Proto-Tethys Ocean

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The Proto-Tethys Ocean was an ancient ocean that existed from the latest Ediacaran to the Carboniferous. It was an ocean predecessor of the later Paleo-Tethys Ocean. The ocean formed when Pannotia disintegrated, Proto-Laurasia (Laurentia, Baltica, and Siberia) rifted away from a supercontinent that will become Gondwana, it formed between them. However, before the start of the Paleozoic Era, Proto-Laurasia, separated into three separate continents, Laurentia, Baltica, and Siberia, opening the Iapetus Ocean (an ocean between Baltica and Laurentia), and Khanty Ocean (an ocean between Baltica and Siberia). The ocean was bordered by Panthalassic Ocean to the north, separating it from Panthalassa by island arcs and Kazakhstania. Proto-Tethys expanded during Cambrian. The ocean was at its widest during the Late Ordovician to Middle Silurian. The ocean was situated between the Siberia to the west, and Gondwana to the east. The ocean began to shrink during the Late Silurian, when North China, and South China moved away from Gondwana and headed north, and during Late Devonian. The microcontinent of Kazakhstania collided with Siberia, shrinking the ocean further. The ocean closed when the North China collided with Siberia-Kazakstania continent in the Carboniferous, while the Paleo-Tethys Ocean expanded.

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