A statistical test on diversity changes of Early and Middle Permian fusulinacean fauna in South China

Abstract

The rarefaction analysis has been conducted to test the species diversity changes of the Early and Middle Permian fusulinacean fauna in South China. The results reveal that the number of species dramatically increased since the earliest Permian and quickly reached the maximum value in the early Zisongian representing the highest species diversity for the whole Early and Middle Permian. The species diversity stabilized in the plateau through the Zisongian; however, it started to decline in the following Longlinian and sustained a longstanding low level during the mid-Early Permian. With the appearance of new fusulinacean taxa with septulum structures, the number of species raised again in the late-Early Permian, followed by a decline in the Middle Permian Neoschwagerina simplex zone. Although the species diversity increased apparently in the Kuhfengian, it never rebounded back to the same level as in the Early Permian. In the mid-Middle Permian, species diversity began to decrease continuously and led to the disappearance of most fusulinacean species by the end of the Middle Permian.