Geological evidence supports the final closure of the isthmus of Panama approximately 2.7 to 3.5 mya, with some evidence suggesting an earlier transient bridge existing between 13 and 15 mya. Recent evidence increasingly points towards an older and more complex emergence of the Isthmus, with fossil and extant species dispersal (part of the American biotic interchange) occurring in three major pulses, to and from North and South America. Further, the changes in terrestrial biotic distributions of both continents such as with "Eciton" army ants supports an earlier bridge or a series of bridges. Regardless of the exact timing of the isthmus closer, biologists can study the species on the Pacific and Caribbean sides in what has been called, "one of the greatest natural experiments in evolution". Additionally, as with most geologic events, the closure was unlikely to have occurred rapidly, but instead dynamically—a gradual shallowing of sea water over millions of years.