Story: Fossils

These Glossopteris leaves are from Mt Wild in Antarctica. Hardy trees known as Glossopteris grew alongside ice sheets in the supercontinent Gondwana around 265 million years ago. They had thick, fleshy, fibrous leaves. A few fragments of Glossopteris leaves have also been found in Permian marine sedimentary rocks in the Wairaki Hills, Southland. This is evidence that New Zealand was once part of Gondwana, as these fossil leaves have also been found in India, South Africa, South America, Tasmania, mainland Australia and Antarctica, which were all parts of Gondwana.