Editing Tethys Ocean (section)

==Terminology and subdivisions==

The eastern part of the Tethys Ocean is sometimes referred to as Eastern Tethys. The western part of the Tethys Ocean is called Tethys Sea, Western Tethys Ocean, or [[Paratethys]] or Alpine Tethys Ocean. The [[Black Sea|Black]], [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]], and [[Aral Sea|Aral]] seas are thought to be its [[crust (geology)|crustal]] remains, though the Black Sea may, in fact, be a remnant of the older [[Paleo-Tethys Ocean]].<ref name="Van-der-Voo-1993">{{Harvnb|Van der Voo|1993}}</ref> 
The Western Tethys was not simply a single open ocean. It covered many small plates, [[Cretaceous]] [[island arc]]s, and [[microcontinent]]s. Many small [[oceanic basin]]s ([[Valais Ocean]], [[Piemont-Liguria Ocean]], [[Meliata Ocean]]) were separated from each other by continental [[terrane]]s on the [[Alboran plate|Alboran]], [[Iberian plate|Iberian]], and [[Apulian plate|Apulian]] plates. The high [[eustasy|sea level]] in the Mesozoic flooded most of these continental domains, forming shallow seas.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} 

During the early Cenozoic, the Tethys Ocean could be divided into three sections: the Mediterranean Tethys (the direct predecessor to the Mediterranean Sea), the Peri-Tethys (a vast inland sea that covered much of eastern Europe and central Asia, and the direct predecessor to the Paratethys Sea), and the Indian Tethys (the direct predecessor to the Indian Ocean).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Palcu |first1=Dan V. |last2=Krijgsman |first2=Wout |date=2023-03-31 |title=The dire straits of Paratethys: gateways to the anoxic giant of Eurasia |url=https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/SP523-2021-73 |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |language=en |volume=523 |issue=1 |pages=111–139 |doi=10.1144/SP523-2021-73 |bibcode=2023GSLSP.523...73P |issn=0305-8719}}</ref> The [[Turgai Strait]] extended out of the Peri-Tethys, connecting the Tethys with the [[Arctic Ocean]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Akhmetiev |first1=Mikhail A. |last2=Zaporozhets |first2=Nina I. |last3=Benyamovskiy |first3=Vladimir N. |last4=Aleksandrova |first4=Galina N. |last5=Iakovleva |first5=Alina I. |last6=Oreshkina |first6=Tatiana V. |date=2012 |title=The Paleogene History of the Western Siberian Seaway - a Connection of the Peri-Tethys to the Arctic Ocean |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=93481617&site=eds-live&scope=site |journal=Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=105 |issue=1 |pages=50–67}}</ref>

As theories have improved, scientists have extended the "Tethys" name to refer to three similar oceans that preceded it, separating the continental terranes: in Asia, the [[Paleo-Tethys]] (Devonian–Triassic), [[Meso-Tethys]] (late [[Cisuralian|Early Permian]]–Late Cretaceous), and [[Ceno-Tethys]] (Late-Triassic–Cenozoic) are recognized.<ref name=metcalfe/> None of the Tethys oceans should be confused with the [[Rheic Ocean]], which existed to the west of them in the Silurian Period.<ref>{{Harvnb|Stampfli|Borel|2002|loc=Figs. 3–9}}</ref> To the north of the Tethys, the then-land mass is called [[Angaraland]] and to the south of it, it is called [[Gondwanaland]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Challenger at Sea: A Ship That Revolutionized Earth Science|last=Hsü|first=Kenneth|pages=199}}</ref>