evidence: Researchers reconstructed the ancient Pontus plate, estimating it covered an area roughly one-quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean. Formed during the supercontinent Pangaea, Pontus lay beneath the vast ocean separating Eurasia and Australia 160 million years ago. As Pangaea broke apart, the Pontus plate was gradually subducted or swallowed by neighbouring plates. This geological process carried countries like the Philippines and Borneo to their present-day locations.