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Johnson-Ransom E, Li F, Xu X, Ramos R, Midzuk AJ, Thon U, Atkins-Weltman K, Snively E. Comparative cranial biomechanics reveal that Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurids exerted relatively greater bite force than in early-diverging tyrannosauroids. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:1897-1917. [PMID: 37772730 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Tyrannosaurus has been an exemplar organism in feeding biomechanical analyses. An adult Tyrannosaurus could exert a bone-splintering bite force, through expanded jaw muscles and a robust skull and teeth. While feeding function of adult Tyrannosaurus has been thoroughly studied, such analyses have yet to expand to other tyrannosauroids, especially early-diverging tyrannosauroids (Dilong, Proceratosaurus, and Yutyrannus). In our analysis, we broadly assessed the cranial and feeding performance of tyrannosauroids at varying body sizes. Our sample size included small (Proceratosaurus and Dilong), medium-sized (Teratophoneus), and large (Tarbosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, and Yutyrannus) tyrannosauroids, and incorporation of tyrannosaurines at different ontogenetic stages (small juvenile Tarbosaurus, Raptorex, and mid-sized juvenile Tyrannosaurus). We used jaw muscle force calculations and finite element analysis to comprehend the cranial performance of our tyrannosauroids. Scaled subtemporal fenestrae areas and calculated jaw muscle forces show that broad-skulled tyrannosaurines (Tyrannosaurus, Daspletosaurus, juvenile Tyrannosaurus, and Raptorex) exhibited higher jaw muscle forces than other similarly sized tyrannosauroids (Gorgosaurus, Yutyrannus, and Proceratosaurus). The large proceratosaurid Yutyrannus exhibited lower cranial stress than most adult tyrannosaurids. This suggests that cranial structural adaptations of large tyrannosaurids maintained adequate safety factors at greater bite force, but their robust crania did not notably decrease bone stress. Similarly, juvenile tyrannosaurines experienced greater cranial stress than similarly-sized earlier tyrannosauroids, consistent with greater adductor muscle forces in the juveniles, and with crania no more robust than in their small adult predecessors. As adult tyrannosauroid body size increased, so too did relative jaw muscle forces manifested even in juveniles of giant adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan Johnson-Ransom
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Feng Li
- Tianjin Natural History Museum, Tianjin, China
| | - Xing Xu
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Raul Ramos
- Illustration Department, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Lakewood, Colorado, USA
| | - Adam J Midzuk
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Ulrike Thon
- Informatik Department, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Kyle Atkins-Weltman
- College of Osteopathic Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Eric Snively
- Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine-Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, USA
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Oliveira AL, Schmitz MD, Wall CJ, Crowley JL, Macêdo Filho AA, Hollanda MHBM. New U-Pb geochronology for the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, critical reevaluation of high-precision ages and their impact on the end-Triassic extinction event. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5485. [PMID: 37016151 PMCID: PMC10073112 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32534-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The end-Triassic extinction (ETE) event represents one of the 'big five' episodes of mass extinction. The leading hypothesis for the cause of the ETE is the intrusion of voluminous magmas of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) into carbon-rich sediments of two South American sedimentary basins, around 201.5 Ma. The timing of dikes and sills emplacement, however, must be considered in light of age models from CAMP rocks occurring in North America. In this work, we present new high-precision ages for critical samples in NE Brazil (201.579 ± 0.057 Ma) and Canada (201.464 ± 0.017 Ma), in order to evaluate how the South and North American magmatic events compare at the 100-ka level, and to the ETE timing. We also discuss inter-laboratory reproducibility of high-precision CAMP ages, including the 230Th disequilibrium corrections that are made to zircon U-Pb dates. Our findings in this newly discovered extension of the CAMP large igneous province in NE Brazil support the hypothesis that the CAMP may be responsible for the ETE through the triggering of greenhouse gas release from magma-evaporite interactions (contact metamorphism) in the South American basins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisson L Oliveira
- Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Do Lago 562, São Paulo, SP, 05508-080, Brazil.
- Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA.
| | - Mark D Schmitz
- Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA
| | - Corey J Wall
- Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA
| | - James L Crowley
- Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA
| | - Antomat A Macêdo Filho
- Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Do Lago 562, São Paulo, SP, 05508-080, Brazil
| | - Maria Helena B M Hollanda
- Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Do Lago 562, São Paulo, SP, 05508-080, Brazil
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3
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Ferrari M, Hautmann M. Gastropods underwent a major taxonomic turnover during the end-Triassic marine mass extinction event. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276329. [PMID: 36322518 PMCID: PMC9629647 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on an exhaustive database of gastropod genera and subgenera during the Triassic-Jurassic transition, origination and extinction percentages and resulting diversity changes are calculated, with a particular focus on the end-Triassic mass extinction event. We show that gastropods suffered a loss of 56% of genera and subgenera during this event, which was higher than the average of marine life (46.8%). Among molluscs, gastropods were more strongly affected than bivalves (43.4%) but less than ammonoids, which were nearly annihilated. However, there were also pronounced differences among gastropod subclasses. The most strongly affected subclass was the Neritimorphia, which lost 72.7% of their Rhaetian genera; on the other extreme, the Heterobranchia remained nearly unaffected (11% loss). We analysed this extinction pattern with respect to larval development, palaeobiogeography, shell size, and anatomy and found that putative feeding of the pelagic larval stage, adaptation to tropical-temperate water temperatures, and flexibility of the mantle attachment were among the factors that might explain extinction resilience of heterobranchs during the end-Triassic crisis. Among molluscs, extinction magnitude roughly correlates with locomotion activity and thus metabolic rates. We suggest three potential kill mechanisms that could account for these observations: global warming, ocean acidification, and extinction of marine plankton. The end-Triassic extinction of gastropods therefore fits to proposed extinction scenarios for this event, which invoke the magmatic activity of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province as the ultimate cause of death. With respect to gastropods, the effect of the end-Triassic mass extinction was comparable to that of the end-Permian mass extinction. Notably, Heterobranchia was relatively little affected by both events; the extinction resilience of this subclass during times of global environmental changes was therefore possibly a key aspect of their subsequent evolutionary success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariel Ferrari
- Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología, IPGP (CCT CONICET-CENPAT), Puerto Madryn, Provincia de Chubut, Argentina
| | - Michael Hautmann
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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Zhang SH, Ernst RE, Munson TJ, Pei J, Hu G, Liu JM, Zhang QQ, Cai YH, Zhao Y. Comparisons of the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic large igneous provinces and black shales in the North China and North Australian cratons. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fmre.2021.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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Molecular and isotopic evidence reveals the end-Triassic carbon isotope excursion is not from massive exogenous light carbon. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:30171-30178. [PMID: 33199627 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1917661117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The negative organic carbon isotope excursion (CIE) associated with the end-Triassic mass extinction (ETE) is conventionally interpreted as the result of a massive flux of isotopically light carbon from exogenous sources into the atmosphere (e.g., thermogenic methane and/or methane clathrate dissociation linked to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province [CAMP]). Instead, we demonstrate that at its type locality in the Bristol Channel Basin (UK), the CIE was caused by a marine to nonmarine transition resulting from an abrupt relative sea level drop. Our biomarker and compound-specific carbon isotopic data show that the emergence of microbial mats, influenced by an influx of fresh to brackish water, provided isotopically light carbon to both organic and inorganic carbon pools in centimeter-scale water depths, leading to the negative CIE. Thus, the iconic CIE and the disappearance of marine biota at the type locality are the result of local environmental change and do not mark either the global extinction event or input of exogenous light carbon into the atmosphere. Instead, the main extinction phase occurs slightly later in marine strata, where it is coeval with terrestrial extinctions and ocean acidification driven by CAMP-induced increases in Pco2; these effects should not be conflated with the CIE. An abrupt sea-level fall observed in the Central European basins reflects the tectonic consequences of the initial CAMP emplacement, with broad implications for all extinction events related to large igneous provinces.
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Khlebodarova TM, Likhoshvai VA. Causes of global extinctions in the history of life: facts and hypotheses. Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genet Selektsii 2020; 24:407-419. [PMID: 33659824 PMCID: PMC7716527 DOI: 10.18699/vj20.633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Paleontologists define global extinctions on Earth as a loss of about three-quarters of plant and animal species over a relatively short period of time. At least five global extinctions are documented in the Phanerozoic fossil record (~500-million-year period): ~65, 200, 260, 380, and 440 million years ago. In addition, there is evidence of global extinctions in earlier periods of life on Earth - during the Late Cambrian (~500 million years ago) and Ediacaran periods (more than 540 million years ago). There is still no common opinion on the causes of their occurrence. The current study is a systematized review of the data on recorded extinctions of complex life forms on Earth from the moment of their occurrence during the Ediacaran period to the modern period. The review discusses possible causes for mass extinctions in the light of the influence of abiogenic factors, planetary or astronomical, and the consequences of their actions. We evaluate the pros and cons of the hypothesis on the presence of periodicity in the extinction of Phanerozoic marine biota. Strong evidence that allows us to hypothesize that additional mechanisms associated with various internal biotic factors are responsible for the emergence of extinctions in the evolution of complex life forms is discussed. Developing the idea of the internal causes of periodicity and discontinuity in evolution, we propose our own original hypothesis, according to which the bistability phenomenon underlies the complex dynamics of the biota development, which is manifested in the form of global extinctions. The bistability phenomenon arises only in ecosystems with predominant sexual reproduction. Our hypothesis suggests that even in the absence of global abiotic catastrophes, extinctions of biota would occur anyway. However, our hypothesis does not exclude the possibility that in different periods of the Earth's history the biota was subjected to powerful external influences that had a significant impact on its further development, which is reflected in the Earth's fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Khlebodarova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - V A Likhoshvai
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
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Thermogenic carbon release from the Central Atlantic magmatic province caused major end-Triassic carbon cycle perturbations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:11968-11974. [PMID: 32424084 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2000095117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP), the end-Triassic mass extinction (ETE), and associated major carbon cycle perturbations occurred synchronously around the Triassic-Jurassic (T-J) boundary (201 Ma). Negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) recorded in marine and terrestrial sediments attest to the input of isotopically light carbon, although the carbon sources remain debated. Here, we explore the effects of mantle-derived and thermogenic carbon released from the emplacement of CAMP using the long-term ocean-atmosphere-sediment carbon cycle reservoir (LOSCAR) model. We have tested a detailed emission scenario grounded by numerous complementary boundary conditions, aiming to model the full extent of the carbon cycle perturbations around the T-J boundary. These include three negative CIEs (i.e., Marshi/Precursor, Spelae/Initial, Tilmanni/Main) with sharp positive CIEs in between. We show that a total of ∼24,000 Gt C (including ∼12,000 Gt thermogenic C) replicates the proxy data. These results indicate that thermogenic carbon generated from the contact aureoles around CAMP sills represents a credible source for the negative CIEs. An extremely isotopically depleted carbon source, such as marine methane clathrates, is therefore not required. Furthermore, we also find that significant organic carbon burial, in addition to silicate weathering, is necessary to account for the positive δ13C intervals following the negative CIEs.
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Abstract
Cyclic variations in Earth’s orbit drive periodic changes in the ocean–atmosphere system at a time scale of tens to hundreds of thousands of years. The Mochras δ13CTOC record illustrates the continued impact of long-eccentricity (405-ky) orbital forcing on the carbon cycle over at least ∼18 My of Early Jurassic time and emphasizes orbital forcing as a driving mechanism behind medium-amplitude δ13C fluctuations superimposed on larger-scale trends that are driven by other variables such as tectonically determined paleogeography and eruption of large igneous provinces. The dataset provides a framework for distinguishing between internal Earth processes and solar-system dynamics as the driving mechanism for Early Jurassic δ13C fluctuations and provides an astronomical time scale for the Sinemurian Stage. Global perturbations to the Early Jurassic environment (∼201 to ∼174 Ma), notably during the Triassic–Jurassic transition and Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, are well studied and largely associated with volcanogenic greenhouse gas emissions released by large igneous provinces. The long-term secular evolution, timing, and pacing of changes in the Early Jurassic carbon cycle that provide context for these events are thus far poorly understood due to a lack of continuous high-resolution δ13C data. Here we present a δ13CTOC record for the uppermost Rhaetian (Triassic) to Pliensbachian (Lower Jurassic), derived from a calcareous mudstone succession of the exceptionally expanded Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) borehole, Cardigan Bay Basin, Wales, United Kingdom. Combined with existing δ13CTOC data from the Toarcian, the compilation covers the entire Lower Jurassic. The dataset reproduces large-amplitude δ13CTOC excursions (>3‰) recognized elsewhere, at the Sinemurian–Pliensbachian transition and in the lower Toarcian serpentinum zone, as well as several previously identified medium-amplitude (∼0.5 to 2‰) shifts in the Hettangian to Pliensbachian interval. In addition, multiple hitherto undiscovered isotope shifts of comparable amplitude and stratigraphic extent are recorded, demonstrating that those similar features described earlier from stratigraphically more limited sections are nonunique in a long-term context. These shifts are identified as long-eccentricity (∼405-ky) orbital cycles. Orbital tuning of the δ13CTOC record provides the basis for an astrochronological duration estimate for the Pliensbachian and Sinemurian, giving implications for the duration of the Hettangian Stage. Overall the chemostratigraphy illustrates particular sensitivity of the marine carbon cycle to long-eccentricity orbital forcing.
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Bordy EM, Rampersadh A, Abrahams M, Lockley MG, Head HV. Tracking the Pliensbachian-Toarcian Karoo firewalkers: Trackways of quadruped and biped dinosaurs and mammaliaforms. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0226847. [PMID: 31995575 PMCID: PMC6988920 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Karoo igneous rocks represent one of the largest continental flood basalt events (by volume) on Earth, and are not normally associated with fossils remains. However, these Pliensbachian–Toarcian lava flows contain sandstone interbeds that are particularly common in the lower part of the volcanic succession and are occasionally fossiliferous. On a sandstone interbed in the northern main Karoo Basin, we discovered twenty-five tridactyl and tetradactyl vertebrate tracks comprising five trackways. The tracks are preserved among desiccation cracks and low-amplitude, asymmetrical ripple marks, implying deposition in low energy, shallow, ephemeral water currents. Based on footprint lengths of 2–14 cm and trackway patterns, the trackmakers were both bipedal and quadrupedal animals of assorted sizes with walking and running gaits. We describe the larger tridactyl tracks as “grallatorid” and attribute them to bipedal theropod dinosaurs, like Coelophysis, a genus common in the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. The smallest tracks are tentatively interpreted as Brasilichnium-like tracks, which are linked to synapsid trackmakers, a common attribution of similar tracks from the Lower to Middle Jurassic record of southern and southwestern Gondwana. The trackway of an intermediate-sized quadruped reveals strong similarities in morphometric parameters to a post-Karoo Zimbabwean trackway from Chewore. These trackways are classified here as a new ichnogenus attributable to small ornithischian dinosaurs as yet without a body fossil record in southern Africa. These tracks not only suggest that dinosaurs and therapsids survived the onset of the Drakensberg volcanism, but also that theropods, ornithischians and synapsids were among the last vertebrates that inhabited the main Karoo Basin some 183 Ma ago. Although these vertebrates survived the first Karoo volcanic eruptions, their rapidly dwindling habitat was turned into a land of fire as it was covered by the outpouring lavas during one of the most dramatic geological episodes in southern Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emese M. Bordy
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- * E-mail:
| | - Akhil Rampersadh
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Miengah Abrahams
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Martin G. Lockley
- Dinosaur Tracks Museum, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Howard V. Head
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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10
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Dunhill AM, Foster WJ, Azaele S, Sciberras J, Twitchett RJ. Modelling determinants of extinction across two Mesozoic hyperthermal events. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.0404. [PMID: 30355705 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The Late Triassic and Early Toarcian extinction events are both associated with greenhouse warming events triggered by massive volcanism. These Mesozoic hyperthermals were responsible for the mass extinction of marine organisms and resulted in significant ecological upheaval. It has, however, been suggested that these events merely involved intensification of background extinction rates rather than significant shifts in the macroevolutionary regime and extinction selectivity. Here, we apply a multivariate modelling approach to a vast global database of marine organisms to test whether extinction selectivity varied through the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. We show that these hyperthermals do represent shifts in the macroevolutionary regime and record different extinction selectivity compared to background intervals of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. The Late Triassic mass extinction represents a more profound change in selectivity than the Early Toarcian extinction but both events show a common pattern of selecting against pelagic predators and benthic photosymbiotic and suspension-feeding organisms, suggesting that these groups of organisms may be particularly vulnerable during episodes of global warming. In particular, the Late Triassic extinction represents a macroevolutionary regime change that is characterized by (i) the change in extinction selectivity between Triassic background intervals and the extinction event itself; and (ii) the differences in extinction selectivity between the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic as a whole.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - William J Foster
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Berlin, Deutschland
| | - Sandro Azaele
- School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - James Sciberras
- OnCorps, Exeter House, Lower Station Approach, Temple Meads, Bristol BS1 6QS, UK
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Foster GL, Hull P, Lunt DJ, Zachos JC. Placing our current 'hyperthermal' in the context of rapid climate change in our geological past. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2018; 376:rsta.2017.0086. [PMID: 30177567 PMCID: PMC6127387 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2017.0086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
'…there are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.' Donald Rumsfeld 12th February 2002.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Hyperthermals: rapid and extreme global warming in our geological past'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin L Foster
- School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Pincelli Hull
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, Box 208109, New Haven, CT 06520-8109, USA
| | - Daniel J Lunt
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK
| | - James C Zachos
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
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Seyfullah LJ, Beimforde C, Dal Corso J, Perrichot V, Rikkinen J, Schmidt AR. Production and preservation of resins - past and present. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 93:1684-1714. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leyla J. Seyfullah
- Department of Geobiology; University of Göttingen; 37077 Göttingen Germany
| | | | - Jacopo Dal Corso
- Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, Institute for Advanced Study; 27753 Delmenhorst Germany
| | - Vincent Perrichot
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, Géosciences Rennes - UMR 6118; 35000 Rennes France
| | - Jouko Rikkinen
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki; 00014 Helsinki Finland
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences; University of Helsinki; 00014 Helsinki Finland
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Large-scale sill emplacement in Brazil as a trigger for the end-Triassic crisis. Sci Rep 2018; 8:141. [PMID: 29317730 PMCID: PMC5760721 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18629-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The end-Triassic is characterized by one of the largest mass extinctions in the Phanerozoic, coinciding with major carbon cycle perturbations and global warming. It has been suggested that the environmental crisis is linked to widespread sill intrusions during magmatism associated with the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). Sub-volcanic sills are abundant in two of the largest onshore sedimentary basins in Brazil, the Amazonas and Solimões basins, where they comprise up to 20% of the stratigraphy. These basins contain extensive deposits of carbonate and evaporite, in addition to organic-rich shales and major hydrocarbon reservoirs. Here we show that large scale volatile generation followed sill emplacement in these lithologies. Thermal modeling demonstrates that contact metamorphism in the two basins could have generated 88,000 Gt CO2. In order to constrain the timing of gas generation, zircon from two sills has been dated by the U-Pb CA-ID-TIMS method, resulting in 206Pb/238U dates of 201.477 ± 0.062 Ma and 201.470 ± 0.089 Ma. Our findings demonstrate synchronicity between the intrusive phase and the end-Triassic mass extinction, and provide a quantified degassing scenario for one of the most dramatic time periods in the history of Earth.
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Abstract
The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) has long been proposed as having a causal relationship with the end-Triassic extinction event (∼201.5 Ma). In North America and northern Africa, CAMP is preserved as multiple basaltic units interbedded with uppermost Triassic to lowermost Jurassic sediments. However, it has been unclear whether this apparent pulsing was a local feature, or if pulses in the intensity of CAMP volcanism characterized the emplacement of the province as a whole. Here, six geographically widespread Triassic-Jurassic records, representing varied paleoenvironments, are analyzed for mercury (Hg) concentrations and Hg/total organic carbon (Hg/TOC) ratios. Volcanism is a major source of mercury to the modern environment. Clear increases in Hg and Hg/TOC are observed at the end-Triassic extinction horizon, confirming that a volcanically induced global Hg cycle perturbation occurred at that time. The established correlation between the extinction horizon and lowest CAMP basalts allows this sedimentary Hg excursion to be stratigraphically tied to a specific flood basalt unit, strengthening the case for volcanic Hg as the driver of sedimentary Hg/TOC spikes. Additional Hg/TOC peaks are also documented between the extinction horizon and the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (separated by ∼200 ky), supporting pulsatory intensity of CAMP volcanism across the entire province and providing direct evidence for episodic volatile release during the initial stages of CAMP emplacement. Pulsatory volcanism, and associated perturbations in the ocean-atmosphere system, likely had profound implications for the rate and magnitude of the end-Triassic mass extinction and subsequent biotic recovery.
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Davies JHFL, Marzoli A, Bertrand H, Youbi N, Ernesto M, Schaltegger U. End-Triassic mass extinction started by intrusive CAMP activity. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15596. [PMID: 28561025 PMCID: PMC5460029 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2016] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The end-Triassic extinction is one of the Phanerozoic's largest mass extinctions. This extinction is typically attributed to climate change associated with degassing of basalt flows from the central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP). However, recent work suggests that the earliest known CAMP basalts occur above the extinction horizon and that climatic and biotic changes began before the earliest known CAMP eruptions. Here we present new high-precision U-Pb ages from CAMP mafic intrusive units, showing that magmatic activity was occurring ∼100 Kyr ago before the earliest known eruptions. We correlate the early magmatic activity with the onset of changes to the climatic and biotic records. We also report ages from sills in an organic rich sedimentary basin in Brazil that intrude synchronously with the extinction suggesting that degassing of these organics contributed to the climate change which drove the extinction. Our results indicate that the intrusive record from large igneous provinces may be more important for linking to mass extinctions than the eruptive record.
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Affiliation(s)
- J H F L Davies
- Département des sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève, Genève 1205, Switzerland
| | - A Marzoli
- Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Universitá di Padova, Padova 35131, Italy
| | - H Bertrand
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR 5276, Lyon 69364, France
| | - N Youbi
- Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Sciences-Semlalia, Department of Geology, Marrakech Box 28/5, Morocco.,Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa 1749-016, Portugal
| | - M Ernesto
- Departamento de Geofisica, Instituto Astronomico, Geofisico e Ciencias Atmosfericas, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 1226, São Paulo, CEP 05508-900, Brazil
| | - U Schaltegger
- Département des sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève, Genève 1205, Switzerland
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Onoue T, Sato H, Yamashita D, Ikehara M, Yasukawa K, Fujinaga K, Kato Y, Matsuoka A. Bolide impact triggered the Late Triassic extinction event in equatorial Panthalassa. Sci Rep 2016; 6:29609. [PMID: 27387863 PMCID: PMC4937377 DOI: 10.1038/srep29609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Extinctions within major pelagic groups (e.g., radiolarians and conodonts) occurred in a stepwise fashion during the last 15 Myr of the Triassic. Although a marked decline in the diversity of pelagic faunas began at the end of the middle Norian, the cause of the middle Norian extinction is uncertain. Here we show a possible link between the end-middle Norian radiolarian extinction and a bolide impact. Two palaeoenvironmental events occurred during the initial phase of the radiolarian extinction interval: (1) a post-impact shutdown of primary and biogenic silica production within a time span of 10(4)-10(5) yr, and (2) a sustained reduction in the sinking flux of radiolarian silica for ~0.3 Myr after the impact. The catastrophic collapse of the pelagic ecosystem at this time was probably the dominant factor responsible for the end-middle Norian conodont extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuji Onoue
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
| | - Honami Sato
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
| | - Daisuke Yamashita
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
| | - Minoru Ikehara
- Centre for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, B200 Monobe, Nankoku 783-8502, Japan
| | - Kazutaka Yasukawa
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
- Department of Systems Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Koichiro Fujinaga
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
- Frontier Research Centre for Energy and Resources (FRCER), School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Kato
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
- Department of Systems Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
- Frontier Research Centre for Energy and Resources (FRCER), School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
| | - Atsushi Matsuoka
- Department of Geology, Niigata University, Igarashi 2-no-cho 8050, Niigata 950-2181, Japan
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Geographic range did not confer resilience to extinction in terrestrial vertebrates at the end-Triassic crisis. Nat Commun 2015; 6:7980. [PMID: 26261053 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 07/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Rates of extinction vary greatly through geological time, with losses particularly concentrated in mass extinctions. Species duration at other times varies greatly, but the reasons for this are unclear. Geographical range correlates with lineage duration amongst marine invertebrates, but it is less clear how far this generality extends to other groups in other habitats. It is also unclear whether a wide geographical distribution makes groups more likely to survive mass extinctions. Here we test for extinction selectivity amongst terrestrial vertebrates across the end-Triassic event. We demonstrate that terrestrial vertebrate clades with larger geographical ranges were more resilient to extinction than those with smaller ranges throughout the Triassic and Jurassic. However, this relationship weakened with increasing proximity to the end-Triassic mass extinction, breaking down altogether across the event itself. We demonstrate that these findings are not a function of sampling biases; a perennial issue in studies of this kind.
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Triassic-Jurassic climate in continental high-latitude Asia was dominated by obliquity-paced variations (Junggar Basin, Ürümqi, China). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:3624-9. [PMID: 25759439 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1501137112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Empirical constraints on orbital gravitational solutions for the Solar System can be derived from the Earth's geological record of past climates. Lithologically based paleoclimate data from the thick, coal-bearing, fluvial-lacustrine sequences of the Junggar Basin of Northwestern China (paleolatitude ∼60°) show that climate variability of the warm and glacier-free high latitudes of the latest Triassic-Early Jurassic (∼198-202 Ma) Pangea was strongly paced by obliquity-dominated (∼40 ky) orbital cyclicity, based on an age model using the 405-ky cycle of eccentricity. In contrast, coeval low-latitude continental climate was much more strongly paced by climatic precession, with virtually no hint of obliquity. Although this previously unknown obliquity dominance at high latitude is not necessarily unexpected in a high CO2 world, these data deviate substantially from published orbital solutions in period and amplitude for eccentricity cycles greater than 405 ky, consistent with chaotic diffusion of the Solar System. In contrast, there are indications that the Earth-Mars orbital resonance was in today's 2-to-1 ratio of eccentricity to inclination. These empirical data underscore the need for temporally comprehensive, highly reliable data, as well as new gravitational solutions fitting those data.
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Fischer V, Cappetta H, Vincent P, Garcia G, Goolaerts S, Martin JE, Roggero D, Valentin X. Ichthyosaurs from the French Rhaetian indicate a severe turnover across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Naturwissenschaften 2014; 101:1027-40. [PMID: 25256640 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-014-1242-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2014] [Revised: 09/12/2014] [Accepted: 09/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Mesozoic marine reptiles went through a severe turnover near the end of the Triassic. Notably, an important extinction event affected ichthyosaurs, sweeping a large part of the group. This crisis is, however, obscured by an extremely poor fossil record and is regarded as protracted over the entire Norian-earliest Jurassic interval, for the lack of a more precise scenario. The iconic whale-sized shastasaurid ichthyosaurs are regarded as early victims of this turnover, disappearing by the middle Norian. Here we evaluate the pattern of this turnover among ichthyosaurs by analysing the faunal record of two Rhaetian localities. One locality is Autun, eastern France; we rediscovered in this material the holotypes or partial 'type' series of Rachitrema pellati, Actiosaurus gaudryi, Ichthyosaurus rheticus, Ichthyosaurus carinatus and Plesiosaurus bibractensis; a revised taxonomic scheme is proposed. The second assemblage comes from a new locality: Cuers, southeastern France. Both these assemblages provide several lines of evidence for the presence of shastasaurid-like ichthyosaurs in the Rhaetian of Europe. These occurrences suggest that both the demise of shastasaurids and the sudden radiation of neoichthyosaurians occurred within a short time window; this turnover appears not only more abrupt but also more complex than previously postulated and adds a new facet of the end-Triassic mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Fischer
- Geology Department, Université de Liège, B18 Allée du 6 Août, 4000, Liège, Belgium,
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Proctor MCF. The Diversification of Bryophytes and Vascular Plants in Evolving Terrestrial Environments. ADVANCES IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6988-5_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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22
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Jones MEH, Anderson CL, Hipsley CA, Müller J, Evans SE, Schoch RR. Integration of molecules and new fossils supports a Triassic origin for Lepidosauria (lizards, snakes, and tuatara). BMC Evol Biol 2013; 13:208. [PMID: 24063680 PMCID: PMC4016551 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 09/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lepidosauria (lizards, snakes, tuatara) is a globally distributed and ecologically important group of over 9,000 reptile species. The earliest fossil records are currently restricted to the Late Triassic and often dated to 227 million years ago (Mya). As these early records include taxa that are relatively derived in their morphology (e.g. Brachyrhinodon), an earlier unknown history of Lepidosauria is implied. However, molecular age estimates for Lepidosauria have been problematic; dates for the most recent common ancestor of all lepidosaurs range between approximately 226 and 289 Mya whereas estimates for crown-group Squamata (lizards and snakes) vary more dramatically: 179 to 294 Mya. This uncertainty restricts inferences regarding the patterns of diversification and evolution of Lepidosauria as a whole. RESULTS Here we report on a rhynchocephalian fossil from the Middle Triassic of Germany (Vellberg) that represents the oldest known record of a lepidosaur from anywhere in the world. Reliably dated to 238-240 Mya, this material is about 12 million years older than previously known lepidosaur records and is older than some but not all molecular clock estimates for the origin of lepidosaurs. Using RAG1 sequence data from 76 extant taxa and the new fossil specimens two of several calibrations, we estimate that the most recent common ancestor of Lepidosauria lived at least 242 Mya (238-249.5), and crown-group Squamata originated around 193 Mya (176-213). CONCLUSION A Early/Middle Triassic date for the origin of Lepidosauria disagrees with previous estimates deep within the Permian and suggests the group evolved as part of the faunal recovery after the end-Permain mass extinction as the climate became more humid. Our origin time for crown-group Squamata coincides with shifts towards warmer climates and dramatic changes in fauna and flora. Most major subclades within Squamata originated in the Cretaceous postdating major continental fragmentation. The Vellberg fossil locality is expected to become an important resource for providing a more balanced picture of the Triassic and for bridging gaps in the fossil record of several other major vertebrate groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc EH Jones
- Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Anatomy Building, UCL, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT, UK
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Cajsa Lisa Anderson
- University of Gothenburg, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Christy A Hipsley
- Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes Müller
- Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Susan E Evans
- Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Anatomy Building, UCL, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT, UK
| | - Rainer R Schoch
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, D-70191, Stuttgart, Germany
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Jones MEH, Anderson CL, Hipsley CA, Müller J, Evans SE, Schoch RR. Integration of molecules and new fossils supports a Triassic origin for Lepidosauria (lizards, snakes, and tuatara). BMC Evol Biol 2013. [PMID: 24063680 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-23-208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lepidosauria (lizards, snakes, tuatara) is a globally distributed and ecologically important group of over 9,000 reptile species. The earliest fossil records are currently restricted to the Late Triassic and often dated to 227 million years ago (Mya). As these early records include taxa that are relatively derived in their morphology (e.g. Brachyrhinodon), an earlier unknown history of Lepidosauria is implied. However, molecular age estimates for Lepidosauria have been problematic; dates for the most recent common ancestor of all lepidosaurs range between approximately 226 and 289 Mya whereas estimates for crown-group Squamata (lizards and snakes) vary more dramatically: 179 to 294 Mya. This uncertainty restricts inferences regarding the patterns of diversification and evolution of Lepidosauria as a whole. RESULTS Here we report on a rhynchocephalian fossil from the Middle Triassic of Germany (Vellberg) that represents the oldest known record of a lepidosaur from anywhere in the world. Reliably dated to 238-240 Mya, this material is about 12 million years older than previously known lepidosaur records and is older than some but not all molecular clock estimates for the origin of lepidosaurs. Using RAG1 sequence data from 76 extant taxa and the new fossil specimens two of several calibrations, we estimate that the most recent common ancestor of Lepidosauria lived at least 242 Mya (238-249.5), and crown-group Squamata originated around 193 Mya (176-213). CONCLUSION A Early/Middle Triassic date for the origin of Lepidosauria disagrees with previous estimates deep within the Permian and suggests the group evolved as part of the faunal recovery after the end-Permain mass extinction as the climate became more humid. Our origin time for crown-group Squamata coincides with shifts towards warmer climates and dramatic changes in fauna and flora. Most major subclades within Squamata originated in the Cretaceous postdating major continental fragmentation. The Vellberg fossil locality is expected to become an important resource for providing a more balanced picture of the Triassic and for bridging gaps in the fossil record of several other major vertebrate groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc E H Jones
- Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Anatomy Building, UCL, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT, UK.
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Increased atmospheric SO₂ detected from changes in leaf physiognomy across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary interval of East Greenland. PLoS One 2013; 8:e60614. [PMID: 23593262 PMCID: PMC3622679 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2012] [Accepted: 02/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Triassic–Jurassic boundary (Tr–J; ∼201 Ma) is marked by a doubling in the concentration of atmospheric CO2, rising temperatures, and ecosystem instability. This appears to have been driven by a major perturbation in the global carbon cycle due to massive volcanism in the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. It is hypothesized that this volcanism also likely delivered sulphur dioxide (SO2) to the atmosphere. The role that SO2 may have played in leading to ecosystem instability at the time has not received much attention. To date, little direct evidence has been presented from the fossil record capable of implicating SO2 as a cause of plant extinctions at this time. In order to address this, we performed a physiognomic leaf analysis on well-preserved fossil leaves, including Ginkgoales, bennettites, and conifers from nine plant beds that span the Tr–J boundary at Astartekløft, East Greenland. The physiognomic responses of fossil taxa were compared to the leaf size and shape variations observed in nearest living equivalent taxa exposed to simulated palaeoatmospheric treatments in controlled environment chambers. The modern taxa showed a statistically significant increase in leaf roundness when fumigated with SO2. A similar increase in leaf roundness was also observed in the Tr–J fossil taxa immediately prior to a sudden decrease in their relative abundances at Astartekløft. This research reveals that increases in atmospheric SO2 can likely be traced in the fossil record by analyzing physiognomic changes in fossil leaves. A pattern of relative abundance decline following increased leaf roundness for all six fossil taxa investigated supports the hypothesis that SO2 had a significant role in Tr–J plant extinctions. This finding highlights that the role of SO2 in plant biodiversity declines across other major geological boundaries coinciding with global scale volcanism should be further explored using leaf physiognomy.
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Blackburn TJ, Olsen PE, Bowring SA, McLean NM, Kent DV, Puffer J, McHone G, Rasbury ET, Et-Touhami M. Zircon U-Pb geochronology links the end-Triassic extinction with the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Science 2013; 340:941-5. [PMID: 23519213 DOI: 10.1126/science.1234204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The end-Triassic extinction is characterized by major losses in both terrestrial and marine diversity, setting the stage for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 136 million years. Despite the approximate coincidence between this extinction and flood basalt volcanism, existing geochronologic dates have insufficient resolution to confirm eruptive rates required to induce major climate perturbations. Here, we present new zircon uranium-lead (U-Pb) geochronologic constraints on the age and duration of flood basalt volcanism within the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. This chronology demonstrates synchroneity between the earliest volcanism and extinction, tests and corroborates the existing astrochronologic time scale, and shows that the release of magma and associated atmospheric flux occurred in four pulses over about 600,000 years, indicating expansive volcanism even as the biologic recovery was under way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terrence J Blackburn
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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26
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Mander L, Wesseln CJ, McElwain JC, Punyasena SW. Tracking taphonomic regimes using chemical and mechanical damage of pollen and spores: an example from the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction. PLoS One 2012; 7:e49153. [PMID: 23145104 PMCID: PMC3492321 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2012] [Accepted: 10/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The interpretation of biotic changes in the geological past relies on the assumption that samples from different time intervals represent an equivalent suite of natural sampling conditions. As a result, detailed investigations of taphonomic regimes during intervals of major biotic upheaval, such as mass extinctions, are crucial. In this paper, we have used variations in the frequency of chemical and mechanical sporomorph (pollen and spore) damage as a guide to taphonomic regimes across the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction (Tr-J; ∼201.3 Ma) at a boundary section at Astartekløft, East Greenland. We find that the frequency of sporomorph damage is extremely variable in samples from this locality. This likely reflects a combination of taxon-specific susceptibility to damage and the mixing of sporomorphs from a mosaic of environments and taphonomic regimes. The stratigraphic interval containing evidence of plant extinction and compositional change in the source vegetation at Astartekløft is not marked by a consistent rise or fall in the frequency of sporomorph damage. This indicates that natural taphonomic regimes did not shift radically during this critical interval. We find no evidence of a consistent relationship between the taxonomic richness of sporomorph assemblages and the frequency of damage among sporomorphs at Astartekløft. This indicates that previously reported patterns of sporomorph richness across the Tr-J at this locality are likely to be robust. Taken together, our results suggest that the patterns of vegetation change at Astartekløft represent a real biological response to environmental change at the Tr-J.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Mander
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America.
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27
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Guinot G, Adnet S, Cappetta H. An analytical approach for estimating fossil record and diversification events in sharks, skates and rays. PLoS One 2012; 7:e44632. [PMID: 22957091 PMCID: PMC3434181 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2012] [Accepted: 08/06/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Modern selachians and their supposed sister group (hybodont sharks) have a long and successful evolutionary history. Yet, although selachian remains are considered relatively common in the fossil record in comparison with other marine vertebrates, little is known about the quality of their fossil record. Similarly, only a few works based on specific time intervals have attempted to identify major events that marked the evolutionary history of this group. Methodology/Principal Findings Phylogenetic hypotheses concerning modern selachians’ interrelationships are numerous but differ significantly and no consensus has been found. The aim of the present study is to take advantage of the range of recent phylogenetic hypotheses in order to assess the fit of the selachian fossil record to phylogenies, according to two different branching methods. Compilation of these data allowed the inference of an estimated range of diversity through time and evolutionary events that marked this group over the past 300 Ma are identified. Results indicate that with the exception of high taxonomic ranks (orders), the selachian fossil record is by far imperfect, particularly for generic and post-Triassic data. Timing and amplitude of the various identified events that marked the selachian evolutionary history are discussed. Conclusion/Significance Some identified diversity events were mentioned in previous works using alternative methods (Early Jurassic, mid-Cretaceous, K/T boundary and late Paleogene diversity drops), thus reinforcing the efficiency of the methodology presented here in inferring evolutionary events. Other events (Permian/Triassic, Early and Late Cretaceous diversifications; Triassic/Jurassic extinction) are newly identified. Relationships between these events and paleoenvironmental characteristics and other groups’ evolutionary history are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Guinot
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, Université Montpellier 2, Montpellier, France.
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28
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Ruhl M, Bonis NR, Reichart GJ, Damsté JSS, Kürschner WM. Atmospheric Carbon Injection Linked to End-Triassic Mass Extinction. Science 2011; 333:430-4. [PMID: 21778394 DOI: 10.1126/science.1204255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Micha Ruhl
- Palaeoecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, NL-3584 CD, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Nordic Centre for Earth Evolution (NordCEE), Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350, Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Nina R. Bonis
- Palaeoecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, NL-3584 CD, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Shell Global Solutions International B.V., Kessler Park 1, 2288 GS, Rijswijk, Netherlands
| | - Gert-Jan Reichart
- Molecular Biogeochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Post Office Box 80.021, NL-3508 TA, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
- Molecular Biogeochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Post Office Box 80.021, NL-3508 TA, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Department of Marine Organic Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Post Office Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Netherlands
| | - Wolfram M. Kürschner
- Palaeoecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, NL-3584 CD, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Post Office Box 1047, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
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IGLESIAS ARI, ARTABE ANALIAE, MOREL EDUARDOM. The evolution of Patagonian climate and vegetation from the Mesozoic to the present. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01657.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Schaller MF, Wright JD, Kent DV. Atmospheric PCO₂ perturbations associated with the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Science 2011; 331:1404-9. [PMID: 21330490 DOI: 10.1126/science.1199011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The effects of a large igneous province on the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (PCO₂) are mostly unknown. In this study, we estimate PCO₂ from stable isotopic values of pedogenic carbonates interbedded with volcanics of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) in the Newark Basin, eastern North America. We find pre-CAMP PCO₂ values of ~2000 parts per million (ppm), increasing to ~4400 ppm immediately after the first volcanic unit, followed by a steady decrease toward pre-eruptive levels over the subsequent 300 thousand years, a pattern that is repeated after the second and third flow units. We interpret each PCO₂ increase as a direct response to magmatic activity (primary outgassing or contact metamorphism). The systematic decreases in PCO₂ after each magmatic episode probably reflect consumption of atmospheric CO₂ by weathering of silicates, stimulated by fresh CAMP volcanics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan F Schaller
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
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31
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An explanation for conflicting records of Triassic-Jurassic plant diversity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:15351-6. [PMID: 20713737 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1004207107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Macrofossils (mostly leaves) and sporomorphs (pollen and spores) preserve conflicting records of plant biodiversity during the end-Permian (P-Tr), Triassic-Jurassic (Tr-J), and end-Cretaceous (K-T) mass extinctions. Estimates of diversity loss based on macrofossils are typically much higher than estimates of diversity loss based on sporomorphs. Macrofossils from the Tr-J of East Greenland indicate that standing species richness declined by as much as 85% in the Late Triassic, whereas sporomorph records from the same region, and from elsewhere in Europe, reveal little evidence of such catastrophic diversity loss. To understand this major discrepancy, we have used a new high-resolution dataset of sporomorph assemblages from Astartekløft, East Greenland, to directly compare the macrofossil and sporomorph records of Tr-J plant biodiversity. Our results show that sporomorph assemblages from the Tr-J boundary interval are 10-12% less taxonomically diverse than sporomorph assemblages from the Late Triassic, and that vegetation composition changed rapidly in the boundary interval as a result of emigration and/or extirpation of taxa rather than immigration and/or origination of taxa. An analysis of the representation of different plant groups in the macrofossil and sporomorph records at Astartekløft reveals that reproductively specialized plants, including cycads, bennettites and the seed-fern Lepidopteris are almost absent from the sporomorph record. These results provide a means of reconciling the macrofossil and sporomorph records of Tr-J vegetation change, and may help to understand vegetation change during the P-Tr and K-T mass extinctions and around the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.
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Belcher CM, Mander L, Rein G, Jervis FX, Haworth M, Hesselbo SP, Glasspool IJ, McElwain JC. Increased fire activity at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary in Greenland due to climate-driven floral change. NATURE GEOSCIENCE 2010. [PMID: 0 DOI: 10.1038/ngeo871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
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Mass extinctions of life and catastrophic flood basalt volcanism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:6555-6. [PMID: 20360556 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1002478107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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