Great American Biotic Interchange between North and South America
E32264
The Great American Biotic Interchange between North and South America was a major paleozoogeographic event in which land and freshwater animals migrated between the two continents after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, profoundly reshaping their ecosystems and faunas.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Great American Biotic Interchange | 0 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
biogeographic event
ⓘ
faunal interchange ⓘ paleozoogeographic event ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | GABI ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Great American Interchange of plants and marine organisms only indirectly ⓘ |
| beganApprox | late Miocene ⓘ |
| characterizedBy |
asymmetrical migration success
ⓘ
greater success of North American mammals in South America than vice versa ⓘ |
| continuedInto |
Pleistocene epoch
ⓘ
surface form:
Pleistocene
|
| enabledBy | formation of the Isthmus of Panama ⓘ |
| hasKeyRegion | Central America ⓘ |
| impactOn |
composition of New World mammal communities
ⓘ
terrestrial ecosystems of the Americas ⓘ |
| intensifiedIn | Pliocene ⓘ |
| involved |
amphibians
ⓘ
birds ⓘ freshwater animals ⓘ freshwater fishes ⓘ land animals ⓘ mammals ⓘ reptiles ⓘ |
| involvedDispersalOf |
artiodactyls from North America to South America
ⓘ
carnivorans from North America to South America ⓘ glyptodonts from South America to North America ⓘ ground sloths from South America to North America ⓘ opossums from South America to North America ⓘ perissodactyls from North America to South America ⓘ porcupines from South America to North America ⓘ proboscideans from North America to South America ⓘ xenarthrans from South America to North America ⓘ |
| involvedDispersalRoute |
Isthmus of Panama
ⓘ
surface form:
Panamanian land bridge
|
| precededBy | long isolation of South America as an island continent ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Central American Seaway closure
ⓘ
Isthmus of Panama ⓘ |
| resultedIn |
dispersal of North American taxa into South America
ⓘ
dispersal of South American taxa into North America ⓘ establishment of modern Nearctic mammal fauna ⓘ establishment of modern Neotropical mammal fauna ⓘ extinctions of many endemic South American mammals ⓘ major faunal turnover in North America ⓘ major faunal turnover in South America ⓘ |
| studiedIn |
biogeography
ⓘ
evolutionary biology ⓘ paleontology ⓘ |
| tookPlaceBetween |
North America
ⓘ
South America ⓘ |
| tookPlaceIn |
Neogene
ⓘ
Quaternary period ⓘ
surface form:
Quaternary
|
| triggeredBy | closure of the Central American Seaway ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
Pliocene epoch
→
biogeographicEvent
→
Great American Biotic Interchange between North and South America
ⓘ