Fig. 4: Plate configurations for four time periods.

Reconstruction from Müller et al.²⁶ with modifications discussed in the text. Velocities are within a mantle reference frame. Oceanic lithosphere ages are at the stated time period (colour scale from ref. ⁶⁸). Continental lithosphere is grey, with light-grey shading showing present-day coastlines for orientation. Key Atlantic fracture zones are labelled. Yellow star indicates where the three oceanic domains (Proto-Caribbean—PCar, Central Atlantic—CAtl, Equatorial Atlantic, EAtl) meet. MAR—Mid-Atlantic Ridge (a) 90 Ma—an early phase of subduction along the GAC (Great Arc of the Caribbean) when the Proto-Caribbean spreading ridge was active. b 70 Ma—northern and southern parts of the GAC migrate outwards to subduct the oldest Proto-Caribbean lithosphere, accompanied by back-arc spreading in the Yucatán (YB) and Venezualan (VB) Basins behind the Cuban (Cu) and Aves/Leeward Antilles (Av) segments of the arc, respectively. Proto-Caribbean ridge stops spreading; Fz1, Fz2 and Fz3 are hypothetical fracture zones (c) 50 Ma—northern (Cuban) segment of GAC inactive after docking against North America, and back-arc spreading initiated in the Grenada Basin (GB), allowing the active arc to migrate east to the Outer Antillean Arc (OAA). d 30 Ma—subduction of the large-offset fracture zone(s) around the Bahamas Bank and Demerara Plateau (DP) (marked as Fz1 on panel b) led to a rapid younging of the subducting slab, inducing a westward jump of the active arc to the current Lesser Antillean Arc (LAA), while North America-Caribbean motion is accommodated along the newly formed Cayman transform boundary (CT).