THE TETHYS: HOW MANY? HOW OLD? HOW DEEP? HOW WIDE (original) (raw)

The Tethys in East Asia is represented by three successive ocean basins, the Palaeo-Tethys, Meso-Tethys and Ceno-Tethys. The Palaeo-Tethys ranges in age from late Early Devonian to Middle Triassic , the Meso-Tethys from late Early Permian to Late Cretaceous, and the Ceno-Tethys from Late Triassic (west)/Late Jurassic (east) to Cenozoic. These ocean basins had a range of water depths comparable to modem ocean basins and the concept of a shallow Tethys should only be applied to the shallow regions of these oceans. All three Tethyan ocean basins, based on palaeogeographic reconstructions , had maximum widths between 2,000 and 3,000 kilometers in their eastern parts at their maximum development.