ARMENIA’s TERRITORY WAS FLOOR OF THETIS WARM OCEAN 400 MLN YEARS AGO
YEREVAN, JULY 13. ARMINFO. Armenian paleontologists scientifically
proved that the territory of present-day Armenia was the floor of
Thetis (foresea of seas) warm latitudinal ocean 400 mln year ago.
Scientist-paleontologist, director of the Geological Museum of the
Geological Sciences’ Institute of Armenia’s National Academy of
Sciences Ara Grigoryan informed ARMINFO that scientists have only
suspected up to now that the ocean floor north from Iran towards
Caucasus became deeper going into the open oceanic conditions in that
prehistoric time. Within a few years, Grigoryan have studied bacterium
found in limestones. They are discovered when disintegrating breeds of
limestone in organic acid. Study of these bacteria, more precisely,
conodonta (microscopic remains of tooth-jaw system of ancient
sea-fish) helps to reconstruct the conditions of the ancient sea
basin, its coastline, location of continents, ecological and
biotopical catastrophes and other geological changes.
It is noted in encyclopedias that Thetis called in the name of the
ancient Greek goddess of sea Thetis is the ancient oceanic basin,
dividing in Age of Reptiles the European and Siberian continents from
African and Hindustan, and joining Atlantic ocean with the
Pacific. Later on, term Thetis extended also to the Paleozoic ocean of
the same region – Paleothetis. Present-day Mediterranean, Black and
Caspian Seas are the relics of the latter.
“My scientific conclusions are not so sensational, however, they are
very important for restoring paleographical regime of ancient ocean
basins”, Grigoryan noted. Its scientific work is only a next step of
investigations opening a new page in the geological history of the
earth.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress