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The theory of plate tectonics has shown that the distribution of continents and oceans on the Earth's surface has changed profoundly during geological time. This collection of essays concerns the geological history of the "supercontinent" Gondwana (the equivalent of present-day South America, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica) and the former ocean, Tethys, which lay to the north of Gondwana in a region extending through what is now southern Europe, the Middle East and the Himalayas. The study is concerned with the Palaeozoic period (about 250 million years ago). Evidence bearing on continental movements is presented from a variety of disciplines: tectonics, palaeomagnetic studies, stratigraphy, and palaeogeography. The first part of the volume is concerned with two aspects of the evolution of Gondwana and Tethys: the tectonic (structural and metamorphic) processes associated with the splitting and dispersal of continents and the evaluation of the palaeomagnetic and stratigraphical records. The second part presents and evaluates palaeontological evidence relating to Gondwana and Tethys. The volume is based on papers presented at a joint meeting, the first Lyell meeting, of the Geological Society and the Palaeontological Association in May 1986.