Fossils, frogs, floating islands and expanding Earth in changing-radius cartography – A comment to a discussion on Journal of Biogeography

Abstract

In this short note I have tried to make clear the issues surrounding a recent discussion on changing-radius paleobiogeographical problems of the Pacific Ocean biotic distribution. It is stressed that such an important discussion cannot be developed in the absence of proper cartographic methods that must necessarily introduce an increasing radius parameter, highlighting the effects of a changing curvature in the continental/oceanic plates in their movements from a globe of a given radius to a new position on a globe of different radius. Many other aspects of paleogeography, paleomagnetism, paleoclimate can be faced in a new and more open-mind philosophy and considered in a legitimate additional degree of freedom: globe size increasing. The new increasing-radius Cartography can become of fundamental importance for the advancement of science – not only of Earth sciences.

Keywords

• changing radius cartography
• paleogeography
• biogeography
• Pacific paleobiogeography
• expanding Earth