History of Gondwana

A supercontinent made up of South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica. It existed from around 300 to 200 million years ago. These continents are now widely separated. What evidence is there that they were once joined together?

• the occurrence of tillites (glacial deposits) of 286 million years ago (the Permo-Carboniferous)
• similar plants and animal fossils are found in them but not in the Northern Hemisphere, in particular the widely distributed seed fern Glossopteris

The rocks that contain this evidence are called the Karoo (Karroo) System in South Africa, the Gondwana System in India, and the Santa Catharina System in South America.