HEY, THERE’S A NEW CONTINENT, EVERYBODY!

Geologists claim to have discovered a new continent to the east of Australia: Zealandia.The current New Zealand is part of this new continent. At 4.9 million square kilometres of land mass (about half the size of Australia), 94 per cent of which is under water, Zealandia would be the world’s smallest continent. According to their study, the land mass comprises all the four attributes needed to be considered a continent, including the presence of different rock types and crucially “the high elevation relative to regions floored by oceanic crust.” (* But you already knew that.) The scientists say 94 per cent of Zealandia currently submerged broke away from Australia and sank 60-85 million years ago.
* Not to be confused with Zoolandera, the place where Ben Stiller thinks people want to see more movies about male models.
* They could have made a fortune offering to name it Coca-Colandia or Googlefica.
* A new continent 94 per cent underwater. This would be useful if humans were mermen and mermaids.
* A new continent, and already Trump wants to build an underwater wall around it. Like a giant fish tank.
* I guess in a weird way, this makes up for Pluto not being a planet anymore.
* Wow, how screwed up are humans if we couldn’t even find one of the continents on our home planet?
* I’m calling it. It’s not a continent. It’s a gimmick.
* Hey, if a continent can be 94% underwater maybe Europe is really an ocean with the sea floor just raised.
* This is all a bunch of semantics and gobbledygook so now it’s time for them to sit back and accept the academic awards.