end-Guadalupian Mass Extinction Research Articles

Morphological innovation after mass extinction events in Permian and Early Triassic conodonts based on Polygnathacea

Taxonomic diversity of marine animals decreased markedly during the end-Guadalupian and end-Permian mass extinctions, but conodonts were largely unaffected by these two major events. This conclusion is largely based on potentially problematic conodont taxonomy, but quantitative analyses of conodont morphology have received little attention, despite offering key insights into macroevolutionary dynamics. Polygnathacea conodonts seemingly evolved fast and had high morphological diversity, and are therefore ideal for exploring morphospace trends and disparity related to environmental change in conodonts. Here we compiled discrete character-taxon matrices to first refine phylogenetic interpretations and then explore morphological disparity in four related conodont families, the Anchignathodontidae, Sweetognathidae, Idiognathodontidae and Vjalovognathidae, from the Permian to Early Triassic. Our findings reveal morphological innovation and exploration of new morphospace after the end-Guadalupian mass extinction and end-Permian mass extinction. We also show that the smaller end-Guadalupian extinction event was more impactful, resulting in greater losses of morphological disparity and taxonomic diversity, than the larger end-Permian extinction event. Overall, our study reveals morphological disparity trends related to temporal evolutionary dynamics for conodonts during the geologically and environmentally turbulent Permian and Early Triassic. We show that conodonts are affected by extinction events during this interval in terms of morphological diversity, rather than simply taxonomic diversity.

Genesis of the Wangpo bed in the Sichuan Basin: Formation by eruptions of the Emeishan large igneous province

During the Guadalupian–Lopingian transition, the widely distributed Wangpo bed in the Sichuan Basin recorded the voluminous eruptions of the Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP). However, it remains unclear whether the Wangpo bed was formed by submarine volcanic activity of the ELIP or is the weathering product of the Emeishan basalt. Furthermore, its causal relationship with the end-Guadalupian mass extinction and contemporaneous environmental changes is also uncertain. To investigate these issues, we conducted a study of the Wangpo bed of the Shangsi section in the northwestern Sichuan Basin, including analysis of its mineralogy, whole-rock major/trace elements, and zircon UPb chronology, Hf isotopes, and trace-element geochemistry. Petrological observations of the appearance of pumice in the upper Wangpo bed suggest that the pumice could have been formed by submarine volcanic activity of the ELIP. Mineralogical investigation also shows large amounts of vermicular kaolinite and anatase in the Wangpo bed, suggesting that it is the alteration product of volcanic ash that was deposited in a deep water column. Geochemical comparisons further confirm that the Wangpo bed shows affinity with the felsic extrusive rocks of the ELIP but differs from the clay beds at the bottom of the Xuanwei Formation in the eastern ELIP. More importantly, the results of zircon UPb chronological, Hf isotope, and trace-element geochemical analyses indicate that the bed formed as a result of intraplate volcanic activity at ca. 257 Ma. Thus, our robust array of evidence suggests that the Wangpo bed was formed as a direct sedimentary response to the eruptions of the ELIP. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the possible influence of the eruptions on environmental change, we propose that the violent submarine volcanic activity that was accompanied by strong magma degassing during the Guadalupian–Lopingian transition, which released large amounts of volatiles to the seafloor, could have exacerbated the contemporaneous environmental degradation and eventually led to the end-Guadalupian biotic crisis.

New insights into the origin of Middle to Late Permian volcaniclastics (Nb-Zr-REY-Ga-rich horizons) from eastern Yunnan, SW China

Volcaniclastic horizons near the Guadalupian-Lopingian Boundary (G-LB) from southwest China have attracted much attention, not only due to the End-Guadalupian mass extinction near the boundary, but also to the unique and regionally extensive Nb-Zr-REY-Ga mineralization with potential economic significance (REY = rare earth elements and Y). Previous studies have suggested that these horizons were derived from volcanism associated with the terminal phases of the Emeishan mantle plume, which however was not the only contemporaneous volcanic activity in southeast Asia at this time (~260 Ma). Here we present a systematic analysis focusing on the petrological, mineralogical, and geochemical features of the volcaniclastics from the Yiliang and Weixin boreholes from the lowest strata of the Late Permian Xuanwei and Longtan formations, respectively, eastern Yunnan, SW China. In addition, previous geochemical data obtained for the correlative layers near the investigated boreholes were used for reference. The mineralogy of the volcaniclastics is dominated by mixed-layer illite/smectite, illite, berthierine, kaolinite, and quartz, and to a lesser extent, albite, calcite, siderite, anatase, and hematite, along with traces of chamosite, rutile, and florencite. Additionally, zircon, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, rhabdophane, parisite, goyazite, and barite were identified under SEM-EDS. The values of Al2O3/TiO2 in the volcaniclastic samples are mostly greater than eight, consistent with the characteristics of intermediate-felsic rocks. The Nb/Yb and Zr/TiO2 vs. Al2O3/TiO2 diagrams, and the chondrite-normalized REY distribution patterns of the samples collectively indicate that the Nb-Zr-REY-Ga mineralization was not only derived from the ELIP alkaline rocks, but also from the arc-related intermediate-felsic magmatic rocks from the Paleo-Tethys. However, the latter source for Nb-Zr-REY-Ga mineralization in SW China has not been previously reported. The two sources of clastic materials, i.e., from both within-plate/anorogenic magmatism and arc-related/orogenic magmatism, agree with previously-reported discrimination diagrams of εHf(t) vs. age and Hf/Th vs. Th/Nb in the zircon grains from the correlative claystones. In addition, the modes of occurrence of critical metals (Nb, Zr, REY, Ga) are identified in detail in this study. The results show that most of the HREE and almost all the Zr and Hf are in zircon; the LREE are dominantly in REE-bearing carbonates and phosphates; the Nb is largely in former FeTi oxide phases; and the Ga is predominantly in the clays.

Redox heterogeneity of picritic lavas with respect to their mantle sources in the Emeishan large igneous province

The oxygen fugacity (fO2) of the Earth’s mantle is a key parameter that regulates fundamental geological processes such as planetary differentiation, mantle melting, and volatile cycling. Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are among the most voluminous mafic volcanic eruptions in the Earth’s history. Constraining the fO2 of LIP rocks is critical for understanding the redox state of the mantle and migration of volatiles from the deep Earth to the atmosphere. Here, we investigated primitive picrites from the Dali and Lijiang areas belonging to the Emeishan LIP, which contain early-crystallized olivine phenocrysts with Fo contents up to 93.5 and 91.9, respectively. The fO2 conditions of primary and derivative melts are determined by the olivine-spinel and olivine-melt V oxybarometers, aided by temperature estimates from olivine-spinel Al and olivine-melt Sc/Y thermometers. The calculated fO2 values are negatively correlated with olivine Fo contents due to fractionation of mafic minerals in a system closed to oxygen. The fO2s of Dali and Lijiang primary melts are −0.8 ± 0.4 and + 0.6 ± 0.3 (1σ) ΔFMQ log units, respectively, more variable than those of primitive MORBs, indicating significant fO2 fluctuations in primary magmas from the Emeishan LIP caused by changes in both redox state of the source rock and depth of melt extraction. Melt barometer constrains the Dali and Lijiang primary melts generated at 4.7 and 3.0 GPa, respectively. After correcting for the depth effect, the Dali and Lijiang sources are more oxidized (with higher Fe3+/∑Fe ratios), in varying degrees, than the ambient upper mantle, likely due to incorporation of recycled surface materials. Under such oxidized conditions, mantle carbon is efficiently extracted during melting in the form of CO2 and released to the atmosphere during massive magma emplacement, which may have played an important role in causing the climatic and environmental changes and triggering the end-Guadalupian mass extinction.

Rapid eruption of the Emeishan continental flood basalts: New paleomagnetic and geochronologic constraints

The duration of the eruption of the Emeishan large igneous province is hotly debated. We conducted a magnetostratigraphic and geochronological study of the core area of the large igneous province in the Binchuan area of Yunnan Province, southwestern China, in order to constrain the duration of the eruption. The results of detailed thermal demagnetization experiments revealed two remanent magnetic components from the volcanic rocks of 11 composite sections. A low-temperature component separated below 300 °C is interpreted as a recent viscous remanence. Additionally, reliable characteristic remanent magnetizations were revealed above 400 °C, with unblocking temperatures up to 580−680 °C, which passed the fold test and record three magnetozones. Zircons from the felsic ignimbrites exposed in the final stage of the mafic volcanism are dated to 258.2 ± 0.7 Ma (n = 15; mean square of weighted deviates = 1.3) by sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe. Stratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic correlations of the Emeishan basalts in the Binchuan sections indicate that the eruption of the mafic rocks of the Emeishan large igneous province can be clearly divided into early (reverse polarity subzone), middle (normal polarity subzone), and late (reverse polarity subzone) stages, with a total duration of less than 1.7 m.y. (260.8−259.1 Ma). However, by combining this chronology with previously reported conodont biostratigraphic results from locations around the Emeishan large igneous province, and comparing the dominant normal-reverse polarity sequence in the Emeishan large igneous province with the geomagnetic polarity time scale, we obtain a much shorter duration of the main eruptive stage of <0.8 m.y. (260.4−259.6 Ma). About three quarters of the basalts of the Emeishan large igneous province record have a normal polarity and erupted within 0.4 m.y., while the other quarter, mainly distributed in the central zone, shows a reverse polarity and much shorter duration. Given the short duration of the eruption, gas volatiles would have been released into the atmosphere at high rates, which might provide a causal link between the rapid eruption and the end-Guadalupian mass extinction. Before the mantle plume eruption, localized eruptions probably occurred. After eruption of the mafic Emeishan flood basalts, an acid volcanic eruption occurred in the early Wuchiapingian, which was sporadically distributed in the Emeishan large igneous province.

Genesis of end-Guadalupian bauxite and pyrite deposits in the Youjiang Basin (South China): Insights into the causative link between magmatic events and mass extinction

Mass extinction was commonly considered as the response to interaction between geosystems, and volcanism can be viewed as a vital link between the surface systems and deep geodynamic processes. This causative link between end-Guadalupian mass extinction and volcanism has been clarified, based on the research of bauxite and pyrite deposits in the Youjiang Basin, South China Block (SCB). Geochronological and geochemical evidences show that the source materials of bauxite-pyrite deposits were mainly derived from the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP) to the northwest and the continental arc along the SW margin of SCB associated with the subduction of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean underneath the Indochina block. Volcanic ash fallout by atmospheric dispersal driven by the easterly trade winds could best account for the spatial variation of both bauxite and pyrite deposits given their relative paleogeographic positions with respect to the two flanking sources. Massive volcanic tephra from arc volcanism fell on exposed carbonate platforms, underwent intensive chemical weathering and transformed into bauxites under the warm and humid tropical climate in Tethys, which could be also favored by acid precipitation caused by volcanic degassing. Extensive SO2 released from Emeishan LIP emission could be the major source of pyrite ores, probably with minor contribution from arc volcanism. This indicates that the prolonged and extensive continental arc volcanism induced environmental stress in the poorly-ventilated Paleo-Tethys Ocean, while the coincidental eruption of the large igneous provinces was the final straw, leading to the dramatic biotic crises during the Middle-Late Permian interval.

Biostratigraphy of the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone (Beaufort Group, Karoo Supergroup), South Africa

Abstract The late Permian (Lopingian) Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone (CiAZ) of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa has recently been radiometrically-dated to range from 256 to 255 My. It encompasses approximately one million years of the late Wuchiapingian epoch, at a time when the ancient intra-continental lowlands of southern Gondwana had fully recovered from the end-Guadalupian mass extinction. The diverse Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone fauna is dominated by the small herbivorous dicynodonts Diictodon, Pristerodon and the molelike Cistecephalus, along with a range of larger dicynodont herbivores including Oudenodon, Aulacephalodon, Rhachiocephalus, Dinanomodon and rare Endothiodon. The attendant large carnivores include the gorgonopsians Aelurognathus, Rubidgea, and Smilesaurus, while smaller carnivores are represented by eutherocephalians (e.g., Ictidosuchoides, Ictidosuchops) and small gorgonopsians (e.g., Aloposaurus, Scylacocephalus). Of the parareptiles, the large-bodied taxon Pareiasaurus is most common, with the diminutive pareiasaurs Anthodon, Nanoparia, and Pumiliopareia making their first appearance. Lithostratigraphically, the biozone for the most part coincides with the arenaceous Oukloof and lower Steenkampsvlakte members in the western sub-basin and the equivalent Oudeberg and lower Daggaboersnek members in the east, where it reaches its maximum thickness of 300 m. The Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone thins westwards to 120 m at Teekloof Pass, and eastwards to approximately 100 m near the town of Fort Beaufort.

An anatomy-consistent study of the Lopingian eolian tracks of Germany and Scotland reveals the first evidence of the end-Guadalupian mass extinction at low paleolatitudes of Pangea

The poor preservation and apparent monospecifity of Permian tetrapod footprints from eolian paleoenvironments have thus far hampered their reliable interpretation. This study clarifies how this is due to distinct and repeated ichnotaphonomic effects on trackway pattern and footprint morphology on originally inclined planes. Once these effects are excluded, the anatomy-consistent ichnotaxobases useful for ichnotaxonomy can be recognized. Several nomina dubia are identified, among these the ichnogenus Chelichnus, here considered a taphotaxon. The eolian ichnoassociations from the Lopingian of Scotland and Germany include six different ichnotaxa: cf. Capitosauroides isp. (?eutheriodont therapsid), Dicynodontipus geinitzi (cynodont therapsid), Dolomitipes isp. (dicynodont therapsid), Pachypes loxodactylus n. comb. (pareiasaurian parareptile), Procolophonichnium isp. (small parareptile) and Rhynchosauroides isp. (non-archosauriform neodiapsid). This is completely different from the interpretations of the last 20 years, which postulated that these paleoenvironments comprised monospecific associations of synapsid tracks. These ichnoassociations are instead moderately diverse, similar to low-latitude marginal marine to floodplain ichnoassociations and belong to the Lopingian Paradoxichnium footprint biochron. The Cornberg Formation of Germany, being constrained between the Illawarra reversal and the mid-Wuchiapingian Kupferschiefer at the Rotliegend/Zechstein transition, constitutes the earliest evidence of Lopingian tetrapod faunas at low paleolatitudes and the first evidence of low-paleolatitude faunal turnover related to the end-Guadalupian mass extinction from both the skeleton and the track record. This suggests a global extension of the dinocephalian extinction event, which occurred at high-mid (South Africa and Russia) and low (Western Europe) paleolatitudes of Pangea about 259–260 Ma and was probably triggered by the eruption of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province of SW China, which considerably changed global environmental conditions in both marine and continental settings.

40Ar/39Ar age of the onset of high-Ti phase of the Emeishan volcanism strengthens the link with the end-Guadalupian mass extinction

ABSTRACTPrecise time constraints of the main extrusive phase of the Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) remain unresolved because basalts commonly do not contain suitable minerals for U–Pb dating, whereas previous 40Ar/39Ar studies on basalts yielded tectonothermal overprint ages. The timing for the ELIP was deduced from indirect dating of minor intrusions of ultramafic/mafic and felsic compositions by geochronological methods and geological correlations. The extrusive part of the ELIP consists of an older low-Ti and younger high-Ti basalt phases. We have found fresh samples of plagioclase-phyric rocks at the lower Qiaojia extrusive section (the Yunnan province of China), which belong to the ELIP unit of the high-Ti basalt series. 40Ar/39Ar dating on plagioclase from two samples conducted at two different laboratories using different age standards yielded statistically indistinguishable results with the weighted mean age of 260.1 ± 1.2 Ma for five individual measurements. This provides the direct constraints on the onset of the ELIP high-Ti basalt extrusive phase. The obtained age is within the error or slightly older than the age of the Guadalupian–Lopingian boundary and felsic ignimbrite capping the ELIP lava succession (both dated at 259.1 ± 0.5 Ma). Our new data are strengthening the short duration of the, at least, high-Ti phase of the ELIP volcanism and its temporal link with the end-Guadalupian mass extinction. Estimation of the total duration of the ELIP volcanism awaits finding of suitable for dating low-Ti basalts.

Late Permian basalts in the Yanghe area, eastern Sichuan Province, SW China: Implications for the geodynamics of the Emeishan flood basalt province and Permian global mass extinction

We report the finding of a ∼20m thick sequence of massive pyroxene–plagioclase–phyric basalt lava flows in the Yanghe area of the northeastern Sichuan Basin, within the Yangtze craton of SW China, which were previously considered to be located outside the Emeishan flood basalt province. This basaltic sequence above the middle Permian Maokou Formation (Fm.) is overlain by the late Permian Longtan Fm. Thus, the Yanghe basalts should be stratigraphically correlated with the Emeishan flood basalts. The Yanghe basalts show typical oceanic island basalt (OIB) affinity, and geochemically resemble Emeishan basalts, especially in the case of high-Ti (HT) basalts from the eastern domain of the Emeishan flood basalt province. The rocks have low age-corrected (87Sr/86Sr)t (t=260Ma) ratios (0.704158–0.704929) and Pb isotopic ratios [206Pb/204Pb(t) (18.264–18.524), 207Pb/204Pb(t) (15.543–15.58), and 208Pb/204Pb(t) (38.147–38.519)], and positive εNd(t) values (+3.15 to +3.61), suggesting that the lavas have not undergone any significant crustal contamination. The crystallization temperature of clinopyroxene is estimated to be 1368–1420°C, suggesting anomalously thermal inputs from a mantle source and a possible plume-head origin. The fractionation of middle rare earth elements (MREE) to heavy REE (HREE) suggests that these rocks were produced by small degrees of partial melting of mantle peridotite within the garnet–spinel transition region. The stratigraphic relationships and similar geochemical signatures with the Emeishan flood basalts suggest that the Yanghe basalts are part of the Emeishan flood basalt province and can be considered as the northeastern limit of the Emeishan flood basalt province. Our finding extends the diameter of the Emeishan flood basalt province to ∼1200–1400km, covering an area of up to ∼7×105km2, two times more than previously estimated. The larger areal extent and giant eruption volume, incorporating the Sichuan Basin, lend support to the correlation between the end-Guadalupian mass extinction and the Emeishan flood basalt province.

New insights into the lowest Xuanwei Formation in eastern Yunnan Province, SW China: Implications for Emeishan large igneous province felsic tuff deposition and the cause of the end-Guadalupian mass extinction

A previous study suggested that the lowest Xuanwei Formation is derived from weathered clastic materials of silicic composition from the Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) based on chemostratigraphic correlations (Al2O3/TiO2 ratios) between the two. In this study, we have adopted the model that the Emeishan mantle plume commenced and terminated within a short duration and have investigated the detailed mineralogy and geochemistry of carefully sampled rocks from the lower sections of the Xuanwei Formation, eastern Yunnan Province, Southwest China. These samples are intensely argillized and characterized by high proportions of clay minerals and quartz. The samples with Al2O3/TiO2>7 from the lowest Xuanwei Formation have an anomalous natural gamma response and high concentrations of Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Th, U, Ga and REY (rare earth elements and yttrium). Our results suggest that the samples with Al2O3/TiO2>7 from the lowest Xuanwei Formation represent felsic volcanic tuff instead of acidic clasts as originally proposed. The lowest Xuanwei Formation and the Wangpo Bed are the felsic tuffaceous layers interbedded with clastic rocks derived from the Emeishan high-Ti basalts. Such volcanic layers most likely represent ELIP felsic tuff originated from the extrusive equivalent of Nb–Zr-enriched alkaline syenitic magmatism at the waning stage of Emeishan mantle plume activity. This study has verified the existence of extensive alkaline felsic volcanism of early Late Permian age. Such alkaline volcanism may have been catastrophic and have contributed to the end-Guadalupian mass extinction.

Redox conditions across the G–L boundary in South China: Evidence from pyrite morphology and sulfur isotopic compositions

The end-Guadalupian (middle Permian) mass extinction recorded the disappearance of shelf faunas such as fusulinids, small foraminifers, brachiopods, rugose corals which flourished in the warm shallow marine habitats after the late Pennsylvanian–early Permian glaciation. The causes for this mass extinction are still unclear. Marine anoxia, often as a cause for other mass extinctions, has been paid less attention in this extinction. Here we present a comprehensive study including pyrite morphology and sulfur isotopic compositions of pyrite across the Guadalupian–Lopingian (middle–upper Permian; G–L) boundary at Tianfengping in northern Yangtze Platform and at Penglaitan in southern Yangtze Platform in South China. Our results show that the sulfur isotope ratios of pyrite mainly track the framboid size distributions in these two sections. Anoxia and intermittent euxinia occur at the G–L boundary evidenced by the coincidence between reduction of framboid size and the extremely negative sulfur isotope values of pyrite involving disproportionation, and corresponds to the main mass extinction of the end-Guadalupian, suggesting a causal link between them. Long-term dysoxic conditions during the middle Capitanian are evidenced by the relative small framboid size and lower sulfur isotope ratios of pyrite, and coincide with the first pulse of the end-Guadalupian mass extinction, also suggesting a causal link between them. The oxygen-depletion conditions in the Capitanian during the global sea level falling may be the main cause for the end-Guadalupian mass extinction.

A correlation between the Large Igneous Provinces and mass extinctions: constraint on the end-Guadalupian mass extinction and the Emeishan LIP in South China, eastern Tethys

ABSTRACTWell-documented outcrops around the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) in South China, eastern Tethys, encompassing the end-Guadalupian mass extinction have been investigated. Correlatable sections recording the event exhibit very similar lithological characters, positive-then-negative C isotope excursions and massive biotic demise. Detailed analyses of the fossil record and carbon isotopic variations were carried out on the Guadalupian–Wuchiapingian Boundary sections over the inner, middle, outer zones of the ELIP and its margin. Due to a pronounced decrease in marine habitat area and the environmental and ecological change over this part of the Tethys, the biota crisis records show the loss of numerous tropical invertebrate taxa, and exhibit fewer genera and smaller testing sizes and low productivity. The biota crisis was a sustainable and gradual reduction in diversity over the Capitanian. The associated carbon isotopic data reveal unusually high δ13C(carb) values before the late Capitanian, representing higher primary productivity (or buried rate) and more 13C-enriched CO2 released by hydrothermal carbonate breakdown from the upper crust into the sediments at that time. Subsequently, an accelerated negative excursion across the boundary and the gradual excursion with low carbon isotope amplitude favours an increased influx of light 12C sourced by the volcanism around the eastern Tethys. The very similar time–space relation between the biota crisis and the Emeishan volcanism confirms that volcanic eruptions may have triggered the biota crisis event in South China. Intensive volcanism could result in detrimental environmental and ecological stresses, habitat loss, organic material splitting, or the emission of light carbon and thermal fluid (or aerosol), implying that the losses of the shallow-marine invertebrates either occurred geologically instantaneously or in a series of closely spaced crises coinciding with the initial phase of ELIP formation. These findings in South China may reveal the causal relation between mass extinctions and LIPs in a global context.

Widespread shoaling of sulfidic waters linked to the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction

Multiple sulfur isotopes (32S, 33S, 34S, and 36S) measured on pyrites from the Penglaitan section, the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Guadalupian-Lopingian Series boundary, and from the auxiliary Tieqiao section in South China show a sulfur isotope signal of negative and positive δ34S with negative Δ33S. We suggest that these data indicate mixing of 34S-enriched and 34S-depleted sulfur in the sediments, which may have been driven by shoaling of sulfidic waters. Similar isotopic data of negative δ34S with negative Δ33S were also observed from the EF section in the Delaware Basin of west Texas (USA). The consistency of the minor sulfur isotopic anomalies from both South China and west Texas suggests a causal link between widespread shoaling of sulfidic waters and the end-Guadalupian mass extinction.

Revised fusulinid biostratigraphy of the Middle–Late Permian of Jebel Tebaga (Tunisia)

Most carbonate series of Jebel Tebaga (Tunisia) are assigned to the Capitanian (last stage of the Middle Permian); however, their accurate correlation with the El Capitan stratotype in the USA and with contemporaneous Tethyan localities remains unclear. With the intent to establish more accurate lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphical divisions, (1) we re-sampled bed-by-bed the classical field sections of Jebel Tebaga; (2) we revised the lithostratigraphical units E-I to E-VI, and (3) we selected 9 fusulinids in order to characterize more precisely local bioevents. We have therefore studied 3 giant genera (Chusenella, Neoschwagerina and Yabeina), 3 medium-sized taxa (Dunbarula, Rauserella and Yangchienia), and 3 small size genera (Lantschichites, Codonofusiella and Reichelina). The first group was known to synchronously disappear at the time of the end-Guadalupian mass extinction. The thirth group was generally considered to be characteristic of the early Late Permian, after a Lilliput effect among the fusulinid groups, during which the dwarfs replaced the giants. Our data show that, in Jebel Tebaga, the so-called Wuchiapingian small forms Codonofusiella and Reichelina appear very early in the Late Capitanian. In some hills of the Tebaga area (i.e., Baten Beni Zid and Jebel Seikra), Codonofusiella and Reichelina even dominated the fusulinid assemblages during two short episodes. The first episode is located near the base of the Capitanian series; the second one, although located near its top, remains Capitanian in age, because it took place before the local disappearance of the three giants Neoschwagerina, Yabeina and Chusenella. As the sequence becomes sandier after this bioevent, the boundary with the Wuchiapingian (first stage of the Late Permian or Lopingian) cannot be well positioned. The end-Guadalupian event is only marked by this sedimentological modification. Because the Late Permian Cheguimi sandstone is entirely devoid of foraminifers and conodonts, no local subdivisions can be proposed in this series.

Carbon and sulfur isotopic fluctuations associated with the end-Guadalupian mass extinction in South China

Concentrations of total organic matter (TOC), carbon isotopic compositions of carbonate and organic matter (δ13Ccarb, δ13Corg), and sulfur isotopic compositions of carbonate associated sulfate (δ34Ssulfate) across the Guadalupian–Lopingian (G–L) boundary were analyzed from identical samples of Tieqiao section, Laibin, Guangxi province, South China. The δ13Ccarb values show a positive excursion from −0.45‰ to the peak of 3.80‰ in the Laibin limestone member of the Maokou Formation, followed by a drastic drop to −2.60‰ in the lowest Heshan formation, then returned to about 1.58‰. Similar to the trends of the δ13Ccarb values, Δ13Ccarb–org values also show a positive excursion followed by a sharp negative shift. The onset of a major negative carbon isotope excursion postdates the end Guadalupian extinction that indicates subsequent severe disturbance of the ocean–atmosphere carbon cycle. The first biostratigraphic δ34Ssulfate values during the G–L transition exhibit a remarkable fluctuation: a dramatic negative shift followed by a rapid positive shift, ranging from 36.88‰ to −37.41‰. These sulfate isotopic records suggest that the ocean during the G–L transition was strongly stratified, forming an unstable chemocline separating oxic shallow water from anoxic/euxinic deep water. Chemocline excursions, together with subsequent rapid transgression and oceanic anoxia, were likely responsible for the massive diversity decline of the G–L biotic crisis.

Transgressive–regressive sequences on the slope of an isolated carbonate platform (Middle–Late Permian, Laibin, South China)

From the Middle to Late Permian, the Laibin area in Guangxi, South China, was situated on the slope of an isolated carbonate platform, on which continuous marine successions were deposited. Two global stratotype sections for the boundary between the Guadalupian (Middle Permian) and Lopingian (Late Permian) are located at Penglaitan and Tieqiao in the Laibin area, respectively, and thus are chosen for study. At the two locations, 14 facies are recognized in the Maokou and Heshan Formations, and they are further grouped into four facies associations (basin, lower slope, upper slope, and platform margin). Six main transgressive–regressive (TR) sequences are identified in strata from the Roadian (Middle Permian) to the Wuchiapingian (Late Permian). They are conformable marine sequences that were little influenced by regional uplift (Dongwu Movement) and so provide a good record of the sea-level changes in South China at this time. Based on the significant taxonomic selection and controversial marine faunal loss in the end-Guadalupian mass extinction, and the Middle-Late Permian sea-level changes recorded by the TR sequences in the Laibin area, it is suggested that this extinction event might have been triggered by the reduction and loss of shallow-marine habitat area caused by the end-Guadalupian regression. The global cooling and Emeishan volcanism also occurring at this time could have further enhanced this extinction event.

High-precision temporal calibration of Late Permian vertebrate biostratigraphy: U-Pb zircon constraints from the Karoo Supergroup, South Africa

Therapsid and other tetrapod fossils from the South African Karoo Supergroup provide the most detailed and best studied terrestrial vertebrate record of the Middle and Late Permian. The resulting biostratigraphic scheme has global applicability. Establishing a temporal framework for these faunas has proven difficult: magnetostratigraphy has been hampered by a Jurassic overprint, and intercorrelation with Permian marine sequences has been equivocal. Here we report U-Pb zircon isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) dates for five volcanic ashes interbedded with fossils from the Pristerognathus , Tropidostoma , and Cistecephalus vertebrate biozones of the Beaufort Group. This temporal framework allows correlation to marine zonations and improves understanding of rates of faunal evolution and patterns of basin evolution. Our results identify no correlative vertebrate extinctions in the Karoo Supergroup to the marine end-Guadalupian mass extinction and raise the question of whether there is any record of a terrestrial extinction related to the Emeishan large igneous province.

Diversity trends in the establishment of terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems: Interactions between spatial and temporal sampling biases

Research Article| January 01, 2013 Diversity trends in the establishment of terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems: Interactions between spatial and temporal sampling biases Roger B.J. Benson; Roger B.J. Benson * 1Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK2Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK *E-mail: rbb27@cam.ac.uk. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul Upchurch Paul Upchurch 1Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2013) 41 (1): 43–46. https://doi.org/10.1130/G33543.1 Article history received: 19 Apr 2012 rev-recd: 04 Jul 2012 accepted: 05 Jul 2012 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Roger B.J. Benson, Paul Upchurch; Diversity trends in the establishment of terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems: Interactions between spatial and temporal sampling biases. Geology 2013;; 41 (1): 43–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G33543.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Analyses of how fossil record sampling influences detection of past biodiversity change, and geographic patterns of animal diversity, are central to understanding macroevolution, deep time macroecology, and interactions between the rock and fossil records. The diversification and establishment of complex trophic structure among terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods) and three hypothesized mass extinctions occurred in the Permian (299.0–252.3 Ma), during a predominantly icehouse global climate regime. Prominent, short-lived features of Permian species diversity curves, such as a possible end-Guadalupian mass extinction, are robust to sampling biases. However, multivariate and time series approaches show that longer term trends in the accumulation of terrestrial biodiversity are more sensitive. Olson’s extinction, believed to have occurred at the end of the Early Permian, might be an artifact of the abrupt geographic shift from predominant sampling of Lower Permian, amphibian-rich, paleotropical everwet biome in North America, to more tetrapod-depauperate Middle–Late Permian, cool paleotemperate biomes in Russia and South America. Thus, geographic heterogeneity in fossil record sampling, superimposed on a prominent, icehouse latitudinal biodiversity gradient, might have created an artifactual macroevolutionary event. This apparent event remains even after correcting data for uneven temporal sampling. Thus, a complex interplay between spatial and temporal biodiversity trends, and geographic and temporal sampling factors, is responsible for generating observed past biodiversity patterns. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

CAPITANIAN (MIDDLE PERMIAN) MASS EXTINCTION AND RECOVERY IN WESTERN TETHYS: A FOSSIL, FACIES, AND 13C STUDY FROM HUNGARY AND HYDRA ISLAND (GREECE)

The Capitanian (middle Permian) extinction and recovery event is examined in carbonate platform settings from western Tethys (Hungary and Hydra, Greece). The age model for these sections is poorly resolved and we have constructed a δ13C chemostratigraphic correlation scheme, supported by conodont and foraminifer data, which attempts correlation with the well-dated events in China. This reveals the timing of events was similar in all Tethyan regions: extinction losses in the middle of the Capitanian produced late Capitanian assemblages in Hungary and Hydra with a distinctive late Permian character (for example, they lack large fusulinaceans). There is no evidence for an extinction event at the end of the Guadalupian (Capitanian) suggesting that previous claims for an end-Guadalupian mass extinction are based on poorly dated records of a mid-Capitanian event. Base level was stable through much of the middle–late Permian transition with the exception of a major regression within the Capitanian Stage. The subsequent transgression established widespread shallow-water carbonate deposition, such as the Episkopi Formation in Hydra and the Nagyvisnyo Limestone Formation in Hungary.