Parvus Zone Research Articles

Response of Siliceous Marine Organisms to the Permian‐Triassic Climate Crisis Based on New Findings From Central Spitsbergen, Svalbard

AbstractSiliceous marine ecosystems play a critical role in shaping the Earth's climate system by influencing rates of organic carbon burial and marine authigenic clay formation (i.e., reverse weathering). The ecological demise of silicifying organisms associated with the Permian‐Triassic mass extinction is postulated to have elevated marine authigenic clay formation rates, resulting in a prolonged greenhouse climate during the Early Triassic. Yet, our understanding of the response of siliceous marine organisms during this critical interval is poor. Whilst radiolarians experienced the strongest diversity loss in their evolutionary history and perhaps also the greatest population decline of silica‐secreting organisms during this event, only a small number of Griesbachian (post‐extinction) localities that record siliceous organisms are known. Here, we report newly discovered latest Changhsingian to early Griesbachian (Clarkina meishanensis ‐ Hindeodus parvus Zone) radiolarians and siliceous sponge spicules from Svalbard. This fauna documents the survival of a low‐diversity radiolarian assemblage alongside stem‐group hexactinellid sponges making this the first described account of post‐extinction silica‐secreting organisms from the Permian/Triassic boundary in a shallow marine shelf environment and a mid‐northern paleolatitudinal setting. Our findings indicate that latitudinal diversity gradients for silica‐secreting organisms following the mass extinction were significantly altered, and that silica productivity was restricted to high latitude and deep water thermal refugia. This result has potential to further shape our understanding of changes in marine dissolved silica levels and in turn rates of reverse weathering, with implications for our understanding of carbon cycle dynamics during this interval.

Integrated biochemostratigraphy of the Permian-Triassic boundary interval and Lower Triassic succession in the eastern Cimmerian continent (Baoshan block, West Yunnan, southwest China)

The records of extreme biotic and environmental crises have been well documented worldwide from Permian-Triassic successions. However, the Cimmerian continent, a Gondwana-derived continental terrane/block strip, has received insufficient attention in terms of its eastern part including the Baoshan block. Here, we report an integrated conodont biostratigraphic zonation and carbon isotope profile from the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) beds and Lower Triassic succession of the Baoshan block. The conodont faunas obtained from the dolomitized Hewanjie Formation at the Dajianshan section are dominated by Hindeodus and Isarcicella species. Representatives of Eurygnathodus and the Ellisoniidae are also present. Five conodont zones are recognized in ascending order: the Hindeodus parvus Zone, the Isarcicella staeschei Zone, the Isarcicella isarcica Zone, the Hindeodus postparvus Zone, and the Eurygnathodus costatus Zone. The carbon isotope curve exhibits two pulses of negative excursion around the PTB. In general, both the conodont zones and the carbon isotope profile correlate well with those from other well-documented sections in the world. The Permian-Triassic boundary, extinction horizons and Induan-Olenekian boundary are calibrated in terms of conodont and carbon isotopic data. In addition, conodont biofacies analyses show that the depositional water-depth was shallow in general, as indicated by the lack of gondolellids and neospathodids and the presence of ellisonids and Eurygnathodus.

Integrated biochemostratigraphy of the Permian-Triassic boundary beds in a shallow carbonate platform setting (Yangou, South China)

Investigation of the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) has been greatly facilitated by high-resolution conodont biostratigraphic studies. To date, however, a detailed biostratigraphic framework has been lacking for shallow-marine successions of the Tethys region. In the present study, we analyzed carbonate microfacies, conodont biostratigraphy, and carbonate carbon isotopes of the Yangou Quarry section, a shallow-marine EPME succession that accumulated on an isolated carbonate bank on the northern margin of the Yangtze Platform. Microfacies analysis yielded four facies and 8 microfacies that record a seawater deepening immediately following the EPME. Ooids were abundantly produced during the EPME and earliest Triassic mass extinction (ETME) but were replaced by microbial mats, algae, bivalves, and brachiopods during an earliest Triassic transgression. A total of three conodont zones are recognized from the uppermost Changhsingian to the lowermost Griesbachian, in ascending order, the Hindeodus praeparvus Zone, H. parvus Zone, and Isarcicella staeschei Zone. The EPME and PTB (Permian-Triassic boundary) horizons are marked by the first occurrences of H. praeparvus at 6.18 m and H. parvus at 6.57 m, respectively, above the base of the section. The conodont biostratigraphic framework of the Yangou Quarry section was refined through intercalibration with its δ13Ccarb profile. This section records two discrete negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) that are correlative with the EPME and ETME horizons, and that can be correlated with similar CIEs at Meishan D and other PTB sections globally. Our study provides the first integrated, high-resolution biochemostratigraphic framework for a shallow-marine PTB succession in the eastern Tethys region, which will facilitate paleoenvironmental studies of similar facies elsewhere as well as correlations with deeper-water facies.

Pennsylvanian brachiopod, fish and conodont faunas from the Caliza Masiva (San Emiliano Formation) at the Mina Profunda area, Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain

A rock sample obtained from the Caliza Masiva of the San Emiliano Formation (Bashkirian–early Moscovian) in the Mina Profunda area (NE Villamanín) of the Bodón Nappe (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain) has yielded numerous brachiopods and fish remains not frequently represented in the fossil record. The brachiopod assemblage comprises 13 taxa and is characterized by phosphatic (Langella, Orbiculoidea) as well as exceptionally preserved silicified calcitic elements (a small chonetid, Composita, Crurithyris, Lambdarina, and two minute terebratulids) as the main faunal components. Of special importance is the record of the microbrachiopod Lambdarinawinklerprinsi nov. sp., which reduces the large Viséan–Upper Permian gap in the stratigraphic record of this genus. Conodont elements recovered from the same insoluble residue are indicative of the upper Bashkirian Idiognathoides sulcatus parvus Zone. The accompanying fish remains consist of chondrichthyan teeth and scales, an acanthodian scale and osteichthyan tooth-bearing bones, isolated teeth and isolated scales, representing the first Pennsylvanian ichthyoliths analyzed from the Cantabrian Zone. The limestone beds with selective silicification in the San Emiliano Formation provide an exceptional opportunity to improve our knowledge on the patterns of life diversity over geological time.

Stromatolite-dominated microbialites at the Permian–Triassic boundary of the Xikou section on South Qinling Block, China

Permian–Triassic boundary microbialites (PTBMs) are organosedimentary carbonates formed immediately after the end-Permian mass extinction. All those reported PTBMs constrained by convincing conodont biozones are present stratigraphycally not higher than the Hindeodus parvus zone and most of them are dominated by thrombolites. This paper provides the first record of a brief, but spectacular development of stromatolite-dominated PTBMs within the basal Isarcicella isarcica conodont zone of the earliest Triassic from the Xikou section of South Qinling Block that was at the margin of the North China Block during the Permian–Triassic transition and was geographically separated from the major occurrence of post-extinction microbialites in the South China Block. This stromatolite cap overlies a 3.7-m-thick oolitic limestone and is composed of a lower 0.2-m-thick bed and an upper 0.5-m-thick bed, separated by a 0.2-m-thick greyish green siliciclastic mudstone. These two stromatolite beds mainly consist of columnar stromatolites with subordinate domal stromatolites. The intercolumn and interstitial spaces within the stromatolites are filled with oolitic grainstones. At the microscopic scale, laminoid structures in stromatolites comprise wavy, millimetric-domical and tangled laminae. The increased grain and fossil contents and/or bioturbation in the domical and tangled laminae indicate that the formation of these laminae is likely related to an increase in the populations and the disruptions by benthic metazoans, as well as an influx of sediment grains. The δ13Ccarb values fluctuate between 2‰ and 3‰ in the uppermost Permian strata; a distinct negative shift of 1.9‰ occurs at the topmost oolitic grainstone, just below the lower stromatolite bed, and the lowest value of −0.1‰ is located at the base of the upper stromatolite bed. The stratigraphic succession from stromatolites to thrombolites of the PTBMs may represent a transgressive succession and/or a transient ecosystem recovery immediately after the end-Permian mass extinction. The thrombolites-dominated PTBMs mainly developed in near-equator shallow marine geographic locations, and stromatolite-dominated PTBMs mainly developed at higher latitude settings, which probably indicates that a relatively lower diversity and abundance of marine benthic metazoans existed at higher latitudes after the end-Permian mass extinction.

Conodonts and Carbon Isotopes during the Permian-Triassic Transition on the Napo Platform, South China

Two Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) sections (Pojue and Dala) are well exposed in an isolated carbonate platform (Napo Platform) on the southwestern margin of the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China. These sections provide an insight into the transition across the PTB and a detailed investigation of the conodont biostratigraphy and inorganic carbon isotopes is presented. The PTB at the Pojue Section is placed at the base of Bed 10B (a dolomitized mudstone found below a microbialite horizon), defined by the first occurrence of Hindeodus parvus. At the Dala Section, four conodont zones occur. They are, in ascending order, the Hindeodus parvus Zone, Isarcicella staeschei Zone, Isarcicella isarcica Zone and Clarkina planata Zone. Comparison with the Pojue Section suggests the PTB at Dala also occurs at the base of dolomitized mudstone below a microbialite horizon, although the first occurrence of Hindeodus parvus is near the top of a microbialite bed: an occurrence that is also seen in other platform sections. The succeeding microbialite beds developed during the ongoing PTB mass extinction phase. This time was characterized by low carbon isotope values, and a microbialite ecosystem that provided a refuge for selected groups (bivalves, ostracods and microgastropods) that were likely tolerant of extremely high temperatures.

Conodont succession and reassessment of major events around the Permian-Triassic boundary at the Selong Xishan section, southern Tibet, China

A major discrepancy for the age of the Selong Group from middle Cisuralian (Early Permian) to Changhsingian resulted from previous reports of Sakmarian, Kungurian and Guadalupian (Middle Permian) conodonts and Lopingian (Late Permian) brachiopods. Recently, Cisuralian and Guadalupian conodonts were reported again from the Selong Group and the basal part of the Kangshare Formation at the Selong section, but the age discrepancy remains. We present our conodont materials based on large samples collected from the Selong Group and our interpretation based on identifications using a sample population approach. Three conodont zones are recognized in our re-investigation of the upper part of the Selong Group. They include the Vjalovognathus sp., the Mesogondolella hendersoni, and the M. sheni zones, in ascending order. These zones are overlain by the basal Triassic Hindeodus parvus Zone and the Otoceras woodwardi Zone. Our reassessment of conodonts reported by previous studies from Selong and nearby sections suggest that all specimens consistently point to a Lopingian age; the upper part of the Selong Group is latest Changhsingian in age based on the presence of Clarkina orchardi and Mesogondolella sheni. Previously reported early Cisuralian and Guadalupian conodonts are misidentified using a form species concept. A hiatus may be present at the erosional surface between the Selong Group and the Waagenites Bed of the basal part of the Kangshare Formation. However, the hiatus is minimal because conodont and brachiopod assemblages above and below this surface are very similar, and it results from a latest Changhsingian transgression just before the extinction that follows a global latest Changhsingian regression. There is a distinct rapid end-Permian mass extinction at Selong within the Waagenites Bed, as indicated by the disappearances of all benthic brachiopods, rugose corals and Permian bryozoans. The burst of Clarkina species in the Waagenites Bed and throughout the entire Lower Triassic at Selong is interpreted as a southward migration of equatorial conodont animals associated with the rapid global warming beginning at the end of the Permian. The cool- or cold-water species of Mesogondolella, in the upper part of the Selong Group and the basal part of the Kangshare Formation, are representative of the uppermost Permian in the bipolar/bi-temperate cold-water province and are not reworked from the underlying Selong Group or any other unknown Cisuralian or Guadalupian deposits.

Uppermost Permian to Lower Triassic conodont successions from the Enshi area, western Hubei Province, South China

We present recent study results of the Lower Triassic conodont succession from the Ganxi and Jianshi areas of Enshi city, western Hubei Province, South China, which were situated on a carbonate ramp at the northeastern margin of the Upper Yangtze Platform. Therein, the uppermost Permian to Lower Triassic succession is well exposed and yielded abundant conodonts. A total of nine conodont zones are differentiated: (1) Clarkina yini Zone, (2) Clarkina meishanensis Zone, (3) Hindeodus changxingensis Zone, (4) Hindeodus parvus Zone, (5) Hindeodus postparvus Zone, (6) Clarkina planata Zone, (7) Neoclarkina aff. discreta Zone, (8) Neospathodus dieneri Zone, and (9) Novispathodus waageni Zone. The Ns. dieneri M1, Ns. dieneri M2, and Ns. dieneri M3 Subzones have also been distinguished within the Ns. dieneri Zone, and the Nv. waageni eowaageni and Nv. waageni waageni Subzones are recognizable within the Nv. waageni Zone in Jianshi. Most of the zones occur in succession, but the C. planata Zone is a local ecozone reflecting deeper water biofacies during H. postparvus Zone time. In the Jianshi section, the Permian–Triassic boundary is placed at Bed 136-2 based on the appearance of Hindeodus parvus immediately above the disappearance of Changhsingian taxa, while the Induan–Olenekian boundary (IOB) is drawn at Bed 225+40cm based on the first appearance of Nv. waageni eowaageni within the upper range of the Ns. dieneri Zone indices. The Enshi conodont zones overall correlate well with those recognized elsewhere in South China and worldwide.

Conodont and ammonoid biostratigraphies around the Permian-Triassic boundary from the Jianzishan of South China

Conodonts and ammonoids have played significant roles in the Permian-Triassic timescale. In order to uncover the nature of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction and subsequent recovery, we studied conodont and ammonoid biostratigraphies around the Permian-Triassic boundary from Jianzishan of Hubei, South China. A total of four conodont zones and two ammonoid beds are recognized. In ascending order, the conodont zones are Late Changhsingian Clarkina changxingensis Zone, Clarkina yini Zone and Griesbachian Hindeodus parvus Zone, Hindeodus postparvus Zone; the ammonoid beds are Late Griesbachian Ophiceras beds and Early Dienerian Ussuridiscus varaha beds. At Jianzishan, Ophiceras beds are stratigraphically younger than Hindeodus parvus Zone, but it is likely to be the same level with Hindeodus postparvus Zone. The Lower Dienerian in Bed 8 in this section is characterized by ammonoid Ussuridiscus varaha beds, which is associated with many Late Griesbachian conodonts including Hindeodus postparvus, Hindeodus praeparvus, Hindeodus typicalis, Hindeodus pisai, Hindeodus latidentatus, Hindeodus parvus, Hindeodus anterodentatus and Isarcicella turgida, indicating these conodont species could pass through the Griesbachian-Dienerian boundary and occurred in the Early Dienerian oceans.

New Permian-Triassic conodont data from Selong (Tibet) and the youngest occurrence of Vjalovognathus

The controversial biostratigraphy of the well-known Permo-Triassic (P-T) boundary section at Selong, South Tibet is reinvestigated based on large conodont samples. The conodont data in this study confirm that the upper part of Selong Formation and the Waagenites Bed in the lower part of Kangshare Formation as Changshingian age. Just above the Waagenites Bed, the Otoceras latilobatum Bed is assigned to the basal Triassic due to the presence of H. parvus Zone. The discovery of Vjalovognathus (a cool-temperature tolerant form) in Changshingian strata allows the youngest Vjalovognathus species (V. carinatus sp. nov.) to be described, and a possible Permian Vjalovognathus evolutionary trend proposed: in ascending order this is, V. australis (late Sakmarian-early Artinskian), V. shindyensis (early Kungurian), V. nicolli (late Kugurian-Early Roadian) and ultimately V. carinatus sp. nov. (Changshingian). The last species V. carinatus sp. nov. is also found in the pre-mass extinction beds at Guryul Ravine, Kashmir allowing correlation with South Tibet.

A silicified Early Triassic marine assemblage from Svalbard

Understanding how the marine biosphere recovered from the late Permian mass extinction event is a major evolutionary question. The quality of the global fossil record of this interval is, however, somewhat poor due to preservational, collection and sampling biases. Here we report a new earliest Induan (Hindeodus parvus Zone) marine assemblage from the Deltadalen Member of the Vikinghøgda Formation, central Spitsbergen, which fills a critical gap in knowledge. The fully silicified fossils comprise the oldest silicified assemblage known from the Triassic and provide critical new systematic data. For its age, the assemblage is exceptionally diverse with 14 species of bivalves and gastropods, as well as conodonts and ammonoids. Four new bivalve species (Austrotindaria antiqua, A. svalbardensis, Nucinella taylori and N. nakremi) and one new gastropod species (Glabrocingulum parvum) are described, and five families are recorded in the Induan for the first time. Some of the common and globally widespread Early Triassic taxa, such as Unionites, are also present, and their exceptional preservation reveals key morphological characters that are documented for the first time. Taxonomic and ecological revisions based on these new data suggest that shallow-infaunal deposit-feeders were a dominant component of pre-Spathian benthic communities. The gastropods and bivalves all possessed a planktotrophic larval stage, which may have been a particular advantage in the wake of the late Permian mass extinction.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3EBCAEF3-27C2-4216-9F18-89F195FA534F

Evolution of the biome of the Middle Siberian Trappean Plateau

The Middle Siberian volcanic plateau is characterized with respect to its paleoecological environments. In this area, volcanism commenced in the Severodvinian (Vishkilian) Age. The lower (tuffaceous) part of the plateau section (Lebedev deposits) was formed in the Vyatkian Age. Its middle (tufflava) part (Khungtukun deposits) is correlative with the Goudikeng Formation (interval of 65–111 m) in the Dalongkou type section of China and corresponds to the Quadrocladus pachyphyllus ... Echinolimnadia mattoxi Zone. The top of this sedimentary unit (111 m up from the base of the Goudikeng Formation) should be correlated with the base of the Otoceras Ecozone. The upper (lava) part of the plateau (Putorana deposits) corresponds to the interval of 111–210 m, belongs to the Elatocladus linearis ... Cornia vosini Ecozone, and is older than the Hindeodus parvus Zone, which is now considered as the basal unit of the Triassic marine sequences. The volcanic plateau section shows now evidence of any biotic crisis.

Depositional conditions and revised age of the Permo-Triassic microbialites at Gaohua section, Cili County (Hunan Province, South China)

In many tropical shallow water regions the end-Permian mass extinction event occurs at the top fossiliferous packstone beds and is immediately followed by the development of microbialite facies. Both the age and redox conditions of the microbialite have been debated and both factors are addressed here in a study of the Gaohua section (Cili County, Hunan Province, China): specifically the size distribution of pyrite framboids and high-resolution conodont biostratigraphy. The framboids populations show a broad size range with examples up to 30microns in diameter, and indicating dysoxic but not anoxic depositional conditions. More intense dysoxia is recorded in interbedded laminated micrites but not beds of giant ooids. Both the Hindeodus parvus zone and Isarcicella isarcica zones were established with the microbialite beds being confined to the H. parvus zone. Therefore, the formation of microbialite postdates the end Permian main mass extinction and records oxygen-poor conditions even in a shallow-water setting such as Gaohua section at Cili.

Coevality of the sea-level fall and main mass extinction in the Permian–Triassic transition in Xiushui, Jiangxi Province, southern China

A continuous Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) section has been found and studied for the first time in Xiushui, Jiangxi Province, South China. Evidence for a large sea-level fall has been found in the horizon of 0.8m below the PTB, from the beginning of Hindeodus changxingensis zone (correlatable to Hindeodus typicalis Zone of the Meishan section). Sedimentary record indicates that the sea level kept at lowstand, or occasionally rose slowly during the whole Hindeodus parvus zone, except another substantial sea-level fall in early H. parvus zone. It began a quick rise from the beginning of Isarcicella staeschei zone, kept rising for the whole I. staeschei zone, and probably caused the stagnation of sea water.The first severe change in the biota, marked by the sudden disappearance of all stenotropic organisms such as fusulinids and dasycladacians, happened at the same time as the first sea-level fall, and is regarded as the first and main episode of the end-Permian mass extinction in this area. A microbe-dominated biota followed the first extinction, and spanned the late H. changxingensis zone and the whole H. parvus zone. All the microbes and some other eurytropic organisms including gastropods and ostracods disappeared at the end of the H. parvus zone, and the following biota in the I. staeschei zone is very simple.The coevality of the main sea-level fall and the main extinction episode might be causal: both of them might be caused by a drastic climatic cooling.

Changhsingian conodont succession and the end-Permian mass extinction event at the Daijiagou section in Chongqing, Southwest China

Previous studies suggested rapid evolution of conodonts across the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB), and the end-Permian mass extinction pattern varies in different sections in South China. Here we document a high-resolution conodont succession from a carbonate facies of the Changhsingian Stage and across the PTB at the Daijiagou section, about 35km north to Chongqing City, Southwest China. Two genera and twelve species are identified. Seven conodont zones are recognized from the uppermost part of the Lungtan Formation to the lowest Feixianguan Formation. They are the Clarkina liangshanensis, C. wangi, C. subcarinata, C. changxingensis, C. yini, C. meishanensis, and Hindeodus parvus zones in ascending order. Based on the high-resolution biostratigraphical framework at Daijiagou, the end-Permian mass extinction was rapid and it began in the base of the Clarkina meishanensis Zone. Associated with the extinction, a negative excursion of δ13Ccarb started in the middle part of Clarkina yini Zone with a progressive shift of 1.6‰ to the middle part of the Clarkina meishanensis, followed by a sharp shift of 3.51‰ from the Clarkina meishanensis Zone to the Hindeodus parvus Zone. Our study also suggests that the Triassic index species Hindeodus parvus co-occurred with Hindeodus changxingensis and Clarkina zhejiangensis and directly overlies the Clarkina meishanensis Zone at the Daijiagou section. All these data from the Daijiagou section and some previous studies of other sections in Sichuan, Guizhou provinces and Chongqing City suggest that the first occurrences of Hindeodus parvus are slightly earlier than the sharp negative excursion of δ13Ccarb and the FAD at the Meishan GSSP section. We consider that the slight difference of the end-Permian mass extinction, chemostratigraphy and conodont biostratigraphy at Daijiagou and its adjacent areas is most likely subject to different lithofacies, fossil preservation, and the constraint on the stratigraphic resolution rather than a different tempo of the end-Permian mass extinction in a global sense. The whole Changhsingian conodont succession at Daijiagou provides a high-resolution correlation with other equivalent sections in the Palaeotethys. The controversial results of biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy between the sections investigated in this paper and the Meishan GSSP section also provide some important implications that accurate chronocorrelation requires the evaluation of multiple, varied stratigraphcal signals rather than relying solely on the FAD of the Triassic index species Hindeodus parvus for recognizing the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB). Growth series of abundant specimens for each species are figured. The taxonomy of some Hindeodus species in the PTB interval is updated.

Rapid carbonate depositional changes following the Permian-Triassic mass extinction: Sedimentary evidence from South China

Various environmental changes were associated with the Permian-Triassic mass extinction at 252.2 Ma. Diverse unusual sediments and depositional phenomena have been uncovered as responses to environmental and biotic changes. Lithological and detailed conodont biostratigraphic correlations within six Permian-Triassic boundary sections in South China indicate rapid fluctuations in carbonate deposition. Four distinct depositional phases can be recognized: (1) normal carbonate deposition on the platform and slope during the latest Permian; (2) reduced carbonate deposition at the onset of the main extinction horizon; (3) expanded areas of carbonate deposition during the Hindeodus changxingsensis Zone to the H. parvus Zone; and (4) persistent mud-enriched carbonate deposition in the aftermath of the Permian-Triassic transition. Although availability of skeletal carbonate was significantly reduced during the mass extinction, the increase in carbonate deposition did not behave the same way. The rapid carbonate depositional changes, presented in this study, suggest that diverse environmental changes played key roles in the carbonate deposition of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction and onset of its aftermath. An overview of hypotheses to explain these changes implies enhanced terrestrial input, abnormal ocean circulation and various geobiological processes contributed to carbonate saturation fluctuations, as the sedimentary response to large volcanic eruptions.

Early Triassic conodonts of Jiarong, Nanpanjiang Basin, southern Guizhou Province, South China

Jiarong (Huishui County, Guizhou Province, South China) is a key locality for the study of the Early Triassic recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction. The size reduction of conodonts at the Smithian/Spathian transition was first documented in Jiarong, and it is also a locality that contributes to the documentation of the Early Triassic paleo-seawater temperatures. In the Jiarong sections, thirteen conodont zones were identified for the Early Triassic; in ascending order, they are Hindeodus parvus Zone, Hindeodus sosioensis Zone, Clarkina krystyni Zone, Neoclarkina discreta Zone, Neospathodus cristagalli–Eurygnathodus costatus assemblage zone, Novispathodus waageni eowaageni Zone, Novispathodus waageni waageni Zone, Discretella discreta Zone, Pachycladina–Parachirognathus assemblage zone, Novispathodus pingdingshanensis Zone, Icriospathodus collinsoni Zone, Triassospathodus homeri Zone, Triassospathodus triangularis Zone. These conodont zones in the Jiarong sections improve the global correlation of Early Triassic sections and also provide better regional age constraints in an area that is important for studies of recovery from the extinction. Based on the first appearance of Nv. waageni eowaageni, the Induan/Olenekian boundary is recognized at 3.6m above the base of the Jiarong III Section. The dominance of blade-shaped (segminate) conodonts was replaced by gondola-shaped (segminiplanate) conodonts twice; the first time was in the late Griesbachian, and the second time was in the early Spathian. The dominance of segminiplanate conodonts probably indicates that the deeper seawater environment became more oxygenated during the late Griesbachian and early Spathian for short time intervals, as it is believed that the Griesbachian segminiplanate conodonts favored deeper oxygenated water habitats. A new genus, Spathogondolella gen. nov., and a new species, Spathogondolella jiarongensis sp. nov., have been recognized.

Conodont biostratigraphy of a new Permo-Triassic boundary section at Wenbudangsang, north Tibet

The Wenbudangsang section is a newly discovered continuous succession of marine carbonates that straddles the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB), extending from the late Permian to the earliest Triassic (Induan). The section is located in the Wenbudangsang area of Geji County, northern Tibet, and tectonically sits within the northern Gangdise Stratigraphic division. Conodonts are abundant throughout this section, except being comparatively rare and less diverse in the Permian strata below the distinctive PTB Clay Bed.The conodonts are mainly represented by Hindeodus–Isarcicella Pa elements, Neogondolella Pa elements, and ramiform elements, with few Neospathodus Pa elements present at the top of the section. Two conodont zonal successions have thus been determined based on Hindeodus–Isarcicella and Neogondolella species. The Hindeodus–Isarcicella succession includes the uppermost Permian Hindeodus julfensis Zone, Hindeodus praeparvus Zone, and the lowermost Triassic Hindeodus parvus Zone, Isarcicella staeschei Zone, Isarcicella isarcica Zone, and Hindeodus postparvus Zone. The Neogondolella succession consists of the upper Permian Neogondolella changxingensis–Neogondolella deflecta–Neogondolella postwangi Zone, Neogondolella yini–Neogondolella zhangi Zone, Neogondolella meishanensis Zone, the Neogondolella taylorae Zone that crosses the PTB, and the lowermost Triassic Neogondolella krystyni Zone and Neogondolella prediscreta n. sp. Zone. The top of the section is defined by the Neospathodus kummeli Zone and Neospathodus cristagalli Zone. Two new species, Hindeodus microdentatus n. sp. and N. prediscreta n. sp., are established and described in this paper.The PTB conodont successions recognised in the new Wenbudangsang section have been closely correlated herein with other well-known PTB sections: the GSSP Meishan section of South China, sections in Abadeh in Iran, and sections at Spiti in India. Importantly, the conodont faunas from Wenbudangsang now provide an opportunity to effectively correlate the PTB hindeodid and gondolellid zonal schemes given the high abundance of both assemblages, which is unique to this section.

Permian-Triassic conodonts from Dajiang (Guizhou, South China) and their implication for the age of microbialite deposition in the aftermath of the End-Permian mass extinction

The widespread microbialites deposition that followed the End-Permian mass extinction in the Tethyan realm have been intensively studied because of the evidence they provide on the nature of this crisis and its aftermath. However, the age of the microbialite event remains controversial. New conodont collection across the Permian-Triassic (P-T) transition from Dajiang (Guizhou Province, South China) in this study enable us to discriminate four conodont zones, in ascending order, they are: Hindeodus parvus zone, Isarcicella lobata zone, Isarcicella isarcica zone and Hindeodus sosioensis zone. The age of microbialite in the P-T transition at the Dajiang Section is considered to be within the Hindeodus parvus zone and thus to clearly post-date the main extinction crisis. Reviewing the age of onset of microbialites throughout the Tethyan regions reveals two different ages: a Hindeodus changxingensis zone age is dominant in south-western and westernmost Tethys, whilst most other regions show microbialite deposition began in the Hindeodus parvus zone. Our investigation also indicates that two conodont changes occur at this time: an increase of hindeodid species immediately following a sequence boundary and the mass extinction, and a phase of extinction losses in the earliest Triassic Isarcicella isarcica zone during highstand development.

Revised conodont-based integrated high-resolution timescale for the Changhsingian Stage and end-Permian extinction interval at the Meishan sections, South China

Abstract Meishan Section D with the Wuchiapingian/Changhsingian and Permian/Triassic GSSPs has become the most intensively studied section because it records the whole process of the largest biological extinction during the Phanerozoic. Numerous data including high-precision geochronology, multiple isotope chemostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and high-resolution multiple fossil biostratigraphy have been determined during the last decade. Conodonts are very abundant in the Changhsingian Stage at the Meishan sections and their biostratigraphy together with geochronologic and multiple geochemical data provide a basic temporal framework to calibrate the end-Permian mass extinction and realize global correlation between sections at Meishan and those in other regions of the world. However, major discrepancies exist in various previous studies of conodonts from the Meishan sections. Many different authors have documented very different species ranges based on different concepts and approaches of taxonomy. We here employ a sample population approach to revise and refine the high-resolution conodont biostratigraphic framework for the Changhsingian Stage and end-Permian mass extinction interval across the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) at the Meishan sections. Eight zones are recognized from the latest Wuchiapingian to the basal Triassic. They are, in ascending order, the Clarkina longicuspidata Zone in the uppermost Wuchiapingian; the Clarkina wangi Zone, Clarkina subcarinata Zone, Clarkina changxingensis Zone, Clarkina yini Zone, Clarkina meishanensis Zone, Clarkina zhejiangensis–Hindeodus changxingensis Zone in the Changhsingian Stage, and the Hindeodus parvus Zone in the basal Triassic. Conodont evolutionary lineages for the whole Changhsingian are also tentatively established. All species are described in detail and growth series of different specimens for valid species are figured as completely as possible. The temporal relationship of each conodont zone with geochemical excursions, geochronologic calibration and magnetostratigraphical polarity zones are provided, which is critical to understand the tempo of the end-Permian mass extinction.