Tethys Ocean Floor

The Tethys Ocean was an ancient sea that emerged out of Pangea in the Triassic period. For millions of years, it was filled with aquatic animals like ammonites, plesiosaurs, and ichthyosaurs. As tectonic plates crashed against each other though, the bedrock of the ocean was lifted thousands of feet above sea level. This brought about the end of the Tethys and created many mountain ranges within Eurasia.

This specimen is a piece of oceanic slate from the prehistoric Tethys seafloor. It was recovered from the banks of the Gandaki River in the Himalayas, where the remains of the ocean have become mountains.