Brachiopod assemblages from the early Middle Triassic of Qingyan, Guizhou, Southwest China

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Global biodiversity figures show that marine invertebrate faunas underwent a diversity crash in the end-Permian mass extinction followed by a longperiod of depletion in biodiversity in Early Triassic and the pronounced recovery in Middle Triassic (Alory et al., 2008). Global biodiversity changes of brachiopod faunas over the Permian–Triassic transition appear a paralleling pattern to the marine invertebrate diversity (Chen et al., 2005a, b). The literature data-based biodiversity figures are well-indicated by fossil records at outcrop sections in South China. Several paleontological studies show that the Anisian (Middle Triassic) benthic faunas from Qingyan, Guizhou Province, Southwest China (Fig. 1) are extremely abundant and diverse, including at least 15 leading fossil groups (Chen J H et al., 2001; Chen J et al., 2010a, b; Stiller and Chen, 2006, 2004; Komatsu et al., 2004; Stiller, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1995; Yin and Yochelson, 1983a, b, c). The Qingyan fauna