1. Evidence for Jurassic land bridges between North America and Europe
Commenters focused on the geological data that support a temporary connection allowing dinosaurs like Diplodocus to migrate.
- “The Spanish Diplodocus lived roughly 150 million years ago near the end of the Jurassic period… the presence of Diplodocus in Iberia offers strong evidence that dinosaurs moved between North America and Europe during that era, likely crossing temporary land bridges that appeared as the proto‑North Atlantic Ocean periodically receded.” – gus_massa
- “During the early Mesozoic, North America and Europe were connected to form the western and central part of the supercontinent Laurasia… a dramatic drop in sea level… potentially reconnected Europe and North America and so permitted a faunal exchange of vertebrate clades across the Atlantic.” – mncharity
- “The Paleotopography selection… gives hints about the expected height and depth of the land and sea… you can put Diplodocus on the timeline and see a projection of what the map was then.” – shagie
2. Light‑hearted proposals to “re‑unite” the continents
Several replies turned the discussion into a whimsical idea of rebuilding a land link for travel or environmental reasons.
- “We could save a lot of money and emissions if we brought the continents back together! Imagine Paris to New York by high‑speed train.” – artisinal
- “Reunite Pangea!” – shagie (with a link to a Pangea map)
- “Ew no, not with the Americans behaving the way they are now. The Atlantic is fine where it is thank you very much.” – loloquwowndueo (a joking rebuttal)
3. Debate over the word “American” in the article’s framing
A notable thread questioned whether “American” referred to nationality or the continent, sparking jokes and clarifications.
- “I think that’s what most tripped me up. ‘North American’ would’ve been clearer here.” – Arubis
- “FWIW ‘American’ might be more continental than national; my recollection is that one of the places where tons of dinosaur bones were found in the early paleontology days is Alberta.” – saghm
- “Maybe in ‘Iberia’ instead of Spain?” – foolswisdom (suggesting a geographic qualifier)
- “North and South American dinosaurs were very different.” – marcosdumay (highlighting the continental sense)