The Rio Grande Elevation, off the coast of Brazil.<br/> <br />On Tuesday, researchers announced the area might be home to parts of the original continent called Pangaea that existed before the Americas, Africa, Europe and other major land masses drifted apart.<br/> <br />The joint team made up of Japanese and Brazilian scientists say they discovered what they believe to be granite along the ocean floor here, a rock usually only found on land.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) THE DIRECTOR OF GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES AT THE BRAZILIAN GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, DOCTOR ROBERTO VENTURA, SAYING:<br/> <br />"When these samples came aboard the ship, the first surprise was, 'what are these rocks doing here?' We did petrographic, geochemical (and) geological studies of this material."<br/> <br />Researchers also found iron, manganese and cobalt, minerals that differentiate the area from the surrounding seabed.<br/> <br />Scientists hypothesize that the underwater landmass may have comprised an island at one time before sinking.
