Editorial preface to special issue: Recovery of marine ecosystem after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction: New progress from South China

Abstract

The end Permian to Middle Triassic interval (∼252–242 Ma) witnessed the largest marine mass extinction and the most delayed recovery in the Phanerozoic. The nature and mechanism of these biotic and environmental changes remain unclear. This special issue focuses on the Triassic marine sediments in South China, which provide unique documentation of the collapse and recovery of marine ecosystems. Six papers focus on biotic changes and their ecological significance in Early and Middle Triassic times, documenting evidence from bivalves, marine reptiles, stromatolites, hybodontid teeth, vertebrate coprolites, and other putative fossils. Two papers study conodont biostratigraphy across the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) and Induan-Olenekian boundary. Two papers reconstruct the palaeoenvironments of the Early Triassic Chaohu Fauna and Middle Triassic Luoping Biota. Two further papers present new marine δ13C records and biomarker data and link them to volcanic eruptions in Early Triassic times. These new findings are important for understanding the co-evolution between biotic and environmental changes in the aftermath of Permian-Triassic boundary mass extinction.