Will Mammals Be Wiped Out By The Formation Of The Next Supercontinent? GEO GIRL

250 million years from now, the next supercontinent, Pangea Ultima, may cause the mass extinction of all mammals on Earth! In this video, we cover how this supercontinent might form, how it might wipe out mammals, and what some other possibilities are based on the current movement of tectonic plates. Hope you enjoy! ;D
0:00 What is a supercontinent?
1:18 Most recent supercontinent
3:10 Future supercontinent
4:46 Risk to mammals?
6:13 Will mammals even be around?
7:19 Mammal adaptations in next 250 million yrs
8:23 Reduction of habitable land
9:36 Could mammals adapt to the change?
11:16 Eventual climate regulation
12:44 Other possible supercontinents
16:25 Will mammals go extinct in the other scenarios?
17:15 Which mammals might survive?
References:
Way et al., 2021 (The climates of Earth’s next supercontinent: efects of tectonics, rotation rate, and insolation): doi.org/10.102...
Davies et al., 2018 (Back to the future: testing diferent scenarios for the next supercontinent gathering): doi.org/10.101...
theconversatio...
en.wikipedia.o...)
en.wikipedia.o...
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[@AlbertaGeek]

Difficult to believe that rats and mice wouldn't survive.

[@dennisreed6345]

But will humans survive

[@deisisase]

​@@dennisreed6345 humans in there current form won't exist; whether we've evolved or died trying remains to be seen, but Homo sapiens will not exist.

[@pacotaco1246]

What if they evolve into animals that are less suited for surviving by then? There's many millions of years for them to abandon the small generalist style of life

[@lethaleefox6017]

​@@dennisreed6345 humans will become multiple planet and planet independent species along with the other species they will find useful to take along. Earth will be reinvaded from the other habitats in the solar system.

[@AlbertaGeek]

@@pacotaco1246 By what mechanism do you imagine that *_every_* single one of the 64 different species in the entire genus of _Rattus_ would veer off the evolutionary path that made them so successful in the first place? Every single one?

[@connormcgee4711]

Bats are a great example of a potential survivor! On top of the benefits you mentioned, they are also not dependent on mammals in their diet - which will probably be pretty useful if most are going extinct. I'm not sure about the rest of their diet since plants have already changed so much in the last 100 million years, but they should be relatively safe compared to others.

[@Gerbilsarefriends]

Reminds me of the British tv series Primeval, where bats are the super predator of the future.

[@robertab929]

Some bats are on mammalian diet

[@benvandermerwe4934]

So vampire bats need to change to fruit juice?

[@robertab929]

@@benvandermerwe4934 Or vampire bats they can try dinosaur (bird) blood, depending which group will survive.

[@robdiesel2876]

Vampire bats are dependent on mammals. They don't drink lizard blood, or fish blood, or bird blood. But in 250 million years bats probably won't be around anyway.

[@omeshsingh8091]

My intuition tells me that whether mammals go extinct or not would depends on how plants could adapt to the environment. Also, there is the possibility that more amphibious mammals will evolve or that the proportion of Mammalia would shift more towards aquatic/marine mammals than being land based as forced convection in water could help regulate temperature.

[@robertab929]

Aquatic mammals might be also under threat of extinction due to different Sulphur compounds affecting like in water. Remember about igneous/lava provinces and A LOT OF magma, gases, which form/are produced more often when supercontinents exist.

[@easternpainterpg3697]

So wonderful that a young woman can talk about science! I am a lot older, and it was always strange to have an intellectual woman talk about science! Congratulations.

[@monkeymanchronicles]

I’m confused, wouldn’t this be another potential repeat of the Permian mass-extinction? Mammal-like cynodonts actually survived and radiated after that mass extinction by living underground in desertified landscapes. Not sure why that wouldn’t be the case in the future? Burrowing helped mammals survive the K-PG too and some of the most successful animals alive today are burrowing still (rats, mice, shrews, etc)

[@thekaxmax]

Read the paper for details

[@robertab929]

You are right. We might have conditions like 252 Ma again. Mammals, you mentioned, have potential to survive. Also we have mammals adapted to desert environment. They can move to coastal areas and to areas in higher altitudes.

[@SamsonFernendez]

They might survive and evolve beyond mammals. They might become a completely different clade. If this happens, it could still be said that the mammals (that we know of) have gone extinct. Just like people usually say dinosaurs are extinct when we still have birds everywhere.

[@robertab929]

@@SamsonFernendez There will be still mammals. Organisms cannot evolve out of clade, they cannot become completely different clade. Mammals are still synapsids, amniotes, and vertebrates, and chordates, and eukaryotes, and ... Birds are still dinosaurs, and amniotes and ... Synapsids and dinosaurs are not extinct!

[@GEOGIRL]

@@monkeymanchronicles absolutely, great question! Yes, it would kinda be a repeat but I think people forget that when we say that a group of organisms “survived” a mass extinction, it doesn’t mean that they thrived. It typically means that they just barely scraped by, which was the case for just about everything in the end Permian. So I think that yes, it could be a repeat, but mammals might not get as lucky this time. That said, I think most scientists that are interpreting these models predict a great decline of mammals rather than a total extinction of all the species in the group. So they may very well just scrape by and then diversify after just like the end Permian :)

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Dessertification had a major upside: a substantial increase in species of pie, cake, cookies, pudding, and unknown forms of dessert that might evolve from current desserts.

[@philochristos]

Whenever I think about what the earth will be like in 200 million, 500 million, or a billion years from now, I always wonder if some other species will become as intelligent as us, start civilizations, etc. I wonder what they will be able to learn about us through archaeology and geology. I wonder if they will be able to determine that we were once an advanced species like them.

[@APRENDERDESENHANDO]

Imagine trying to jump start a civilization, but then you find out that all the easy attainable energy sources like fossil fuels were already depleted by greedy humans

[@dennisreed6345]

Let's create a vault of seed technology

[@Bostonceltics1369]

They will probably learn how highly we thought of ourselves.

[@scienceexplains302]

Even after a massive collapse of human civilization, humans or descendants of humans would be the most likely to rise dominate the Earth. It may have taken 2 million years after splitting from the chimps’ ancestors for hominids to develop intelligence greater than modern chimps. In other words, building a new advanced society from a few human descendants is more likely than a species developing that level of intelligence from another line.

[@Titancameraman64]

Very unlikely even now it will only take a few million years for all but the miniscule of clues about civilization to disappear. Kuruzaht (how do you spell it?) did a very good video on it I recommend.

[@Dragrath1]

One factor which wasn't mentioned here is the reason why supercontinents tend to end up at the equator which specifically has to do with Earths moment of Inertia which like all spinning objects will readjust spontaneously to minimize this value as has happened in the past for long lived supercontinents predicated on the limited ability of the asthenosphere to readjust. Pangaea for example formed in the southern hemisphere where Gondwana had been located around the South pole while Laurentia Baltica and Siberia as well as the intervening volcanic arc complexes came in from the North but after forming Pangea was gradually reoriented lengthwise along the tropics which is the configuration which minimizes Earth's moment of inertia for a single supercontinent. The last scenario with polar continents works because with two continents you can counterbalance one polar continent with another to minimize Earth's moment of inertia. Of course it is also important to note there is a high likelihood that none of these scenarios will play out. Atlantic closure does look to be the most likely given that we see evidence for subduction zones forming and propagating into the Atlantic around Gibraltar in particular and the current trends in rate of change of sea floor spreading over the last 10ish million years or so has the Atlantic overall slowing down while the Pacific is speeding up so extrapolating those into the future might lead to a more Pangaea Ultima scenario. But one thing here that isn't really accounted for in any of these scenarios is the major active rift zones on Earth today ranked in order of significance the splitting of the Somalian plate from Africa , The separation of West Antarctica from East Antarctica, the separation of the Amur plate from Eurasia and the sheering driven fragmentation of North America as it is getting pulled apart after crossing the apparently strengthening EPR and associated Yellowstone hotspot. There are way too many factors at play here Whoops didn't post response

[@neleig]

Feel better soon! You’re a champ. Nice addition to previous Supercontinent video.

[@qwertyuiopgarth]

If humans are still around in 250 million years we are going to have been doing a lot of 'maintenance' of the planet for a long long time. They may be better prepared to handle the difficulties of a supercontinent than we would anticipate. (Imagine being quoted in a video made 250 million years from now about the ongoing efforts to ameliorate Pangea Ultima....)

[@dennisreed6345]

Human might colonize mars

[@pacotaco1246]

​@dennisreed6345 at least! 250 million years is enough time to spread about our galaxy and then reach out to the Local Galactic Group.

[@moocowpong1]

@@dennisreed6345All of these supercontinents are *far* more habitable than Mars. If we can colonize Mars, surviving on Earth should be easy!

[@mosquitobight]

@@dennisreed6345 Colonizing space is a good insurance policy against extinction, but it won't help resource and environmental pressures on Earth. You can feed many people for life with the energy it takes to shoot one person into space.

[@Titancameraman64]

250 million years time we're going to be gods like already in just a thousand years we went from primitive feudalism to the technological super Giant that is the US. And technological growth appears to be exponential. In 250 million years the maintenance of Earth could be done by single person.

[@PaleoAnalysis]

Hmm, another awesome Paleo Content creator has appeared in my suggested feed! Thats two in two days! I like the cut of this girls jib! Keep up the great work! 👀

[@toweypat]

Wow, it never occurred to me that mammals might go extinct. I always thought we were the tops! That's nature for you.

[@GEOGIRL]

I know right! Once you zoom out enough (in time and space) you realize how insignificant and fleeting we really are, and it is crazy to think about!

[@agme8045]

⁠@@GEOGIRLomg I was thinking just that watching this video. Thinking about millions of years is simply crazy, we can’t even fathom how much time that is. Like a couple thousand years, my brain can manage that, but more than that is simply terrifying to think about lol

[@stanhry]

Even with the four models that is not all the possibilities. Not to mention peak ice ages creating land bridges .

[@joecanales9631]

Howdy Rachel, thanks for this enjoyable distraction from life’s chaos. I’m always interested in earth processes and documentation of this topic is new to me, thanks for the links. I think birds will radiate out and replace our mammalian niche like we replaced dinosaurs.

[@goyoelburro]

Love these videos! This reminds me a bit of the BBC take on the extinction of mammals in "The Future is Wild"

[@idle_speculation]

Behind the scenes I think they did it because fur was difficult to animate. As much as I love the documentary I question the expertise of its consultants a bit more each time I watch.

[@_volder]

Including the sun getting bigger & hotter (starting at 5:35) makes this worse than past supercontinents. The timing is halfway to when the sun's supposed to vaporize all water! That makes it a surprise to me that this is considered a threat to just certain groups like mammals, instead of to life in general. I would've thought mammals would be long gone by then, with the planet well on its way to being entirely lifeless, essentially a bigger Mercury.

[@highlorddarkstar]

A quarter of the way. I understood that we had a billion years? Unless the science has been updated?

[@TreyRuiz]

Would super love to see a super continent cycle video! Always wondered what mechanisms lead to the congealing of the continents all at once, instead of them bouncing off of each other like ping pong balls...

[@UnionYes1021]

Love watching your lectures! Fascinating topic. You have my gratitude.🙏🏻

[@GEOGIRL]

Thanks so much! ;D

[@gregwilliams853]

Fascinating subject, glad I found your channel.

[@wantgoodvibes6166]

Thank you, a great video, :)

[@trtlphnx]

Great Subject idea!!!

[@pacotaco1246]

I think itll be a lot like how most Synaspid clades are extinct now, save for the lucky clade that evolved into we mammals. So, some sub-populations of existing mammals will survive to the next supercontinent cycle but be near-unrecognizable to present-day mammals. (Any far future historian mammals, please comment below if i was accurate. Also, please rebuild me atom by atom so im able to read your comments and reply.)

[@zimriel]

People have mentioned bats, also burrowers and maybe anything nocturnal (because it's rarely 45 C at night in a desert). To all that I'll add, ocean mammals like dolphins.

[@waltertodd4479]

I would like to see that discussion and video on super continent periodicity and location. Ive always had an idea in my head that the earth is like a giant rubixs cube and that overtime the position of that supercontinent is fixed and replays its location about every 250 million years. Im sure its way more complicated than this. Cant wait to see it.

[@sladestumbo4117]

I must not be getting something. This map doesn’t look like the end result of the directions the plates are moving to me. Shouldn’t the Americas hit on the other side, near Australasia? Another thing that confuses me is that apparently no current rifting will be successful, and no more continental rifts will appear in the future. Why is Baja California still down there? Shouldn’t it have moved up toward Alaska? My final complaint is that the maps ignore continental shelves, instead it floats the continents together like the are floats in a pool. Millions of years of sedimentary deposition and erosion seem to have been ignored. Please know, I like your discussion. It isn’t your discussion that confuses me, it’s just this map. Are there no other hypotheses? I’m sure there is something I’m missing, but when you don’t know what it is that you don’t know it’s hard to ask the right question. Thank you for what you do, I appreciate your hard work.

[@TheDanEdwards]

As the Atlantic ocean crust cools, it will become denser, and subduction (ocean-ocean) zones are expected to develop. And the long Wilson cycle, if it is a thing in the future, implies that the mid-Atlantic ridge may stop extruding new oceanic crust. It is important to grasp that oceanic rifts are not permanent things, they wander about and/or just stop. However, projections are just that and I'm always a bit suspicious of future supercontinent drawings that have today's continents too neatly arrange. Could be the next supercontinent does not encompass all of today's landmasses.

[@robertab929]

@@TheDanEdwards We have ocean crust cooling, but also collection of sediments close to continents. These parts of ocean crust are older, colder and thicker due to collection of sediments; this might cause the formation of subduction zones.

[@NullHand]

​@@TheDanEdwards Yes, the older Oceanic crust is, the cooler and more dense, so it tends to subduct. But aside from some tiny relics, this mostly describes Oceanic crust in the Pacific. The oldest crust is currently sinking in the deepest trench out in the Western Pacific. I have the OP's jigsaw question as well. Does the P. Ultima cartoon assume BOTH the Pacific AND Atlantic would have cooled and subducted to be replaced by some new African Rift Valley global Ocean?

[@idle_speculation]

⁠@@TheDanEdwardsI was under the impression subduction zones formed at preexisting zones of weakness like deactivated divergent boundaries or strike-slip faults. As for your final point, the Amasia model sees Antarctica trapped at the South Pole by LLSVPs while the Arctic Ocean closes as the other continents join at the North Pole.

[@edsondocarmo3065]

​@@TheDanEdwards.But the problem is that oceanic rifts don't stop for nothing. For an oceanic plate (or the oceanic crust side of the plate to start subducting, on the other side a continental plate (or the continental side ...of the same plate) has to be pushed against the other oceanic plate. The problem is that the beginning of rifting is not predictable, much less its interruption.For example, the separation of Madagascar from Africa was supposed to continue, but it was suddenly halted, so the new oceanic crust between them suddenly stopped expanding. Once two new plates separate, it is always assumed that they will continue to move apart until one of them collides with another or subducts. But... it's difficult to assume when (and if) one oceanic plate will actually subduct against another. That's why I consider the alternative of Novopangea as the next continent to be the most plausible possible. This is because it obeys the already expanding Atlantic, it obeys the drift of Africa to the north that is already happening, it obeys the East African rift that is already happening and pneus the drift of Australia northwards against Southeast Asia and the oldest Pacific ocean crust . maintaining the tendency of the Pacific Ocean to close.

[@Zanz0vida]

I'm too lazy to read the paper but I'm pretty sure there's a fair degree of uncertainty as to how the supercontinent will even look, and thus even more on the climate of said continent. No doubt it will not be a walk in the park for any life as the formation of Pangaea showed us. But there were survivors and all living mammals evolved from those creatures. Seems weird to take a speculative model of environmental conditions and apply it to modern species, especially to an arbitrary concept like "mammals". Future species will be adapted to future environments, those that aren't will die. Might not even make sense to talk about "mammals" 250 million years from now

[@Alberad08]

That was a pretty interesting as well as entertaining thought exercise - thanks a lot!

[@johnp9988]

Thanks Rachel! 🍻

[@stefanjakubowski8222]

This was great

[@fablelost2642]

The future is wild

[@AiNaKa]

i've started working on a pangea ultima worldbuilding project and personally i think that most mammals would be pushed to adapt mesothermy or heterothermy, and a lot of mammals already are heterothermic, like sloths and lemurs. the protagonists of the story i want to make are mesothermic descendants of phalangerids who evolved to become terrestrial rather than arboreal, and evolved tool use and a pack hunting strategy. i know, very familiar. also, while humans no longer inhabit the earth (they fled this very mass extinction event and the remainder population died with it), they still have a lingering presence. For example, there being a dyson swarm they left behind which happens to cancel out the solar energy 2.5% increase so that factor does not contribute to the heating of the earth. I want to use this worldbuilding project to make a story where "aliens" (interstellar speciated descendants of humans) teach the sapient marsupial-apes of pangea ultima their millions of years of human knowledge so that they dont repeat their mistakes (like capitalism, for example). The antagonists of the story actually are human descendant "aliens" who became self-domesticated by capitalism over millions of years, refusing to abandon it, until it changed the very behavior of their species to permanently self-reinforce the system. their survival strategy is occupying host planets like a virus, enslaving the native population if there is one (justifying it as "animal" labor), depleting the planet of resources, and moving on to the next when it becomes borderline uninhabitable, and they simply know nothing else. The main conflict of the story is between them setting a target on Earth and the other aliens trying to protect it as a planet-sized nature preserve and giving the native population the knowledge and tools for self-defense.

[@Oldschool811]

Obviously super continents have a huge coastline with plenty of reach for precipitation to enrich the mainland. I think migrations to coastal areas would be easy for life to adapt to due to the very slow continental drift and weather change

[@pequerobles]

Another great video 🙂😘

[@shovelspade480]

Quality as always. Keep up the great work 👍💧🔥🌍☀️💚👌

[@cavetroll666]

Thanks for video cheers from Toronto

[@NathanHearn-ms7vv]

Love this video. One additional factor determining how mammals will adapt to the new supercontinent - the sun in getting larger and hotter over time - about 1 degree per hundred million years.

[@georgefspicka5483]

I love this speculation and the explanations you offer. The one thing that came to mind is the theory of Puntuated Equilibrium, which states that species remain stable until an external stressor acts upon them, perhaps something like global climate change. Essentially, species either adapt or else face extinction. It is here that Evolution, the “survival of the fittest,” takes place. As with the Extinction of Mammals, it’s mostly speculation, but still a great mental exercise.

[@carocajiao]

Thank you for this video. I hope you feel better soon. How does the core roation direction change affect these predictions?

[@fernbedek6302]

Mammals evolved during the height of Pangaea, after most synapsids died off. I would figure the same basic thing will happen for the next super continent as well.

[@robertab929]

Mammals are synapsids. It is better to say non-mammalian synapsids if you mean synapsids other than mammals.

[@fernbedek6302]

@@robertab929 I said 'most synapsids' because there were non-mammalian synapsids that survived after the evolution of mammals, though all of those did eventually go extinct during later parts of the Mesozoic. The formation of Pangea was not the hard boundary for non-mammalian synapsids the way the KT was for non-avian dinosaurs.

[@victorkrawchuk9141]

Except for the name, I hope we end up with Amasia. Whatever humans are left could still go skiing or snowboarding. But I hope you feel better soon, please don't start the mammalian extinction without us! An awesome video as usual, I learned a great deal!

[@JeremyBowkett]

Synapsids deserve a second chance 👍

[@robertab929]

Or third, maybe even forth :)

[@xeschire706]

Nah, reptiles, mainly an offshoot there of, are very likely to evolve to be our drop in replacement's through convergent evolution instead.

[@skipugh]

Wow. 250 million years seams like infinity to me yet at the same time, too short. 😮

[@murph_mustela]

You're great geogirl, and your videos are so helpful. Although this is extremely interesting I would prefer if you continue making videos on, like, more foundational/undergrad earthsci stuff as that's definitely a niche that needs to be filled, and you are filling it. If you feel confident to make geomorphology videos too that would be amazing :)

[@GEOGIRL]

@@murph_mustela thanks for the feedback! I definitely want to continue to help fill that gap in undergrad earth sci education in any way I can, and will try to do so! I don’t feel all that comfortable with geomorphology at the moment but I hope in the future as I continue learning more I will eventually get to that point :)

[@tomsmith4542]

nice review!!

[@matusknives]

There is a good chance that we would not recognize any of the mammals that will be around in 250 million years. From how much the predictions the eventual super-continent will look is, to me, a hint how little we understand the plate tectonics and what influences it. We have a basic idea, but the details are yet to be understood (earth interior is arguably fairly hard to study)

[@robertab929]

Insectivores might be very similar.

[@crouton5892]

This was a great video! Very knowledgable and captivating!

[@theironherder]

Something for you to check: the Ars Technica article "The Yellowstone supervolcano destroyed an ecosystem but saved it for us" and the related PBS Nova episode "Buried in Ash". (The Nova episode is not readily accessible, BTW.) The subject seems to be appropriate for you to cover with your usual excellent presentation skills. And in your recent "Life Update" video there were some still images of you (at about 6 min.) in an active laboratory without safety glasses. Not only I am concerned for your personal safety, as an educator with a sizeable audience, you absolutely need to set a good example.

[@nicolasrandazzo8380]

Great video! Looking forward to sharing this with my students!

[@frankbanks7549]

I really enjoy your lectures. I expect you will do well in both Academia/Commerce? and Science Outreach

[@Ender7j]

I don’t see much on the far future. This was fascinating!

[@Xaphiero]

Whew...250 million years...I was afraid I'd miss it! I just hope I last until Andromeda and the Milky Way start colliding in about 4-5 billion years. Now that will be an event!

[@footfault1941]

Thanks for another intriguing subject put on. & Take much care, as a cold in summer is nastier than in winter. A curious thing in the history of this planet is, roughly speaking though, each time something catastrophic occurred, victims were often from previously dominant group. How about the status of mammals? The title revives mystery & elevated curiosity on disappearance of dinosaurs. One thing haunting me long is in link of extinction WITHOUT replacement to continental drift. It takes time on geological scale, I suppose, huge mass moving in a direction & eventually collide another, forming plateaus or mountains. Seemingly plenty of time for organism to cope with the changing situation. Unlike hit by meteorite or abrupt eruption of volcanoes. How long would it take for that? I wonder if there are any evidence of species transforming during such an event. Finally, the narrative is fascinating, suggesting wide & deep knowledge accumulated with advance of technology for research & analysis. 2 Charles, Lyell & Darwin, would wonder if it light be she who created the earth & her inhabitants!

[@Echo3_]

I love pretty science nerds with interesting videos. Nothing better than enjoying learning ❤ PS your voice is perfect!

[@alecstevens8467]

As a Geologist myself, its difficult to take these serious when the first picture you show is the closing of the Atlantic before the Pacific plate, that is already subducting, is gone. Subduction doesnt just stop and move somewhere else. The Pacific plate will continue being the major subduction zone on the planet until it is gone, which will form the next supercontinent with Japan squished between Asia and North America. Please learn about subduction velocity. This "Atlantic closing first" theory is terrible.

[@jayjae21jj]

makes me think about all the agave and aloe plants. Also, here in the states Arizona desert uniquely has a monsoon, so it will be interesting to see how the super continent and its terrestrial life. weather Storm😅

[@chasingcheetahs5017]

Personally, I find the claim of mammals going extinct solely because of the formation of a supercontinent to be unlikely. I did some research and turns out there are mammals that live in the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth excluding areas deep beneath the ground (pretty sure there isn't water in the core.) Granted there are some parts mammals can't inhabit, but some of those are literally uninhabitable (not even by plants or insects, both of which are typically the hardiest multicellular life) except to microbes. I don't think the entire planet will turn into the Atacama Desert even with a supercontinent, and it feels a bit strange that rodents and bats could not survive simply because of global desertification when mammals can survive in the harshest deserts. Worst case scenario is something like what happened to rhynchocephalians, in which they died out almost everywhere except one place (New Zealand) of which one (Sphenodon punctatus) or a few related (Sphenodon punctatus guntheri & Sphenodon punctatus punctatus) species (subspecies in this case) survive.

[@spc3461]

The formation of the next supercontinent, sometimes called Pangaea Proxima, is predicted to happen in 250 to 350 million years from now. Whether it will cause a mass extinction of mammals is uncertain, but here's a breakdown of the possibilities: * Habitat Changes: The formation of a supercontinent will significantly alter Earth's geography. This could lead to the disappearance of some current habitats and the creation of new ones. Some mammal species might not be able to adapt to these changes. * Climate Shifts: Continental movements can influence global climate patterns. The formation of Pangaea Proxima could lead to changes in temperature, precipitation, and ocean currents. These changes could be detrimental to some mammal species. * Evolutionary Opportunities: On the other hand, supercontinent formation can also create opportunities for new mammal species to evolve. As different mammal populations become geographically isolated, they may diverge and adapt to new environments. Overall, the impact on mammals is difficult to predict. Here are some factors that might influence the outcome: * The Rate of Change: If the supercontinent forms slowly, mammals will have more time to adapt. A rapid shift could be more devastating. * Adaptability of Mammals: Mammals are a diverse group with a proven ability to adapt to changing environments. This suggests some species will likely survive and thrive. Extinction events have happened in the past during supercontinent formation. For example, the Permian-Triassic extinction event, which wiped out about 90% of marine species, coincided with the formation of the supercontinent Pangaea. However, life always finds a way, and new species eventually filled the ecological niches left behind. It's important to remember that this is all speculation based on our current understanding of plate tectonics and past extinction events. The future is full of uncertainties, and new factors could come into play.

[@user-xi5ej4ox5s]

AI?

[@glen5077]

I guess we'll just have to wait and see

[@PerspectiveEngineer]

Smart girls... gota love um. Thanks sis, leaving the world in good hands makes The idea of not being around feel better. Take care, be good, live hard. Leave footprints... nice work.

[@PerspectiveEngineer]

No really,dang ! A biologist and a geologist it under one hat. Pretty impressive, I don't know yet but I'm proud of you.

[@whiskeytango9769]

Humans, at least our species of human, will not be here in 250 million years. We may be lucky enough to have surviving descendants, but even that's a stretch.

[@dennisreed6345]

Human might colonize mars

[@whiskeytango9769]

@@dennisreed6345 There will be no humans around to do that.

[@Machiavelli2pc]

We will have trillions of humans in the solar system and trillions more interstellar by then.

[@whiskeytango9769]

@@Machiavelli2pc They may be our descendants, but they won't be us. Especially if there are "humans" throughout the galaxy, genetically isolated from one another. In only a few million years, let alone a billion, they will be completely different and distinct species.

[@agme8045]

@@Machiavelli2pchow will that happen? Human population will start decreasing in most countries in about 50-100 years lol 10/11 billion humans is the most humans there will ever be alive at the same time

[@DanielWatson-vv7cd]

Mammals would most likely survive a super continent event if there's enough food. All terrestrial vertebrae have a "wide range" of temperatures they can survive (maybe not thrive, but evolve to survive) in. As long as Earth doesn't get too hot or way too cold terrestrial vertebrates would survive. The so-called "goldy locks zone" for certain lifeforms is broader than people may think.

[@Pharry_]

it’s a little comical in my eyes to believe that ALL mammals will die out. first of all, in 250 years, our descendants will only cladistically still be “mammals,” because they will have greatly changed. another thing worth noting is that, though the potential climate of a Pangaea Ultima (which is not the only potential future supercontinent but I digress) may be harsh, some mammals are known to be extremely adaptable. the worst case scenario here is volcanic activity rivaling or on par with the end-Permian mass extinction, the closest life has been to being wiped out since the Great Oxidation Event. one of the most famous and most successful survivors of the end-Permian was dicynodont Diictodon, a cousin to the ancestor of mammals, which at one point made up the majority of animal life on its own. our direct cynodont ancestors also made it through the extinction. similarly, both modern mammals and multituberculates survived the end-Cretaceous extinction, though the latter did not survive to the present day. that being said, the harsh climate of Pangaea Ultima may best be paralleled by Pangaea itself. a common misconception was that dinosaurs ruled the Triassic for their reptilian features in the hot climate, but this was not the case. dinosaurs were something of underdogs in the triassic, and only filled the top niches by surviving the end-Triassic extinction. they also are known to have been somewhat bird-like even by the triassic, with notable adaptations such as proto-feathers and adaptable growth rates actually designed to help them survive the colder climates pangaea had to offer. this is likely also what allowed the mammals to survive the same end-Triassic extinction. my general point is that this concept is kind of misleading and generally based on misconceptions about the history of mammals and their definition.

[@basanttyagi7516]

The predicted temperature maps seem not to take into account altitude effects on local temperature. Even though other maps in the video show large mountain ranges in the interior of the future landmass and the narrator refers to them to, the temperature maps don't reflect how these would create areas of lower temperature at high altitudes more conducive to mammals. Some of these cooler areas would probably be well watered too, due to orographic lifting. The large internal sea shown in the maps bounded by Africa, India, South America and so on might also help combat aridity, especially in combination with orographic lifting on the slopes of nearby mountain ranges. All of this combined with the adaptation via natural selection, including increased rates of nocturnal or subterranean behaviors (like present-day marsupial moles of the Australian outback or the golden moles of Africa), could help mammals survive or even do well. Importantly, the video ignores the great diversity of marine mammal life that exists and presumably would continue to do so when Pangaea Ultima forms. If somehow terrestrial mammals went extinct and marine mammals survived one could imagine them "reseeding" land over millions of years when conditions improved either through cooling caused by weathering and/or continued continental drift. Bats are another factor to consider. Their ability to fly makes them able to quickly disperse and find refuges from large zones of unfavorable conditions. They might be relegated to cooler and wetter oceanic islands away from the super continent and its temperate margins, only to quickly spread back when conditions improve. Their penchant for nocturnality and cave living could even protect them from temperature extremes and let them survive in the super continent as well.

[@Kiyosandwicheater]

Let's gooooooo I am really for itttt

[@shovelspade480]

Very talented. Thank you.

[@jonfr]

This process has already started, that is closing of the Atlantic ocean. The start is currently off the coast of Portugal. Then there's another process starting off the coast of New York and Canada coastline (mantle is warming up in that area). The process off the coast of Portugal seems to show the start of subduction, while that has not started off the coast of New York and Canada based on measurements.

[@kerryannegarnick1846]

There is a flaw in this supercontinent map. The Somali Plate is expected to crash into India. Also, we can't know how the plates will break apart by then.

[@Name-ib7wu]

What about in the cooler regions on the fringes? There is even a fairly cold island to the south.

[@silentglacierfang]

13:19, since the name is a portmanteau of Australia and America, it is probably pronounced most similar to the sections in those names that they come from, however that happens to be pronounced in your accent.

[@_andrewvia]

Thank you Dr Phillips. Take care of your voice - it's an important part of your professional life.

[@toastyburger]

This is a wonderful, original topic. Very interesting and thought provoking. It would make a fascinating setting for a sci-fi story. How would intelligent life try to mitigate the warming sun and increasing CO2? Or would they genetically modify mammals to withstand the heat? Thanks for the clear, concise, yet detailed summary. I'm rooting for Pangaea Ultima and its cruiseline-friendly inner sea.

[@rwarren58]

Geo Girl, how far down do we have to dig to breach the fauna of that epoch? I just subscribed. Thank you.

[@ryansoos4903]

Nice work.

[@GEOGIRL]

Thank you so much!

[@st-ex8506]

I tried to put a reminder on my iPhone to check on mass extinction when the new supercontinent would come to be... bu that was beyond even an iPhone's calendar! So, I guess, there is less to worry short term about the super continent then other factors of mass extinction!

[@GreenPoint_one]

Mammals always survived, the big ones may die but something will survive. :3

[@uncleanunicorn4571]

Another possibility is a hot world where mammals lose their advantage, and there is a new class of sea creatures that moves onto land, as described by the old cgi documentary, 'The Future is Wild.'

[@negirno]

I wanted to ask this in the comment section of your previous video: isn't our current arrangement of Earth's landmasses could count as a supercontinent? Both Africa and North America is basically connected to Eurasia. Eastern Siberia part of the North American plate, and as we all know, the Bering Strait was walkable as recently as the last ice age. I also heard that the Mediterranean Sea became dry for a short while, resulting in a very harsh climate in the basin.

[@footfault1941]

" .. joined together" I wonder if the ratio between the sea & land changed drastically up to today. Is it relatively stable? How long so, if it was the case?

[@michaeleisenberg7867]

Rachel 🧨, As improbable as it might seem, I'm thinking my favorite dicynodont, Lystrosaurus will rise again! 🙏 👏👏👏👏 p.s. He does not have a reasonable emoji 😕.

[@garg4531]

If mammals do go extinct or at least greatly reduced, I have to wonder what might evolve to take their place 🤔 Like how mammals rose to dominance after the age of dinosaurs came to an end

[@jwcomment7337]

While conditions may be somewhat extreme in the interior portions of Pangea Ultima, wouldn't terrestrial life (including mammalian) still thrive in the coastal regions (that margin's depth may vary with latitude and topography) with temperatures being moderated by the closer proximity to the ocean and experiencing significant localized regional perception? This could result in a reduction (especially inland) but not complete extinction of mammalian life. Mammals would maintain a foothold and be available to diversify and spread again during the next continental breakup.

[@jwcomment7337]

Typo:"perception" should be "precipitation"

[@crouton5892]

Wouldn’t the giant water body inside Pangea ultima regulate temperature and humidity to ensure a livable climate for mammals? I’m thinking like the Mediterranean’s effect on areas like Turkey through Egypt.

[@oiocha5706]

We lost so many megafauna mammals after the cooling event 20,000 years ago. What mammals we had before industrialization was already in a state of deficit

[@ottolandin]

we might end up with lower body temp and adapted to low moisture

[@xeschire706]

I think that if mammals were to go extinct, that an offshoot of reptiles would very likely evolve to take over the same evolutionary niche's as mammals through convergent evolution. Which means a drop in replacement would become available a few millions of years later.

[@erichtomanek4739]

So you've watched: The Future is Wild.

[@xeschire706]

If mammals still survive anyway, I hope the post-mammalian Synapsids windup looking like dragons! I mean dragons are already partially mammal-like, like a lot of early Synapsids, especially the ones from DnD 😁 I swear to goodness the amythist dragon is just a bigger gorgonopsid with wings, & floaty gems! 😂

[@TheDanEdwards]

Being a bit of a pedant here, but I've never liked graphics like the opening one of a new supercontinent. Somehow all the continents get squished together without building new mountain ranges, Baja California is still where it is today, relative to the rest of North America, etc. So Africa and other continents get rotated and moved relative to each other, but Baja, which is moving northwest rapidly today, remains the same?? The later images, showing four options, are much better.

[@onenewworldmonkey]

Amacia is amazing.

[@robertab929]

Amazia :)

[@robdiesel2876]

No specific species has ever survived 250 million years. I don't think we have to worry about being around for Pangea Ultima.

[@kamath234]

There is a rift developing in the N. Eastern Africa which might break the continent in 2 or may be 3 pieces. What about that possibility? Could it be that before a supercontinent, the existing landmasses may break further apart in near future?

[@anubis2814]

Bats have a top end temperature of 45C unlike the rest of us as they produce so much heat from flying and have DNA repair mechanisms to deal with these heat stresses. I could certainly see with the rise of temperatures land mammals evolving from bats and many bats ceasing to fly

[@pizzafrenzyman]

None of the scenarios consider the birth of a new continent, or the demise of a current continent. Is 250M years too short a period for continental juxtaposition?

[@robdevilee8167]

Some mammals live in the sea. I don't think they'll be wiped out. Some of the mammals on land might find refuge on mountain ranges and plateaus, where it's cooler. It won't be easy, but I think they can make it.

[@peterdore2572]

Still awaiting the Ganymede Video ☠️😅

[@GEOGIRL]

Lol I am sorry for the delay! It'll probably still be a bit :( I just have to find enough info/resources and then actually read and understand them to the point that I can actually talk about it intelligently. So far, topics that I know a little more about are taking precedence because they are easier to prepare haha, but I promise it'll come eventually! Thank you for your patience ;)

[@peterdore2572]

@@GEOGIRL Thanks GEOGIRL🤭 Im Teasing u, altho I Am looking forward to it eventually 👍 Take your time, there are plenty other Good Subjects to aboard 😄 Like, Where did Earth's Nitrogen come from??? Great video, this one too!

[@yewtoob2007]

I wonder how a suoercontinent would reduce marine nutrient upwelling. A single continent is a severe reduction in total coastal area. There could be enormous oceanic regions with far less metabolic activity than today.

[@umvhu]

Samuel Clements (Mark Twain) said "It is far easier to fool someone than it is to convince them they've been fooled" This being true, I'll leave it there 😉

[@LinuxUser1993]

Imagine what it'd be like if we become a Type 3 civilization before 250 million years. What would humanity be like?

[@ethandollarhide7943]

Didn't the Future is Wild predict that this would happen?

[@anonperson3972]

Hhmmm. Can mammals survive in hot climates? It's not like many mammals live in burrows and come out at night... It's not like that is exactly what mammals were doing when they evolved in much warmer conditions than today.. But even if they couldn't survive the interior, those mapos suggest large coastal areas in the north and south that would be habitable. What is really interesting, is that this could cause a huge divergence between the animals in the north and south of the supercontinennt.

[@benpennington1866]

How do we know that we won't wind up with Amasia, where all the continents (excluding Antarctica) converge at the North Pole?

[@bkbland1626]

We can only hope......