What was the total surface area of the supercontinent where Tritheledontids have lived ?
Tritheledontidae The Tritheledontidae or tritheledontids, also known as ictidosaurs, were small to medium-sized (about 10 or 20 cm long) cynodonts. They were extremely mammal-like, highly specialized cynodonts, although they still retained a very few reptilian anatomical traits. Tritheledontids were mainly carnivorous or insectivorous, though some species may have developed omnivorous traits. Their skeletons show that they had a close relationship to mammals. Tritheledontids or their closest relatives may have given rise to primitive mammals. The tritheledontids were one of the longest lived non-mammalian therapsid lineages, living from late Triassic to the Jurassic period. Tritheledontids became extinct in the Jurassic period, possibly due to competition with prehistoric mammals such as the triconodonts. They are known from finds in South America and South Africa, indicating that they may have lived only on the supercontinent of Gondwana. The family Tritheledontidae was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1912. The family is often misspelled "Trithelodontidae".
Eastern Pilbara Craton The Eastern Pilbara Craton is the eastern portion of the Pilbara Craton located in Western Australia. This region contains variably metamorphosed mafic and ultramafic greenstone belt rocks, intrusive granitic dome structures, and volcanic sedimentary rocks. These greenstone belts worldwide are thought to be the remnants of ancient volcanic belts, and are subject to much debate in today's scientific community. Areas such as Isua and Barberton which have similar lithologies and ages as Pilbara have been argued to be subduction accretion arcs, while others suggest that they are the result of vertical tectonics. This debate is crucial to investigating when/how plate tectonics began on Earth. The Pilbara Craton along with the Kaapvaal Craton are the only remaining areas of the Earth with pristine 3.6–2.5 Ga crust. The extremely old and rare nature of this crustal region makes it a valuable resource in the understanding of the evolution of the Archean Earth.