Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did the breakup of Pangea isolate plant and animal populations?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Permian paleogeography — Pangea Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins near the end of the Permian Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.

The breakup of Pangea acted as a primary driver of biological isolation by physically separating plant and animal populations across drifting continents.21

As the supercontinent fragmented into smaller landmasses—such as Laurasia and Gondwana—the opening of new ocean channels created impassable geographic barriers. This process, known as allopatric speciation, prevented populations from interbreeding and forced them to adapt to their unique, isolated environments.213

For example, Australia remained separated from other continents since the Eocene Epoch, which explains the development of its distinct flora and fauna. Similarly, South America remained isolated for millions of years, allowing its life-forms to evolve independently until it eventually established a connection with North America. Over time, this geographic fragmentation led to increased biodiversity as life-forms developed specialized adaptations to their new, separated habitats.12