map for 510 Ma, in Middle Cambrian
is based on the palaeomagnetic data listed in times (Fig. 5). The South Pole was located under
Torsvik & Van der Voo (2002). After that point it Mali and India, east Antarctica, the Falkland
is based on a global APW path in southern African Isles and Patagonia were all in much warmer lati-
co-ordinates taken from Torsvik et al. (2008c). tudes at c. 308S. Although derived primarily from
The movement of the South Pole with respect to palaeomagnetic data, those latitudes are confirmed
southern Africa is shown in Figure 4, in which by the fossils found (e.g. the rich Cambrian trilo-
we show the South Pole location at the times bite faunas known from limestones in Antarctica;
of our reconstructions (Figs 5 –13). Note that the Shergold 1988).
reconstructions in Figures 1 and 5–13 and are rela- For the southern Gondwana margin we follow
tive reconstructions against a fixed Africa, but the Rapela et al. (2003) who described Middle Cam-
ancient South Pole and palaeolatitudes are superim- brian orogeny in the Sierra de la Ventana Fold Belt
posed on the maps. of Argentina, through the Cape Fold Belt of South
A short summary of the Precambrian is also Africa and continuing eastwards into the Transan-
included to put the Palaeozoic into perspective. tarctic Mountains of Antarctica. That orogeny
The Lower Palaeozoic time scale and correlation included substantial Middle and Upper Cambrian
follows Cocks et al. (2010). volcanism in South America and Antarctica, and
metamorphism and the intrusion of granites in the
Precambrian prelude Middle Cambrian of South Africa and southern
Namibia (Tankard et al. 2009; Gaucher et al. 2010).
There are substantial Precambrian shields under- How the rifting between that belt and Patagonia, the
lying Africa, South America, Antarctica, Arabia, Antarctic Peninsula and other terranes related to the
Madagascar and India (Fig. 2). Africa consists of oblique subduction of the Palaeo-Ocean Plate under
a cluster of separate intra-cratonic units: north Antarctica, in which those terranes were accreted to
Africa and the Meseta, northeast Africa, south all of southern Gondwana during the Lower Palaeo-
Africa, Somalia and Lake Victoria, all of whose zoic, is uncertain. Duebendorfer & Rees (1998)
boundaries (derived from Torsvik et al. 2009b) identified the Ellsworth –Whitmore Terrane of Ant-
are shown on the maps here. There is published dis- arctica as one of those allochthonous terranes. Bauer
agreement on the precise timing within the Neopro- et al. (2003) described substantial orogenic activity,
terozoic of the assembly of Africa (compare including the intrusion of a syenite, in a belt on the
Veevers 2004 with Meert 2003), but it was largely margin between Antarctica and India. All these
complete before the end of the Precambrian apart Cambrian disturbances were the final phases of the
from the Meseta of Morocco and the final south largely Neoproterozoic Pan-African Orogeny.
Africa–South American welding. However, tec- The northern margin of central Gondwana to the
tonic activity around several of the Neoproterozoic west of Turkey was also active through Cambrian
sutures carried on into the Early Phanerozoic. time. In contrast, the sector immediately to its east
In particular, the Pan-Gondwanan Orogeny (also reviewed by Torsvik & Cocks (2009) was passive
termed the Pan-African or Saldanian Orogeny) is once the latest Neoproterozoic–earliest Cambrian
now recognized in South America, Africa, Antarc- tectonics, which included the intrusion of granites
tica, India and Australia and lasted from c. 600 Ma (e.g. in the Alborz Terrane of Iran; Zanchi et al.
into the Cambrian at c. 530 Ma, as reviewed by 2009), were over. On the Arabian Plate and adjacent
Harley (2003). The Late Neoproterozoic (Edia- Iran there were substantial shallow-marine carbon-
caran) to Early Cambrian (630– 525 Ma) history of ates, including some Middle Cambrian evaporites
southern South America was described by Bossi & (Konert et al. 2001). In Saxo-Thuringia there is an
Cingolani (2010). They envisaged a tangential col- unconformity between Neoproterozoic basement
lision between elements of the Rio de la Plata rocks and a Lower Ordovician transgressive sequence
block during the Early Cambrian at about 530 Ma, (Linnemann 2003), so we have portrayed land there
thereby finally closing the ocean which had pre- which extended westwards into northern Armorica.
viously existed between Argentina and south Africa. In Perunica there are continental sediments,
In the Late Neoproterozoic at c. 560 Ma, a change shallow- to deep-water clastics and volcanics (Hav-
took place from predominantly transpressional tec- lı́ček in Chlupáč et al. 1998). Álvaro et al. (2003)
tonics to a transtensional regime on the Arabian presented nine successive facies maps of the north-
Peninsula (Oterdoom et al. 1999). This led to the ern margin from Avalonia through Morocco and
formation of NE –SW trending basins in Oman Iberia to Perunica, which have also helped us to con-
and adjacent areas which persisted into the Early struct Figure 5. In Arabia, El-Araby & Abdel-
Cambrian. Motelib (1999) described floodplain deposits with
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 149

an

˚S
ce

60
s O Baltica
e tu
Iap

Avalonia Iberia
Saxothuringia

70
Z
OM

˚S
tral
Cen ria
I e
b NA
n
ea S Armorica
c Oc Ca
i Perunica
he

80˚
SA
R

S
NW Africa

Morocco
South
W. Sahara Pole NE Africa Bruno-
Tunisia
Silesia
Algeria
Mauritania
Libya
Taoudeni Basin Mali
Egypt

Early Ordovician: 480 Ma Land

Baltica Shallow shelf
Deep shelf
˚S
70 Ocean
Volcanics Lingulides
Avalonia

ria
Ibe Armorica

Saxo-
n thuringia
cea
O Perunica
e ic
Rh

South
Pole Bruno-
Silesia

Fig. 6. North-central Gondwana and southern Europe in the Early Ordovician at 480 Ma (near the Tremadocian –Floian
boundary). A reconstruction for all of Central Gondwana at the same age is shown in Figure 1. Above: map of
modern crustal units, with Palaeozoic outcrops shown (in black) in Iberia, Armorica, Saxothuringia and Perunica
(Pink: Tindouf Basin; yellow: Taoudeni Basin). Below: palaeogeography of the same area, including volcanoes and
localities of the large lingulid fauna within the Armorican Quartzite (see text). (Ca, Calabria; NA, North Armorica;
OMZ, Ossa Morena Zone; S, Sardinia; SA, South Armorica.)

occasional marine incursions characterized by trilo- There are 520 Ma granites in Florida which follow
bite tracks in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Rift Early Cambrian volcanic arc rocks there.
basins developed between Gondwana and Avalonia, The palaeogeography shown in Figure 5 is
heralding the opening of the Rheic Ocean in the ear- highly speculative in many places; for example,
liest Ordovician (von Raumer & Stampfli 2008). in northwest Africa the extensive Tindouf and
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150 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

Taodeni basins are separated by the substantial Armorican Quartzite is unconformable (locally
Reguibat Massif of Precambrian rocks. There is no termed the Sardic or Toledanian Unconformity)
way of knowing whether that massif represented over an irregular variety of Precambrian and early
land at the time (as we have shown on the map) Cambrian rocks, many of which had been deformed
or whether it was covered by shallow seas, since in the Late Neoproterozoic Cadomian Orogeny.
there are apparently widespread Cambrian lime- Although the maturity of the quartzite grains appar-
stones on the southern margin of the Tindouf ently indicates transport some way from a substan-
Basin (Deynoux et al. in Holland 1985). The palaeo- tial land area, McDougall et al. (1987) plausibly
geographical situation in the Early Cambrian is even concluded that the Armorican Quartzite of the
less certainly known, which is why we have not con- Central Iberia Zone of north Portugal was deposited
structed a map older than for the Middle Cambrian within a variety of disconnected basins adjacent
at 510 Ma. to various more local land masses. In Figure 6, we
therefore show several land areas near the high-
Ordovician latitude edge of Gondwana. That model is supported
by the Middle Ordovician diagram shown in Robar-
We present maps for the northern part of the region det (2002, fig. 4) in which the facies of both north
for 480 Ma at the very end of the earliest Ordovician Armorica and the Central Iberia Zone show pro-
stage (the Tremadocian; Fig. 6) and for the whole gressive average fining southwards towards the
area in the latest Ordovician at 445 Ma (Fig. 7), centre of Gondwana rather than towards the ocean
when the Hirnantian glacial episode was at its peak. to its north (as would be expected if it were a con-
The South Pole lay under Algeria and Guinea, tinuous sheet). The facies data comes from many
respectively. sources, particularly Legrand (e.g. 1974) for north
Published opinions differ as to when Avalonia Africa. The faunas of the Armorican quartzite are
left the Gondwanan margin but, after reviewing a subset of the largely Gondwanan Neseuretus-
the data and faunas, Cocks & Fortey (2009) con- calymenacean trilobite Province of the early Ordo-
cluded that it was during the Early Ordovician (pro- vician, as reviewed by Fortey & Cocks (2003).
bably the Early –Mid-Tremadocian at c. 485 Ma). A Although Neseuretus itself is recorded from some
widening Rheic Ocean developed at high latitudes places, those shallow-water faunas within the quart-
in the then Arctic region between north-western zite facies are dominated by unusual and mainly
Gondwana and Avalonia. In Figure 6 we show a very large lingulide brachiopods. These sites are
wider Rheic Ocean at 480 Ma (alternatively, there shown in Figure 6, including Lingulobolus brimonti,
could have been considerable pre-drift extension L. hawkei, Pseudobolus? salteri, Ectenoglossa
or a combination of the two) compared to our lesueuri and Lingulepis crassipyxis which are
earlier reconstructions. This is in order to limit all illustrated by Cocks (2000, fig. 3) and others
Early Ordovician Avalonian plate velocity to which were endemic to the area. The Neseuretus-
20 cm a21, since Avalonia had moved to mid south- calymenacean trilobite Province is known from
erly latitudes by the Mid-Ordovician. It should also many sites in the higher-latitude parts of Gondwana,
be noted that if we reconstruct Avalonia strictly by including Saudi Arabia (Fortey & Morris 1982).
Early Ordovician palaeomagnetic data (based on The high-latitude Mediterranean Province shelly
the c. 485 Ma Trefgarne Volcanics pole in Wales faunas (Havlı́ček et al. 1994) are found across most
of Trench et al. 1992), Avalonia would be geo- of southern and central Europe, including Avalonia
graphically inverted and rotating heavily during its (e.g. in Shropshire, England) and north Africa in the
initial separation from the Gondwana margin; we earlier parts of the Ordovician, and many of those
attribute those anomalous data to local rotations faunal elements continued upwards into the Middle
in Wales. However, palaeomagnetic poles from Ordovician in some places. Dominant in the Medi-
Armorica (e.g. Nysæther et al. 2002), Perunica, terranean Province are genera which were mostly
Saxothuringia and mean Gondwana (in African originally described from Bohemia, including the
co-ordinates and shown in Fig. 4b) match our brachiopods Tafilaltia, Tissintia and Aegiromena
Early Ordovician reconstruction within error. as reviewed by Havlı́ček et al. (1994). The generic
The Armorican Quartzite facies, often termed diversity of the faunas in that province is (unsurpris-
the Grès Armoricain, is of Floian to Darriwilian ingly) lower than the diversity of contemporary
(Arenig but some Llanvirn) age and stretches faunas from lower latitudes, such as those from
across much of north Africa and southern Europe Laurentia and the Australasian parts of Gondwana,
as far northwards as Brittany. This is an amazingly due largely to the higher palaeolatitudes of north-
widespread facies whose thickness varies from a central Gondwana. An analysis of the faunas across
few metres to over 600 m (generally 150 –300 m the substantial Cantabrian Zone of Spain (Gutiérrez-
thick) and is sporadically distributed over a very Marco et al. 1999) shows the Mediterranean Pro-
large area of shallow shelf (Fig. 6). Much of the vince to be very consistent, right down to the
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 151

Iberia ++
eic
Rh Armorica

South Pole
NW
Africa

NE
Africa

Arabia

South
America
60◦S

South Africa

r
ca
gas
a da
M India

445 Ma
Hirnantian

30◦S Ice sheet Land

Shallow Deep Shelf
East
F
Antarctica Ocean Source Rocks
(c. 439-424 Ma)

Glaciogenic seds. Ice

Hirnantia Fauna flows
+ Plutons Volcanics

Fig. 7. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area near Ordovician–Silurian boundary time at 445 Ma,
showing the glacial and peri-glacial features of the Hirnantian glaciation. The north African and Arabian ice sheet is
shown at its maximum extent, but its boundary in central and southern Africa is poorly constrained. The ice cap shown in
south Africa may have extended westwards to Argentina. All the Hirnantia Fauna sites represent shallow marine
deposits presumably deposited in one or more interglacial episodes, although some give the false appearance of being
within the ice cap on the figure. The Early Silurian (Llandovery) hydrocarbon source rocks in north Africa and Arabia
are also shown here (F, Falkland Islands; P, Perunica).
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152 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

species level. Havlı́ček & Branisa (1980) estab- ice sheet on our map (Fig. 7) is largely taken from
lished that the genera (but not the species) of the Le Heron & Craig (2008) and augments data
Mediterranean Province also extended westwards shown by Cocks & Torsvik (2002, fig. 6). The thick-
into South America (Bolivia). Early Ordovician vol- est glacial deposits known (over 260 m) are from
canics and non-marine sediments were deposited in hydrocarbon wells in southern Algeria. The maps by
the intra-continental Paraná Basin of Brazil. Ghienne et al. (2007) covering all of north Africa
The occurrence of many Mediterranean Prov- were also used, and Denis et al. (2006) demon-
ince elements in Avalonia in the Early but not the strated that glaciogenic sediments occurred in north-
Middle Ordovician argues for the proximity of east Niger. Hirnantian glacial deposits are also
Avalonia to Gondwana in the Tremadocian. This known from the Taurides of Turkey (Monod et al.
lends further support to the arguments against a 2003), South Africa (Rust in Holland 1981) and the
latest Neoproterozoic separation of Avalonia from Paraná and other basins in Brazil (Caputo 1998).
Gondwana, as maintained by a minority of authors There were at least two substantial glacial advances
as reviewed by Cocks & Fortey (2009). However, over most of the area: for example, in Jordan and
the faunal differences between Avalonia and Saudi Arabia (Armstrong et al. 2009) and in Niger
the rest of the peri-Gondwanan terranes of south- (Denis et al. 2006). However, the extent of the ice
central Europe subsequently steadily increased cap across central and southern Africa is not well
and had become substantial by Mid-Ordovician known and its (current) southern margins on
(Darriwilian–Llanvirn) times. As the Rheic Ocean Figure 7 are poorly constrained. It is also uncertain
widened and the distances across the Iapetus whether or not the ice in south Africa was continu-
Ocean between Avalonia and Laurentia and across ous with the main ice cap in north Africa and
the Tornquist Ocean between Avalonia and Baltica South America. During the Hirnantian, the charac-
steadily dwindled, the Avalonian faunas became teristic and relatively shallower-water Hirnantia
progressively more similar to those of Laurentia brachiopod Fauna was widespread. Its sites are also
and Baltica, as reviewed by Fortey & Cocks (2003) shown on Figure 7, including some data points taken
and Cocks (2010). from Rong & Harper (1988) and Sutcliffe et al.
Above the northern sector of the African Craton, (2001). The latter also noted that most of the
sedimentation continued in the many basins, varying Hirnantia Fauna localities can be dated as restricted
from marine through tidal and shoreface to non- to a single graptolite biozone, the extraordinarius
marine, all with many local unconformities as docu- Zone. Paris et al. (1995) plotted the sites of the
mented for the Murzuq Basin of Libya by Ramos various distinctive chitinozoan microfloras recov-
et al. (2006). Wells in the west of Syria, Iraq and ered from the glacial and periglacial areas.
Turkey penetrated substantial Ordovician sand- Before the Hirnantian glaciation there was a
stones while those in the SE have much added Late Katian warmer period, however, originally
shale, all indicating more open marine conditions identified by Villas et al. (2002) and termed the
to the east (Brew et al. 2001). In the Arabian and Boda Event by Fortey & Cocks (2005). That event
Iranian areas the craton was inundated in the Early facilitated the sedimentation of the only carbonates
Ordovician (Tremadocian –Dapingian) and deeper- known from the Ordovician of north Africa, which
shelf sediments are found to the north in Syria, are to be seen in the form of small bryozoan patch
Jordan and interior Iran. However, from Sandbian reefs occurring at very high palaeolatitudes (about
times onwards there were substantial marine pro- 708S) in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
grading clastic sediments deposited over much During the Katian, the globally distributed Folio-
of the Arabian Plate in inner-neritic to estuarine mena brachiopod Fauna (reviewed by Rong et al.
or deltaic environments (Konert et al. 2001). 1999) occurs sporadically in deeper shelf deposits
Paris et al. (2007) analysed the microfossils (chiti- of central Gondwana, for example in Sardinia
nozoans and acritarchs) from the Gondwanan Ordo- (Leone et al. 1991).
vician, and concluded that a distinctive Northern
Gondwanan Realm stretched from Morocco to Silurian
Iran. Some species of these microplankton migrated
across the Tornquist Ocean from Baltica to the Since it was the shortest Palaeozoic period, we
Taurides of Turkey from the Middle Ordovician present no maps of the Silurian here. The Hirnantian
(Darriwilian) onwards. Oterdoom et al. (1999) 445 Ma map (Fig. 7) shows the area just before its
described potassic-mafic volcanics of 460 Ma start at 443 Ma, and the Early Devonian 410 Ma
(Sandbian) age in Oman, which characterize a map (Fig. 8) soon after its finish at 416 Ma. How-
failed rifting event there. ever, during that 35 Ma period, Gondwana drifted
The close of the Ordovician was heralded by the relatively quickly, with the South Pole moving
relatively brief Hirnantian Ice Age, which is best from north Africa (Algeria) to southern Brazil. Fol-
demonstrated in north Africa. The NW edge of the lowing the latest Ordovician Hirnantian glaciation,
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 153

Iberia

30◦S Armorica

eic
Rh
P

Palae
otethy
NW s
Africa

60◦S NE
Africa

Arabia

South
America

South Africa

South Pole ca
r
gas
ada
M
India

410 Ma
Lochkovian
Land Evaporites
East
F Antarctica Shallow Shelf
Deep Shelf
Ocean
Volcanics Reefs
+ Plutons

Fig. 8. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area in the Early Devonian Lochkovian Stage at 410 Ma
(F, Falkland Islands; P, Perunica).

the global climate gradually warmed right from the Wenlock diamictites with age-diagnostic chitinozoa
start of the Silurian. However, glaciation continued in the Amazon Basin (Grahn & Paris 1992; Caputo
in Brazil where there are non-marine diamictites in 1998). Significant amounts of kaolinite in the petro-
the Paraná Basin and marine Llandovery and liferous Lower Silurian shales of north Africa
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154 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

indicate colder climates, but no obvious glaciogenic not open until the latest Silurian at the earliest.
sediments have been found there. The Palaeotethys rifting was accompanied by a
Over much of northern Gondwana and southern fall in sea level which continued into the earliest
Europe there were extensive transgressions, with Devonian, resulting in coastal sand bar, tidal and
deposits of thin black shales with graptolites, ortho- fluvial deposits in Algeria and Libya. At the southern
cones and some bivalves. Poor seawater circulation margin, the low-diversity, higher-latitude Late
led to widespread anoxia on those sea floors, and Silurian Clarkeia brachiopod Fauna is known in
there was a relative lack of sediment supply because clastic rocks from many sites in South America
the north margin of Gondwana was passive until and also less frequently in west Africa. That fauna
close to the end of the period and there were there- was the precursor of the main southern high-latitude
fore fewer adjacent uplands. These Upper Llandov- Devonian Malvinokaffric Province known from the
ery and Lower Wenlock black shales, often termed same general region.
the Tanezzuft Formation (although it is laterally
discontinuous between the various basins) are the Devonian
estimated source of 80– 90% of all the important
north African hydrocarbons (Lüning et al. 2000). We present two maps: at 410 Ma at the end of the
Legrand (1981) provided successive outcrop and earliest Devonian Lochkovian Stage (Fig. 8) and
palaeogeographical maps of Algeria for the whole at 380 Ma (Fig. 9) during the Upper Devonian Fras-
of the Silurian. nian Stage. During those 30 Ma Gondwana did not
In Arabia (including Iran) there are also very drift as rapidly as during the Silurian; the South
extensive shales of Llandovery age – the Qusaiba Pole only moved from southern Brazil to Angola.
Shale in Saudi Arabia, the Mudawwara Shale in In the northern sector, the earliest Devonian low
Jordan, the Sahmah Formation in Oman, the Abba stand was succeeded by a substantial Late Lochko-
Formation in Syria, the Dadas Formation in south- vian to Emsian marine transgression over much of
east Turkey and the Ghakum and Sarchahan For- north Africa, which had by that time migrated into
mations in Iran – which together form the most subtropical latitudes. Those lower palaeolatitudes
prolific hydrocarbon source rocks of the Palaeozoic of about 308S enabled the deposition of substantial
in the world (Konert et al. 2001; Bordenave & evaporites in Algeria and Arabia, as shown in
Hegre 2010). Armstrong et al. (2009) demonstrated Figure 8. Boucot et al. (1983) monographed the
that the lower ‘hot shales’ in Jordan and Saudi shallow-water brachiopods occurring just above
Arabia were linked to freshening in a permanently the unconformity in the Ghadames and Murzuq
stratified basin caused by the influx of deglacial basins of Libya and northern Niger, typical repre-
meltwater. However, in a few areas of the northern sentatives of the Old World Province of Boucot
sector of Gondwana more aerated conditions pre- et al. (1969). Moreau et al. (1994) dated the Air
vailed. For example, volcanics occurred in northern intrusives of Niger, which have yielded significant
Spain, near which one of the few Early Silurian palaeomagnetic data, as c. 407 Ma (Pragian –
brachiopod faunas known from southern and Emsian). Konert et al. (2001) described the
central Europe and north Africa was found (Villas Arabian Plate in the Emsian and noted that a large
& Cocks 1996) which, unusually for the Llandov- delta front developed over the craton in Saudi
ery, contains two endemic genera and several Arabia, to the NE of which were mixed marine sili-
species. Legrand (1994) also documented sea-level ciclastics and carbonates. Plusquellec et al. (1997)
and faunal changes during the Late Wenlock and compared the crinoids, brachiopods and trilobites
Early Ludlow in Algeria and concluded that, from north Africa, Iberia and Armorica with those
despite evidence of a latest Wenlock regression, in Laurussia and established that the Rheic Ocean
there was no significant break in sedimentation in was wide enough for considerable faunal differ-
that area (in contrast to the unconformity seen in ences to be seen on its opposite margins. Global
most of the rest of the Saharan area). temperatures had increased slowly in the Silurian,
Near the end of the Silurian there was rifting and virtually all of the Devonian was a greenhouse
which heralded the opening of the Palaeotethys period. This can be demonstrated by the distribution
Ocean between Gondwana and Iberia, Armorica, of reefs which Copper (2002) plotted throughout the
Moldanubia, Bruno-Silesia, Perunica and other period. They were present in the Early Pragian
terranes which are now part of central Europe in Saudi Arabia, in the Late Pragian –Emsian in
(McCann 2008). We previously (e.g. Cocks & Morocco and Mauritania and were numerous in
Torsvik 2002) thought that Armorica and the others the Givetian and Frasnian in Morocco and Algeria
had left Gondwana at the same Early Ordovician and in the Taurides of Turkey (Wehrmann et al.
time as Avalonia (as did other authors, e.g. Blakey 2010). However, there were no reefs in the sub-
2008). However, the arguments by Robardet (2002, sequent Famennian of northern Africa (Copper
2003) have convinced us that the Palaeotethys did 2002), and some Famennian glaciogenic sediments
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 155

30◦
S
eic
Rh Pa
la eo
te
NW thy
Africa s

◦S
60
NE
Africa

Arabia
South
America

South Africa

South Pole

r
ca
as
ag
ad
M
India

380 Ma
Frasnian
Land
F Shallow Shelf
Deep Shelf
East Ocean
Antarctica
Source Rocks (c. 386-363 Ma)
Reefs

Fig. 9. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area in the Late Devonian (Frasnian Stage) at 380 Ma
(F, Falkland Islands).

are known from north Africa as well as from hydrocarbon source rocks there (Lüning et al.
the Frasnian and Famennian of South America 2003). There were several volcanic ring complexes
(Caputo et al. 2008). There are extensive Late Devo- in the uplands of the Sudan area, and the associated
nian (Frasnian and Famennian) black shales in north tectonic activity caused substantial sandstones to
Africa, particularly in Algeria, forming substantial be shed into the local non-marine basins. In the
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156 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

Amazon Basin, Grahn & Paris (1992) have recorded in the central Gondwana area, which included sub-
Lochkovian marine sediments dated by chitinozoa; stantial thrusting and uplift in both Morocco and
we therefore show a marine incursion at that point Algeria as well as the accretion of the Meseta of
on our map (Fig. 8). Morocco to form an integral part of the African
At the southern margin the low-diversity and sector of the supercontinent.
cooler-water Malvinokaffric Province, largely Central Gondwana was substantially affected by
defined on brachiopods such as Australospirifer the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation, which had
and Australocoelia by Boucot et al. (1969) and many separate glacial episodes and which probably
peaking in the Emsian, continued on from the Late lasted for much of the second half of the Carbonifer-
Silurian. It is characteristic of south-central Gond- ous and into the Early Permian (its total duration is
wana, with its name derived from a combination controversial, with some authors asserting that the
of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and the Kaffir glacial period was shorter). Eyles (1993, fig. 16.1)
tribes of South Africa. That province is known reviewed the whole series of glaciations, and con-
from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, cluded that they started in the Early Visean (at
Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, Ghana, South c. 340 Ma) in South America. In contrast, the glacia-
Africa and Antarctica, and extended westwards to tion did not start until much later (after 320 Ma) in
Chile (Fortey et al. 1982). Copper (1977) reviewed South Africa (Visser 1997; Isbell et al. 2008a) and
all of the South American Devonian rocks, their Australia, but continued there later than in South
contained brachiopod communities and their distri- America (Caputo et al. 2008) until about 280 Ma,
bution. He recognized a northern belt with higher- well into Permian time. Although the Late Carbon-
diversity Appalachian affinities and a southern iferous saw the maximum extent of the ice caps over
belt with the lower-diversity Malvinokaffric fauna, Gondwana as a whole, there are no documented
both mirroring the palaeolatitudes, which have Carboniferous glaciogenic rocks in Antarctica
become much better palaeomagnetically con- (Isbell et al. 2008b). Bussert & Schrank (2007)
strained over the past 20 years. In South Africa, described the glacial sediments of Ethiopia and con-
Tankard et al. (2009) recognized a Bokkeveld – cluded that glacial uplands adjacent to Ethiopia
Witteberg late extensional phase which lasted must have existed in Eritrea and probably also in
through the Devonian into the Early Carboniferous, southern and central Saudi Arabia, all well away
causing large-scale subsidence which created the from the South Pole. Martin et al. (2008) described
substantial sediment-filled basins there. The Early the glaciogenic sediments in Oman, which began in
Devonian coastline of south-central Gondwana in the Upper Carboniferous (Moscovian) rocks and
Figure 8 follows Hunter & Lomas (2003). continued into the Permian. However, because of
the varied dating and interpretations, we have not
Carboniferous portrayed any ice sheets on our Late Carboniferous
map (Fig. 11).
We present two maps: one for 350 Ma (Fig. 10) In the northern part of central Gondwana there
during the Lower Carboniferous Tournaisian Stage was extensive marine transgression, with the shore-
and the other for 310 Ma (Fig. 11) in the Upper Car- line retreating as far south as Nigeria. However,
boniferous Moscovian Stage. During that 40 Ma there were several subsequent regressions and trans-
period, the position of the South Pole changed gressions, which resulted in interbedded marine and
from beneath central Africa to below Antarctica. continental rocks over much of southern Algeria and
The main global event of the period was the Libya. The Moscovian lakes depicted in north
union of Gondwana with Laurussia to form Africa in Figure 11 follow Vai (2003). In the
Pangea, but the initial collision consisted of an Arabian Peninsula, the Palmyrides Trough was
oblique soft docking. The prime Laurussian –Gond- developed across central Syria and continued there
wanan collision zone was in the southern US and until the end of the Cretaceous (Brew et al. 2001).
central America, outside the area of the maps In the southern region there were also extensive
in this paper. The southern margin of Laurentia/ lakes. The palaeogeography of southern South
Laurussia had previously remained passive since America, South Africa and adjacent areas follows
the late Neoproterozoic. The Pangean collision Augustsson et al. (2006) who, from the analysis of
was heralded by the Early Carboniferous down- detrital zircons within conglomerates, established
warping of the Ouachita Basin in the US and is that Patagonia was autochthonous or very close to
reflected directly in the compressional deformations the main part of southern Gondwana by the Late
first recorded in the Middle Carboniferous of Okla- Carboniferous. Augustsson et al. (2006) also estab-
homa; these peaked in the Late Carboniferous and lished that subduction outboard of Patagonia must
the final phase of the accretion was complete in have started before 300 Ma in accordance with
the earliest Permian. It was not until the Late Pankhurst et al. (2006), who published both Early
Carboniferous that the Hercynian Orogeny occurred and Late Carboniferous reconstructions of that
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 157

30
eic Pa ◦S
Rh la eo
tet
hy
s
NW
Africa

60
◦S
NE
Africa
Arabia

South South Pole

America

South Africa

r
ca
as
d ag
a
M India

350 Ma
Tournaisian
Land
East
F Antarctica
Shallow Shelf
Deep Shelf
Ocean
Source Rocks (c. 356-336 Ma)

Volcanics Reefs

Fig. 10. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area in the Tournaisian Stage of the Early Carboniferous at
350 Ma. The southern margin of Gondwana is poorly constrained (see text; F, Falkland Islands).

wider region. In South Africa, Tankard et al. (2009) Supergroup, Bangert et al. (1999) established
characterized lithospheric subsidence there which that the glaciogenic sediments in Namibia started
created the basins in which the widespread Karroo at 302 Ma and that Dwyka Group sedimentation
Supergroup was deposited. Through radiometric continued until the end of the Carboniferous. The
ages from the tuffs within the glaciogenic sediments positions of parts of the old lands that were at the
of the Dwyka Group at the base of the Karroo southern margin of the supercontinent are poorly
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158 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

North America Variscan Iberia

Pal
ian ae
an

ot
h
eg

eth
ll
A

ys
NW
Africa

◦S NE
30 Africa

Arabia

EA
South
America

N G
PA
South Africa
r
ca
as
ag
ad
M India

310 Ma
Moscovian
++ East
Antarctica Land Kimberlite
K
F Shallow Shelff
South Pole Deep Shelf
60◦S

Ocean
Lakes + Plutons

Fig. 11. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area in the Late Carboniferous Moscovian Stage at 310 Ma. The
southern margin of Gondwana is poorly constrained (see text; F, Falkland Islands). The Variscan and Alleghanian
mountain belts are shown in a darker tone.

constrained; there are no Carboniferous marine Permian at 250 Ma (Fig. 13). At 280 Ma the South
rocks in south Africa and data from South America Pole still lay under Antarctica, and the central Gond-
are also sparse. wanan part of Pangea spanned all the southern hemi-
sphere palaeolatitudes. Before 250 Ma, the South
Permian Pole was too far away from Gondwana to appear on
our reconstruction. For the first time in the Palaeo-
We present two maps: for the Early Permian Artins- zoic the Equator appears on our maps; much more
kian Stage at 280 Ma (Fig. 12) and for the end of the of central Gondwana was at tropical low latitudes
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 159

North America Iberia

r Variscan
ato
Equ
Pala
ian eo
an te
t
h
eg

ll

hy
A

s
NW
Africa

NE
Africa

S
30◦ Arabia

South
America

G EA
N
PA
South Africa

r
ca
gas
ada
M
India

◦S
60
280 Ma
+++ Artinskian
+ East Land Kimberlite
Antarctica
F Shallow Shelf
Deep Shelf + Plutons
Ocean Lakes
South Pole
Evaporites Ice sheet

Fig. 12. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area in the Early Permian Artinskian Stage at 280 Ma
(F, Falkland Islands). The Variscan and Alleghanian mountain belts are shown in a darker tone.

by the end of the Permian than at any previous time features for the whole of Gondwana in the Early
in the Palaeozoic. Permian at c. 295 Ma and Isbell et al. (2008a) for
The widespread glacial event continued on from Antarctica; however, there are no Permian glacio-
the Carboniferous and lasted for most of the Early genic rocks known from South America. The sub-
Permian. Veevers (2004, fig. 55) mapped the glacial sequent deglaciation was relatively rapid and
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160 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

Iberia
North America

Palaeot
eth
ys
or
Equat
NW Neote
Africa thy
s

NE Arabia
Africa

South
America

30◦S
G EA
N
PA
South Africa

r
ca
as
ag India
ad
M

250 Ma
+ Land Kimberlite
East Shallow Shelf
Antarctica
F Deep Shelf
◦S
60 Ocean Lakes
Evaporites
Volcanics + Plutons

Fig. 13. The palaeogeography of the central Gondwana area at the end of the Permian at 250 Ma (F, Falkland Islands).

occurred during the Sakmarian at c. 290 Ma, as changed rapidly from tillites to coal-swamp deposits
described for Oman by Crasquin-Soleau et al. (2001). (Ziegler et al. 1997). However, Crasquin-Soleau
Stephenson et al. (2007) reviewed the ages and biota et al. (2001) also documented the Middle Permian
of the post-glacial sediments across the region as the floras in Oman, and discovered that they are a
temperature increased. In the southern part of Gond- mix of Gondwanan (i.e. Glossopteris), Euramerian
wana a substantial Glossopteris forest replaced the and Cathaysian elements, indicating that that area
ice sheets in much of the area, and the sediments was then at the junction between all three major
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PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL GONDWANA 161

floral provinces. There was an enormous lake in Permian. However, Gondwana’s initial assembly,
southern Africa in which more Karroo Supergroup uniting many Precambrian cratons, was only just
sediments were deposited and which contained dis- complete by the start of the Cambrian. The central
tinctive non-marine bivalves. We have followed part of Gondwana described here is today an enor-
Trewin et al. (2002) for the Late Permian (Fig. 13) mous area which includes the whole continent of
in the area from Argentina through the Falklands Africa and the subcontinent of India, as well as
and south Africa to Antarctica, and they show that very substantial parts of South America, Asia
the Witwatersrand Arch separated the east part of (Arabia), Antarctica and southern Europe. The
the lake into two basins: the Kalahari–Botswana position of Africa with respect to the Earth’s deep
Basin to the north and the Karroo Basin to the mantle has certainly remained the most stable of
south. Those Waterford Formation sediments all the continents since the Permian, and may
extended westwards into the Estrada Nova For- also have been so for much longer (perhaps even
mation of Brazil, but to the west of the lake there throughout the Phanerozoic as discussed by Torsvik
were mountains from Paraguay to the Falkland Isles. et al. 2008a, 2010).
In the northern sector of Gondwana, which was Palaeozoic Gondwana had an active northern
in equatorial latitudes, the land area of the Pangea margin from South America to as far eastwards as
continent extended uninterrupted into Europe and Turkey, leading to the opening of the high-latitude
North America. Few Permian rocks are known Rheic Ocean in the earliest Ordovician in its
from most of north Africa west of Egypt, although (current) western sector and the opening of Palaeo-
they occur in Tunisia and in the late Permian reefs tethys at around the beginning of the Devonian in
in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. However, in the the eastern part. The eastern sector also saw rifting
Zagros Fold Belt bordering Arabia, Early Permian leading to the opening of the Neotethys Ocean
fluviatile to shallow-marine clastic sediments were during the Permian. The southern margin of
laid down in the transgression there. These are fol- central Gondwana was active during the Cambrian,
lowed by the Mid- to Late Permian (Kungurian to but after that was relatively passive until and beyond
Kazanian) Dalan Formation, which are largely car- the end of the Palaeozoic. Gondwana slowly moved
bonates including reefs and also many substantial across the South Pole during the Palaeozoic. At the
evaporite deposits (Bordenave & Hegre 2010). start of the Cambrian the pole lay under north
Rifting from near the end of the Mid-Permian Africa, and thus the central Gondwana area was
onwards eventually caused the opening of the Neo- the most affected by the latest Ordovician (Hirnan-
tethys Ocean (Sengor 1990; Ruban et al. 2007) and tian) global glaciation. However, that glacial
the departure of the Taurides, Sanand, Alborz (and episode lasted for less than 2 Ma, a complete con-
other terranes further to today’s east) away from trast to the over 25 Ma of the Late Carboniferous
the north African, Turkish and Arabian sectors of and Early Permian glaciation which is also best evi-
Gondwana, which by that time was part of Pangea. denced in the rocks outcropping in central Gond-
The Late Permian geography in northeast Africa wana. By then Gondwana had drifted and rotated
and Arabia is taken from Husseini (1992). Substan- so that, by the end of the Palaeozoic, the South
tial volcanics in boreholes in Israel and Jordan were Pole lay offshore of Antarctica.
dated at 275 Ma (Kungurian) by Segev & Eshet As can be seen from the palaeogeographical
(2003) at the NW boundary of the Arabian Plate maps in this paper, varying amounts of Gondwana
near its junction with the southern end of the and (later) Pangea were land but much of the cra-
Taurides Terrane. The Late Permian development tonic areas were covered by shallow shelf seas. In
of the Palmyride Trough in Syria and adjacent addition, there were several very extensive inland
areas is an aulacogen caused by extension associ- lakes during much of the Upper Palaeozoic (espe-
ated with local rifting (Brew et al. 2001). The cially in central and southern Africa) in which
global maps published for the Permian by Vai the Karoo Supergroup was deposited and which
(2003) and Ziegler et al. (1997) were also used to contain many important faunas and floras. How-
plot the facies and non-marine deposits in north ever, since much of Gondwana was at high palaeo-
Africa and elsewhere. At the close of the Permian, latitudes, the biotas were not generally so diverse
the greatest biotic extinction event of the whole there as seen elsewhere throughout the Palaeozoic.
Phanerozoic occurred.
We much appreciate discussions and comments from
many colleagues, especially N. Hughes (UC Riverside)
Conclusions and R. Van der Voo (Michigan). We are also grateful to
Statoil (The African Project) for funding and to The
Gondwana was by far the largest continent (and the Natural History Museum, London, for the provision of
only supercontinent) during the Palaeozoic until its facilities. It is a pleasure to dedicate this paper to Kevin
merger with Laurussia to form the even larger super- Burke and Lew Ashwal to help celebrate their 80th and
continent of Pangea in the Carboniferous and 60th birthdays.
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162 T. H. TORSVIK & L. R. M. COCKS

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