Gondwana

American  

[gond-wah-nuh] / gɒndˈwɑ nə /

noun

1. a hypothetical landmass in the Southern Hemisphere that separated toward the end of the Paleozoic Era, the remnants of which make up what are now South America, Africa, Arabia, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, and Antarctica.

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Etymology

Origin of Gondwana

First recorded in 1870–75; from Sanskrit goṇḍa, the name of a Dravidian people and region in north central India + vana “forest”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Gondwana

"It's more likely that when Australia was part of Gondwana it was swarming with all sorts of bizarre, primitive marsupial-like things, and that several of them survived and led to our modern lineages."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

The standard explanation is that marsupials reached Australia after traveling from South America through Antarctica, before the ancient supercontinent Gondwana split apart.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

The Western Ghats were formed when Gondwana - a supercontinent that combined present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica - split up during the Jurassic Period.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

"The Western Ghats are about 150 million years old, older than the Himalayas. The species that exist there could have evolutionary roots in the Gondwana supercontinent," Koparde says.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

One hundred sixty million years ago, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwana, which also included South America, Africa, and Australia.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong