Discussion: Episodic terrestrial connectivity and late Palaeozoic tetrapod dispersal in eastern Pangaea

This contribution presents a Discussion of the recent article by Davydov et al. (2026) on Late Palaeozoic tetrapod dispersal in eastern Pangaea. The study re-examines several key lines of evidence used to support the hypothesis of a permanent terrestrial corridor between western and eastern Pangaea at the Asselian–Sakmarian transition (∼293 Ma), including the age of Chinese tetrapod footprints, the phylogenetic implications of early seymouriamorphs, marine faunal distributions, and palaeogeographic reconstructions. The analysis evaluates whether the available geological and palaeontological data are consistent with a model of continuous terrestrial connectivity or are better explained by episodic land-bridge formation linked to sea-level fluctuations. The results suggest that multiple independent datasets are compatible with intermittent rather than permanent connectivity, supporting a more dynamic palaeogeographic framework for tetrapod dispersal during the Late Palaeozoic.