Gomphotherium land bridge
The Gomphotherium land bridge was a land bridge that connected Eurasia to the Arabian Plate approximately 19 Mya.Significance
Passage of fauna between Eurasia and the Arabian Plate was largely hindered before the Early Miocene, as animals could not cross the open Tethyan seaway.
However, during the mid-Burdigalian, the tectonic plates of Afro-Arabia and Eurasia collided, creating a terrestrial isthmus connecting the two landmasses.
This faunal exchange that resulted is known as the Proboscidean Datum Event.
The land bridge allowed the elephantine Gomphotheres to leave Africa.
