Editing Laurasia (section)

===Flora and fauna===
Pangaea split in two as the [[Tethys Ocean|Tethys Seaway]] opened between Gondwana and Laurasia in the Late Jurassic. The fossil record, however, suggests the intermittent presence of a Trans-Tethys land bridge, though the location and duration of such a land bridge remains enigmatic.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gheerbrant|Rage|2006|loc=Introduction, p. 225}}</ref>

[[Pinaceae|Pine trees]] evolved in the early Mesozoic c. 250&nbsp;Mya and the [[List of Pinus species|pine genus]] originated in Laurasia in the Early Cretaceous c. 130&nbsp;Mya in competition with faster growing [[Flowering plant|flowering plants]].  Pines adapted to cold and arid climates in environments where the growing season was shorter or wildfire common; this evolution limited pine range to between 31° and 50° north and resulted in a split into two subgenera: ''[[List of Pinus species|Strobus]]'' adapted to stressful environments and ''[[Pine|Pinus]]'' to fire-prone landscapes. By the end of the Cretaceous, pines were established across Laurasia, from North America to East Asia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keeley|2012|loc=Introduction, pp. 445–446; Mesozoic origin and diversification, pp. 450–451}}</ref>

From the Triassic to the Early Jurassic, before the break-up of Pangaea, [[archosaur]]s (crurotarsans, pterosaurs and dinosaurs including birds) had a global distribution, especially crurotarsans, the group ancestral to the [[Crocodilia|crocodilians]].  This cosmopolitanism ended as Gondwana fragmented and Laurasia was assembled.  [[Pterosaur]] diversity reach a maximum in the Late Jurassic—Early Cretaceous and plate tectonic didn't affect the distribution of these flying reptiles. Crocodilian ancestors also diversified during the Early Cretaceous but were divided into Laurasian and Gondwanan populations; true crocodilians evolved from the former. The distribution of the three major groups of [[dinosaur]]s&nbsp;– the [[Sauropoda|sauropods]], [[Theropoda|theropods]], and [[ornithischia]]ns&nbsp;– was similar to that of the crocodilians. East Asia remained isolated with endemic species including [[Psittacosaurus|psittacosaurs]] (horned dinosaurs) and [[Ankylosauridae]] (club-tailed, armoured dinosaurs).<ref>{{Harvnb|Milner|Milner|Evans|2000|p=319}}</ref>

Meanwhile, [[Mammal|mammals]] slowly settled in Laurasia from Gondwana in the Triassic, the latter of which was the living area of their Permian [[Therapsida|ancestors]]. They split in two groups, with [[australosphenida|one]] returning to Gondwana (and stayed there after Pangaea split) while [[Tribosphenida|the other]] staying in Laurasia (until further descendants switched to Gondwana starting from the [[Jurassic]]).

In the early Eocene, a peak in global warming led to a pan-Arctic fauna with alligators and amphibians present north of the Arctic Circle. In the early Paleogene, landbridges still connected continents, allowing land animals to migrate between them. On the other hand, submerged areas occasionally divided continents: the [[Turgai Strait]] separated Europe and Asia from the Middle Jurassic to the Oligocene and as this strait dried out, a massive faunal interchange took place and the resulting extinction event in Europe is known as the ''[[Eocene–Oligocene extinction event|Grande Coupure]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Milner|Milner|Evans|2000|p=328}}</ref>

The [[Coraciiformes]] (an order of birds including kingfishers) evolved in Laurasia. While this group now has a mostly tropical distribution, they originated in the Arctic in the late Eocene c. 35&nbsp;Mya from where they diversified across Laurasia and further south across the Equator.<ref>{{Harvnb|McCullough|Moyle|Smith|Andersen|2019|loc=Conclusion, p. 7}}</ref>

The placental mammal group of [[Laurasiatheria]] is named after Laurasia.