贵州水城仲河剖面二叠纪-三叠纪之交底栖群落的物种多样性与功能多样性转变

为了定量化恢复晚二叠世末期生物大灭绝对底栖群落的物种多样性和功能多样性的影响,对浅海碎屑岩台地相区的贵州水城仲河剖面开展宏体化石采集和分析,识别和划分古群落,选择优势度、香农指数、均匀度等代表物种多样性指数,生态功能群数量和功能均匀度代表功能多样性指数. 共采集1 340枚化石标本,经鉴定得到30属33种,其中双壳类可归纳为两个生物带:晚二叠世长兴期的Hunanopecten exilis顶峰带和早三叠世Griesbachian早期的Pteria ussurica variabilis顶峰带. 根据化石属种的地层分布、保存状况,结合聚类分析方法识别出3个古群落:Astartella obliqua-Tethyochonetes quadrata群落、Pteria ussurica variabilis-Claraia wangi群落和Pteria ussurica variabilis-Unionites canalensis群落. 自晚二叠世长兴期末期至早三叠世Griesbachian早期,古群落的优势度上升、香农指数降低、均匀度下降,功能群丰富度降低,功能均匀度上升,这指示晚二叠世末生物大灭绝对浅海碎屑岩相区的底栖群落的组成和功能均有显著的破坏. 此外,结合华南浅海和深海相区的古群落数据,发现底栖群落的物种多样性指数和功能多样性指数在晚二叠世末生物大灭绝中均遭受损失,但是浅海底栖群落受影响较高.      

Magnetostratigraphic correlations of Permian–Triassic marine-to-terrestrial sections from China

We have studied three Permian–Triassic (PT) localities from China as part of a combined magnetostratigraphic, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and U–Pb radioisotopic, and biostratigraphic study aimed at resolving the temporal relations between terrestrial and marine records across the Permo-Triassic boundary, as well as the rate of the biotic recovery in the Early Triassic. The studied sections from Shangsi (Sichuan Province), Langdai (Guihzou Province), and the Junggar basin (Xinjiang Province), span marine, paralic, and terrestrial PT environments, respectively. Each of these sections was logged in detail in order to place geochronologic, paleomagnetic, geochemical, conodont and palynologic samples within a common stratigraphic context. Here we present rock-magnetic, paleomagnetic and magnetostratigraphic results from the three localities.At Shangsi, northern Sichuan Province, we sampled three sections spanning Permo-Triassic marine carbonates. Magnetostratigraphic results from the three sections indicate that the composite section contains at least eight polarity chrons and that the PT boundary occurs within a normal polarity chron a short distance above the mass extinction level and a reversed-to-normal (R-N) polarity reversal. Furthermore, the onset of the Illawarra mixed interval lies below the sampled section indicating that the uppermost Permian Changhsingian and at least part of the Wuchiapingian stages postdate the end of the Kiaman Permo-Carboniferous Reversed Superchron.At Langdai, Guizhou Province, we studied magnetostratigraphy of PT paralic mudstone and carbonate sediments in two sections. The composite section spans an R-N polarity sequence. Section-mean directions pass a fold test at the 95% confidence level, and the section-mean poles are close to the mean PT pole for the South China block. Based on biostratigraphic constraints, the R-N transition recorded at Langdai is consistent with that at Shangsi and demonstrates that the PT boundary occurred within a normal polarity chron a short distance above the mass extinction level.In the southern Junggar basin, Xinjiang Province, in northwest China, we determined the magnetostratigraphy of three sections of a terrestrial sequence. Normal and reversed polarity directions are roughly antipodal, and magnetostratigraphies from the three sections are highly consistent. Combined bio- and magneto-stratigraphy used to correlate this sequence to other PT sequences suggests that the previously-proposed biostratigraphic PT boundary in the Junggar sections was most likely misplaced by earlier workers suggesting that further work is necessary to confidently place the PT boundary there.     

Rapid vertebrate recuperation in the Karoo Basin of South Africa following the End-Permian extinction

The mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Permian Period approximately 251 Mya is widely accepted as the most devastating extinction event in Earth’s history. An estimated 75–90% of global diversity from both marine and terrestrial realms disappeared synchronously within at most one million and perhaps as little as 100,000 years. To date, most research has focused on the marine record and it is only recently that a few fully preserved terrestrial Permo-Triassic boundary sequences have been discovered. The main Karoo Basin of South Africa hosts several well-preserved non-marine Permo-Triassic boundary sequences that have been the focus of intensive research into the nature of the extinction and its possible causes. This study uses sedimentological and biostratigraphic data from boundary sequences near Bethulie in the southern Karoo Basin to make assumptions about the rates and timing of recovery of the terrestrial fauna in this portion of southern Gondwana after the extinction event. The biostratigraphic data gathered from 277 in situ vertebrate fossils allows us to define more accurately the temporal ranges of several taxa. These data also confirm a more precise extinction rate in this part of the basin of 54% of latest Permian vertebrate taxa, followed by the onset of a relatively rapid recovery, within an estimated 40–50 thousand years (based on the calculation of floodplain aggradation rates and compaction ratios) that included the origination of at least 12 new vertebrate taxa from amongst the survivors.     

湖南慈利江垭剖面二叠系-三叠系界线层序的沉积微相类型、沉积环境和海平面变化

本文对湖南慈利江垭剖面二叠系-三叠系界线层序(大隆组顶部9.4m和大冶组底部7.5m)进行了详细的沉积微相分析,划分出八种微相类型,并结合露头和光面上的沉积特征,对每种微相的成因和沉积环境进行了分析和讨论。在此基础上,研究了界线附近的沉积环境和相对海平面变化。大隆组顶部层序沉积于相对海平面持续上升阶段,随着相对海平面的上升,沉积环境逐渐由盆地边缘向盆地内部迁移。在大隆组最顶部,相对海平面有一快速的大幅度下降,沉积环境由深水盆地突然转变为浅水台地。之后自大冶组底部向上,相对海平面又逐渐上升,沉积盆地依次经历了滞流盆地、半循环盆地和循环盆地的转换;在距离大冶组底部约7m处,相对海平面开始下降,气候变得极为干燥,沉积盆地转变为蒸发盆地。值得指出的是,大隆组-大冶组界线处的快速海退面正好对应于二叠纪末生物灭绝面,从而表明大海退很可能是造成二叠纪末生物大灭绝的重要原因。     

罗平生物群

<正>罗平生物群是目前已知多样性最为丰富的中生代海生化石库之一,代表二叠纪末生物大绝灭后早三叠世海洋生态系统的全面复苏。罗平生物群是海生动物、陆生植物以及少量陆生动物的混合群落。其中,节肢动物占主宰地位,以甲     

塔里木盆地库车河剖面有机碳同位素地层学及三叠系—侏罗系界线

三叠纪—侏罗纪之交发生了地史上五次最大规模之一的生物灭绝事件、中大西洋大火成岩省喷发、泛大陆进一步裂解导致的中大西洋开启以及大气CO₂浓度急剧升高等。然而该时期中国各板块主要发育陆相沉积,其三叠系—侏罗系界线（TJB）很难与定义于海相地层的全球层型剖面和点（GSSP）进行精细对比。应用基于C3植物的碳同位素地层学,进行了两次独立地、系统地以高等植物木质部为研究对象的采样和测试,获得了可以指示同期大气CO₂的δ13C演化和进行全球等时对比的碳同位素地层曲线。并在植物大化石和孢粉的生物地层约束基础上,首次完成了库车河剖面与海相三叠纪末期生物大灭绝事件（ETE）底界和TJB的精细对比;推测与全球其他剖面ETE等时的地层界线位于38层底部附近,与TJB的GSSP等时地层界线位于41层底部附近。海相与陆相的ETE和TJB层位附近均出现了δ13C负偏,指示全球性的碳同位素的波动,推论该时期发生了全球规模的、地表圈层的碳储库扰动。     

Impacts of global warming on Permo-Triassic terrestrial ecosystems

Geologists and palaeontologists have expressed mixed views about the effects of the end-Permian mass extinction on continental habitats and on terrestrial life. Current work suggests that the effects on land were substantial, with massive erosion following the stripping of vegetation, associated with long-term aridification and short-term bursts of warming and acid rain. Wildfires at the Permo-Triassic boundary contributed to the removal of forests and the prolonged absence of forests from the Earth's surface for up to 10 Myr. These physical crises on land impinged on the oceans, suggesting tight interlocking of terrestrial and marine crises. Levels of extinction on land may well have been as high as in the sea, and this is certainly the case for tetrapods. The mass extinction seems to have been less profound for plants and insects, but it is hard at present to disentangle issues of data quality from reductions in abundance and diversity. Several killing agents have been proposed, and of these tetrapods may have succumbed primarily to acid rain, mass wasting, and aridification. Plants may have been more affected by the sudden effects of heating and wildfires, and the crisis for insects has yet to be explored.     

重庆中梁山地区二叠、三叠系界线附近生物更替的研究

<正> 二叠、三叠系界线附近海生无脊椎动物发生了明显的更替。许多古生代繁盛一时的类群在界线上消失,其中包括三叶虫、四射珊瑚、横板珊瑚、等。腕足动物长身贝目和戟贝目的大部分分子也于界线附近绝灭,只残存一些个体较小、壳质较薄的分子延续于三叠系的最底部。造成这些生物类群绝灭的原因目前认识很不一致。最近,国际地质科学工作者提出了“新灾变论”假说,并且利用这一理论来解释白垩纪末恐龙绝灭的原因,但是,在研究了重庆中梁山地区一些门类的生物组合后,得出的结论是这一更     

Characteristic and Geological Significance of Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures(MISS) in Terrestrial P-T Boundary in Xingyang,Western He’nan Province

Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures (MISS) are primary sedimentary structures that arise syndepositionally from microbial community activity. Especially valuable are MISS for the analysis of early Archean (and extraterrestrial) deposits. However, most reports of MISS have focused on the Precambrian and Phanerozoic mass extinction marine sediments, and only a few and terrestrial MISS have been studied. The MISS presented in this paper, which mainly consists of mat growth feature, mat destruction feature and mat decay feature, are well preserved in terrestrial clastic rocks around the P-T boundary in Xiyang area, western Henan. Large U ridges, oriented sand quartz, mica grains and thin clayey laminae arranged parallel to bedding plane are the main features visible under the microscope. Several lines of evidence indicate that the Xingyang MISS are of biogenic origin. Abundant MISS in Xingyang may indicate the degradation of terrestrial ecosystems and proliferation of microbial mats immediately after the severe Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Study aiming at MISS helps to analyze their space distribution in the globe and to probe into links between microbial proliferation and environmental stresses following the end-Permian mass extinction in terrestrial ecosystems.     

Stratigraphical and biological significance of negative carbon isotopic anomalies in the basal Cambrian series of Guizhou Province

The early Early Cambrian strata within the bounds of Guizhou Province are almost predominated by black shale deposition. Recently, however, the authors have found a section consisting of a set of mudstones interbedded with limestones at the basement of the Cambrian at Yingping, Fuquan County,Guizhou Province, which provides favorable conditions for the study of marine geochemical characteristics of the early Early Cambrian. The characteristics of intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary at Yingping, Fuquan County, Guizhou Province, can be correlated with those of global carbon isotopic anomalies at the same time on a global scale, corresponding to the intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies near the Neoproterozoic/Cambrian boundaries at the bottom of the Xiaowaitoushan Member, Huize, Yunnan Province, at the top of the Tsagaan 0loom Formation of Mongolia and at the top of the Salarmy Gol Formation of Siberia, as well as those observed in southwestern United States, Iran, Amman, Poland, Newfoundland, the Great Britain, Canada, etc. Negative carbon isotopic anomalies can be used as the important basis for the division of the Precambrian/Cambrian boundaries.There have been found 8 m-thick black shales and cherts below the intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies in this profile. In the black shales there have been found large amounts of fossils such as Bradoricla,gernus Archotuba, indicating that during the period of sedimentation of black shales under anaerobic conditions there would be large quantities of organic species living in the sea. But in the section of grayish-green mudstones interbedded with limestones with intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies almost no organic fossil has been found. This may imply that the anaerobic event seems to have little bearing on the mass extinction near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary, whereas the intense negative carbon isotopic anomaly event appears to be more closely related to the mass extinction occurring near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary.     

European ammonoid diversity questions the spreading of anoxia as primary cause for the Cenomanian/Turonian (Late Cretaceous) mass extinction

Ammonoid diversity patterns show that the spreading of oceanic anoxia is not the initial and major kill mechanism for the Cenomanian/Turonian mass extinction as usually suggested. In the Anglo-Paris Basin and the Vocontian Basin, the drop of ammonoid species richness starts around the middle/late Cenomanian boundary, i.e. 0.75 myr before the occurrence of anoxic deepwater sediments. The stepwise extinction of first heteromorphs and then acanthoceratids is incompatible with the rise of the oxygen minimum zone. Moreover, shelf environments of these basins remained well oxygenated during the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary interval. Thus, we stress that other causative mechanisms initiated the ammonoid extinction even if anoxia subsequently participated in the demise of marine ecosystems. Editorial handling: M.J. Benton & J.-P. Billon-Bruyat     

Intensifying aeolian activity following the end-Permian mass extinction: Evidence from the Late Permian–Early Triassic terrestrial sedimentary record of the Ordos Basin,North China

Sedimentary successions provide direct evidence of climate and tectonics, and these give clues about the causes of the mass extinction around the Permian–Triassic boundary. Terrestrial Permian–Triassic boundary strata in the eastern Ordos Basin, North China, include the Late Permian Sunjiagou, Early Triassic Liujiagou and late Early Triassic Heshanggou formations in ascending order. The Sunjiagou Formation comprises cross-bedded sandstones overlaid by mudstones, indicating meandering rivers with channel, point bar and floodplain deposits. The Liujiagou Formation was formed in braided rivers of arid sand bars interacting with some aeolian dune deposits, distinguished by abundant sandstones where diverse trough and planar cross-bedding and aeolian structures (for example, inverse climbing-ripple, translatent-ripple lamination, grainfall and grainflow laminations) interchange vertically and laterally. The Heshanggou Formation is a rhythmic succession of mudstones interbedded with thin medium-grained sandstones mainly deposited in a shallow lacustrine environment. Overall, the sharp meandering to braided to shallow lake sedimentary transition documents palaeoenvironmental changes from semi-arid to arid and then to semi-humid conditions across the Permian–Triassic boundary. The die-off of tetrapods and plants, decreased bioturbation levels in the uppermost Sunjiagou Formation, and the bloom of microbially-induced sedimentary structures in the Liujiagou Formation marks the mass extinction around the Permian–Triassic boundary. The disappearance of microbially-induced sedimentary structures, increasingly intense bioturbation from bottom to top and the reoccurrence of reptile footprints in the Heshanggou Formation reveal gradual recovery of the ecosystem after the Permian–Triassic boundary extinction. This study is the first to identify the intensification of aeolian activity following the end-Permian mass extinction in North China. Moreover, while northern North China continued to be uplifted tectonically from the Late Palaeozoic to Late Mesozoic, the switch of sedimentary patterns across the Permian–Triassic boundary in Shanxi is largely linked to the development of an arid and subsequently semi-humid climate condition, which probably directly affected the collapse and delayed recovery in palaeoecosystems.     

Biosedimentology of the Early Jurassic post-extinction carbonate depositional system, central High Atlas rift basin, Morocco

This study documents a Liassic example of the long‐ranging effects of mass extinction on carbonate systems. Biohistoric constraints inherent in the Liassic carbonate depositional system are deciphered from normal‐marine, sub‐tidal deposits of the central High Atlas rift basin (Morocco) through ?Hettangian/Sinemurian to Early Toarcian times. The integration of results from the analysis of lithofacies, depositional geometries, microfacies, macrobenthos, carbonate build‐ups, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes, and rare earth element + yttrium distribution patterns allows the intrinsic (or biohistoric) control on the central High Atlas deposits to be separated from extrinsic factors, such as basin development and palaeoclimate. The survival interval in the aftermath of the end‐Triassic mass extinction persisted until the Early Sinemurian indicated by a severely depleted carbonate system impoverished in skeletal organisms. A tectonic pulse at the Early to Late Sinemurian boundary interval caused a basin widening with immigration of a marine fauna. However, until the latest Sinemurian (macdonelli Subzone of the raricostatum Zone) the deposits were dominated by filter‐feeding benthic heterotrophs (sponges, brachiopods, polychaetes and crinoids). During this stage, primary production within the enlarged basin must have been largely planktonic and there was a net‐flux of organic matter to the sea floor (oxygen minimum zone). A regional radiation of organic‐walled phytoplankton is inferred to explain the selective success of the filter‐feeding community and the occurrence of sponge mounds. Thus, significant effects of the end‐Triassic mass extinction are still present during the Late Sinemurian. Through almost the entire Pliensbachian a highly productive, shoal‐rimmed carbonate platform existed; it developed subsequent to tectonic reorganization and a marine recirculation event (radiolarian facies, Δδ¹³C ≈ ?1·1, strongly negative Ce‐anomaly). Photosymbiotic sediment producers (mainly large bivalves) now state the success of specialists and environmental equilibrium conditions. In the latest Pliensbachian the climax stage was reached with the development of a coralgal reef‐rimmed carbonate platform. The Liassic carbonate depositional system experienced a terminal, multicausal Early Toarcian drowning event during which most of the large bivalves became extinct.     

塔里木盆地西南地区白垩系沉积相特征

塔西南白垩系发育,可分为上、下两统。下白垩统克孜勒苏群可分4段,多以陆相沉积为主,富含棕红色砂砾岩夹少许砂岩、粉砂岩、泥岩和砾岩。上白垩统英吉沙群为海陆相并存,库克拜组可分2段,常见泥岩、膏岩和海相化石;乌依塔格组多为红色泥岩、泥质粉砂岩夹砂岩;依格孜牙组多见灰岩、白云质灰岩,富含海相化石;吐依洛克组为棕红色泥岩、石膏和砂、砾岩,含海相化石。通过勾勒9个岩性单元的沉积相展布,分析昆仑山前白垩纪的沉积环境演化过程。克孜勒苏群西区多为陆相快速堆积,东区远离陆源为三角洲和滨岸沉积,具有宽泛的冲积扇—辫状河三角洲相分布。库克拜组总体显示为辫状河三角洲—潮坪相变的过程;乌依塔格组以潮坪为主;依格孜牙组表现为碳酸盐岩台地—台地边缘的演化;吐依洛克组为宽广潮坪。     

Stable climate in India during Deccan volcanism suggests limited influence on K–Pg extinction

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) have been temporally correlated to mass extinctions throughout the Phanerozoic, including the emplacement of the Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP; 66.3–65.6 Ma) in western and central India, which has been invoked as either a cause or exacerbating factor in the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction. However, relatively little is known about local paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental responses to volcanism. To investigate the DVP's role as a driver of local environmental change and to provide climatic background for known ecological shifts, new inter-basaltic paleosol profiles at the eastern edge of the DVP are used in conjunction with profiles from the literature to reconstruct paleoclimate and terrestrial environments before and after the K–Pg. These profiles provide a novel opportunity to study the sediments within basalt flows before, during, and after a mass extinction event and in the midst of a LIP emplacement event. Paleoclimate proxies and the Floral Humidity Province proxy reflect little long-term change in either climate or environment across the K–Pg, with stable precipitation values and temperatures accompanied by a constant forest signal. These interpretations are corroborated by macrofloral records and sedimentology from India, which suggest some environmental turnover but generally support a forested, fluvio-lacustrine environment throughout the duration of volcanism. Our results support the possibility of rapid recovery times for terrestrial ecosystems during volcanism and suggest that while DVP eruptions may have exacerbated long-term environmental perturbation, the emplacement of the DVP is not likely to have caused the terrestrial mass extinction at the K–Pg boundary.     

Evidence for wildfire in the Meishan section and implications for Permian-Triassic events

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and black carbon (BC) in sediments are powerful tools in the identification of the combustion process throughout geologic history. In this study, combustion-derived PAHs and BC were carefully investigated in sediments from the Global Stratotype Section and Point of the Permian-Triassic (P/Tr) boundary in Meishan, China. Quantitative analyses of combustion-derived PAHs and BC demonstrate anomalously high concentrations in the boundary event beds that coincide with the mass extinction horizon. The prevalence of parent polynuclear aromatics (e.g., phenanthrene) in PAHs, together with non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis, confirms that the PAHs are mainly derived from vegetation burning instead of having a coal and/or oil origin. BC detected in sediment occurs in various forms from large irregular charcoal particles to fine aciniform soot, with an equivalent reflectance of up to 3.5%. The results strongly suggest that a wildfire occurred during the P/Tr boundary, which served as one of the possible triggers of mass extinction on land. The wildfire occurrence indicates that the O₂ concentration of the atmosphere during (or before) the P/Tr mass extinction was probably >17%. The temporal coincidence of the mass extinction with intensive volcanic eruption, marine anoxia and wildfire events in the region of the Meishan section provides new insight into the mechanisms of the P/Tr biotic crisis. Our results show that wildfires could have played an important role in the collapse of the ecosystem in the Meishan P/Tr events.     

Multiproxy analysis of a new terrestrial and a marine Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary site from New Zealand

An integrated study of palynology, Mössbauer spectroscopy, mineralogy and osmium isotopes has led to the detection of the first K-Pg boundary clay layer in a Southern Hemisphere terrestrial setting. The K-Pg boundary layer was independently identified at centimetre resolution by all the above mentioned methods at the marine K-Pg boundary site of mid-Waipara and the terrestrial site of Compressor Creek (Greymouth coal field), New Zealand. Mössbauer spectroscopy shows an anomaly of Fe-containing particles in both K-Pg boundary sections: jarosite at mid-Waipara and goethite at Compressor Creek. This anomaly coincides with a turnover in vegetation indicated by an interval dominated by fern spores and extinction of key pollen species in both sections. In addition to the terrestrial floristic changes, the mid-Waipara section reveals a turnover in the dinoflagellate assemblages and the appearance of global earliest Danian index species. Geochemical data reveal relatively small iridium enrichments in the boundary layers of 321 pg/g at mid-Waipara and 176 pg/g at Compressor Creek. Unradiogenic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os values of the boundary clay reveal the presence of a significant extraterrestrial component. We interpret the accumulation of Fe nano-phases at the boundary as originating from both the impactor and the crystalline basement target rock. The goethite and jarosite are interpreted as secondary phases formed by weathering and diagenesis. The primary phases were probably controlled by the initial composition of the vapor plume and condensation kinetics rather than condensation thermodynamics. This investigation indicates that identification of Fe in nano-phases by Mössbauer spectroscopy is an accurate and cost-effective method for identifying impact event horizons and it efficiently complements widely used biostratigraphic and geochemical methods.     

Changes in environmental conditions as the cause of the marine biota Great Mass Extinction at the Triassic–Jurassic boundary

In the interval of the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, 80% of the marine species became extinct. Four main hypotheses about the causes of this mass extinction are considered: volcanism, climatic oscillations, sea level variations accompanied by anoxia, and asteroid impact events. The extinction was triggered by an extensive flooding of basalts in the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Furthermore, a number of meteoritic craters have been found. Under the effect of cosmic causes, two main sequences of events developed on the Earth: terrestrial ones, leading to intensive volcanism, and cosmic ones (asteroid impacts). Their aftermaths, however, were similar in terms of the chemical compounds and aerosols released. As a consequence, the greenhouse effect, dimming of the atmosphere (impeding photosynthesis), ocean stagnation, and anoxia emerged. Then, biological productivity decreased and food chains were destroyed. Thus, the entire ecosystem was disturbed and a considerable part of the biota became extinct.     

中三叠世安尼期罗平生物群海生爬行类研究新进展

2007年,中国地质调查局成都地质调查中心云南1∶5万区域地质调查项目组在距罗平县城东南15 km的罗雄镇大洼子村附近中三叠统关岭组二段地层中发现了罗平生物群。罗平生物群目前已经发现有海生爬行类、鱼类、节肢动物、棘皮动物、菊石、双壳、腹足类、腕足类、植物等十多个大类的化石,完好地体现了当时海洋生物的多样性,是目前已知化石分异度最高的三叠纪海生化石库之一。根据含化石地层中发现的微体化石牙形石Nicoraella Kockeli带,确认罗平生物群时代为中三叠世安尼期Pelsonian亚期。罗平生物群目前发现的海生爬行类种类丰富,基本涵盖了三叠纪时期主要的海生爬行类别,包括鱼龙类、鳍龙类、原龙类以及初龙类。中生代是对海生爬行类至关重要的时期。由于一直没有发现它们留下的遗迹化石,它们的运动模式还一直存在争议。云南罗平生物群海生爬行类研究中发现数百枚保存完好的幻龙类足迹——罗平双桨迹Dikoposichnus luopingensis,为研究其运动模式提供了直接的证据。另外罗平生物群中巨型捕食者张氏幻龙Nothosaurus zhangi的发现也支持了罗平双桨迹造迹者的存在。张氏幻龙拥有三叠纪世界上最大的头骨,这些处于食物链顶层的海生爬行类的繁盛说明当时生态系统已经很完善,代表了二叠纪末生物大灭绝之后海洋生态系统的全面复苏。     

Analysis of platinum-group elements in drill core samples from the Meishan Permian-Triassic boundary section,China

There is a long-standing controversy of what triggered the extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary, the most severe mass extinction in the geologic record, including flood basaltic volcanism and/or bolide impact hypothesis. In order to clarify various pieces of evidence for the mass extinction event at the Permian-Triassic boundary, some researchers from some laboratories throughout the world have made a comprehensive study on a group of samples from the Meishan area of China. Some fresh core samples from the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Meishan area were analyzed in this study. The results showed that there is no Ir anomaly, Moreover, the PGEs patterns of those samples show obvious differentiation characteristics, that is different from the case encountered in meteorites. So no evidence supports the hypothesis of extraterrestrial impact. In contrast, the PGEs patterns are similar to those of Siberian and Emeishan basalts, which indicates that those PGEs are derived mainly from the basalts, lending a support to the correlation between mass extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary and flood basaltic volcanism. This study has also confirmed the results for samples from section C prior to the analysis of the samples.