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Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic)

  • Jacopo Dal Corso
  • Massimo Bernardi
  • Yadong Sun
  • Haijun Song
  • Leyla J. Seyfullah
  • Nereo Preto
  • Piero Gianolla
  • Alastair Ruffell
  • Evelyn Kustatscher
  • Guido Roghi
  • Agostino Merico
  • Sönke Hohn
  • Alexander R. Schmidt
  • Andrea Marzoli
  • Robert J. Newton
  • Paul B. Wignall
  • Michael J. Benton
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Abstract

The Carnian Pluvial Episode (Late Triassic) was a time of global environmental changes and possibly substantial coeval volcanism. The extent of the biological turnover in marine and terrestrial ecosystems is not well understood. Here, we present a meta-analysis of fossil data that suggests a substantial reduction in generic and species richness and the disappearance of 33% of marine genera. This crisis triggered major radiations. In the sea, the rise of the first scleractinian reefs and rock-forming calcareous nannofossils points to substantial changes in ocean chemistry. On land, there were major diversifications and originations of conifers, insects, dinosaurs, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and mammals. Although there is uncertainty on the precise age of some of the recorded biological changes, these observations indicate that the Carnian Pluvial Episode was linked to a major extinction event and might have been the trigger of the spectacular radiation of many key groups that dominate modern ecosystems.

Cite this activity

Dal Corso J., Bernardi M., Sun Y., Song H., Seyfullah L.J., Preto N., Gianolla P., Ruffell A., Kustatscher E., Roghi G., Merico A., Hohn S., Schmidt A.R., Marzoli A., Newton R.J., Wignall P.B. and Benton M.J. (2020) Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic). Science Advances 6(38): eaba0099. 10.1126/sciadv.aba0099

Details

Research topics
Date 16.09.2020
Journal Science Advances
Issue 38
Volume 6
Pages eaba0099
Open Access Open Access (open)
Open Access Status Open Access (open)
Eprints_link https://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/4746
Peer-Reviewed

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