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A Minor Detour; The Indo-Australian Plate hit Africa
Topic Started: Oct 4 2009, 06:36 PM (567 Views)
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I was browsing Wikipedia, and I came up with an interesting idea. What if, through some freak of plate tectonics, the Indo-Australian Plate had collided with Africa instead of Asia? How would life in Africa be different if there was a whacking great mountain range? How would life in Asia be different without the Himalayas? What would be the resulting species crossover result in? Ideas?
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

This is actually an interesting idea.

Would the Indo-Australian just move west instead of east? 'Cause if it did, that would mean Antarctica would also have a large mountain range. Maybe this would allow some African animals to cross into Antarctica.

Antarctic lemurs anyone?



But interesting idea. Better than "What if dinosaurs never went extinct?".
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Scrublord
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Well, Australia wouldn't be the abode of the marsupials for as long as it really was, and Africa might actually have some native marsupial species (today, as far as I know, it has none).
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colddigger
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the yeti would have some serious problems...
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The Dodo
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When was this meant to happen?
Edited by The Dodo, Oct 5 2009, 01:01 AM.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

If I'm correct, the Indo-Australian plate began to break away from Pangaea some 200 million years ago. So I'd say it would happen mid-Jurassic.

Or the plate could just collide with Africa at the same time it collided with Asia on Home Earth (mid to late Cretaceous).
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Carlos
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The indian plate is now known as being distinct from the Australian plate.

If India collided with Africa, this could have some consequences in the climate, but overall I don't think it would affect the overall fauna. Though rather than several indian species of plants and animals in Southeast Asia we would have those in Africa
Lemuria:
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I heartily approve of the idea of African fauna crossing over to Antarctica. Also, Perhaps if Africa had somehow broken away and became an isolated continent. The implications for hominid evolution are pretty huge.
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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

John: are you sure? Because it is well known that Australia is traveling in the same direction as India, and has throughout geological history.


L33T_Largo: maybe we'd finally have Yeti's!

But seriously, the way this would mainly affect evolution would be climate. The mountains would be high, but we've got to figure out what kind of rainshadow this would form.

Would it form a massive desert on the African side of the mountains (the Kilimanjers)? A desert on the Australian side? A grassland (like the American prairie) on the African side? A grassland on the Australian side?

All things we've got to consider.
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Carlos
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Both landmasses are going towards the same destiny (northwards, onto Eurasia), but their plates are distinct nonetheless
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

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Canis Lupis
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

Maybe distinct, but traveling in the same direction. Which insinuates that they've always traveled in the same general direction.
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Jurassic-Gothic
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Apart from geological discussion, I'd think several exotic basal mammals spreading in African lands as well as Marsupial and Monotremes. I'd infer an even more intense diversification for the latter in such conditions. If it can help. :)
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