Data from: The fragmentation of Pangaea and Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity

During the Mesozoic (242–66 million years ago), terrestrial regions
underwent a massive shift in their size, position and connectivity. At the
beginning of the era, the land masses were joined into a single
supercontinent called Pangaea. However, by the end of the Mesozoic,
terrestrial regions had become highly fragmented, both owing to the
drifting apart of the continental plates and the extremely high sea levels
that flooded and divided many regions. How terrestrial biodiversity was
affected by this fragmentation and large-scale flooding of the
Earth's landmasses is uncertain. Based on a model using the
species–area relationship (SAR), terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity would
be expected to nearly double through the Mesozoic owing to continental
fragmentation, despite a decrease of 24% in total terrestrial area.
Previous studies of Mesozoic vertebrates have generally found increases in
terrestrial diversity towards the end of the era, although these increases
are often attributed to intrinsic or climatic factors. Instead,
continental fragmentation over this time may largely explain any observed
increase in terrestrial biodiversity. This study demonstrates the
importance that non-intrinsic effects can have on the taxonomic success of
a group, and the importance of geography to understanding past
biodiversity.