Our eighth continent?  He is older than he thought

Scientists say that tens of millions of years ago there could have been a continent that included the present-day Balkans and Turkey. The Lost Land sheds light on the great Eocene extinction, which is also a relatively recent discovery.

Balkantolia, as the ancient land was called, was supposed to lie between Europe, Asia and Africa. from the study that Posted in Earth Science Reviews It shows that about 50 million years ago it was a large archipelago isolated from neighboring continents. As a result of lower sea levels, rising Antarctic ice sheets and tectonic changes, the Balkans merged with Western Europe about 40-34 million years ago.

Mammal “invasion” of Europe

In this way, the ancient continent created a land bridge that allowed Asian mammals to colonize southern Europe. According to the study’s authors, this event may have had an impact on the Great Eocene extinction that occurred about 33 million years ago.

Scientists say one of the main reasons remains the glaciation that led to the extinction of two-thirds of animals in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. However, the “invasion” of Asian mammals may have contributed to the disappearance of many native species in Europe.

Our eighth continent?  He is older than he thought

Our eighth continent? He is older than he thought

However, fossils found in the Balkans indicate that Asian mammals were already in southern Europe 5-10 million years before the Great Extinction known as Grande Copy. French paleontologist Butxis Licht and his team of French, American, and Turkish scholars have attempted to explain this discrepancy.

Scientists analyzed the fossils in Turkey (Büyükteflek), and concluded that they were 38-35 million years old and clearly belonged to animals of Asian origin.

Imagine Balkantolia
Image source: © CNRS | Alexis Licht

Imagine Balkantolia

Researchers have also analyzed evidence from all known fossil sites in the Balkans and Anatolia, sometimes reassessing their dating based on current geological data. They figured it out The Balkans must have been inhabited by Asian mammals before Grand Coupe, paving the way for them to Europe.

Scientists have noticed that, too Their concept of the existence of this southern spread of Asian plants is still under debate. The Science Alert website stresses that many of the geological changes that began in the Balkans are not yet fully understood, so keep in mind that the new survey is just an interpretation of the fossil record by a single team.

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