The timing and nature of biotic recovery from the devastating end-Permian mass extinction (252 Ma) are much debated. New studies in South China suggest that complex marine ecosystems did not become re-established until the middle-late Anisian (Middle Triassic), much later than had been proposed by some. The recently discovered exceptionally preserved Luoping biota from the Anisian Stage of the ...

The Capitanian (Late Guadalupian) Maokou Formation at Chaotian in northern Sichuan, South China, is composed mainly of shallow marine shelf carbonates deposited on the Tethyan side of South China. By detailed field mapping and scientific drilling, we newly found out unique fossil assemblages and a sharp lithologic change in the upper part of the Maokou Formation. The main part of the Maokou For...

The hypothesis that conodonts are vertebrates rests solely on evidence of soft tissue anatomy. This has been corroborated by microstructural, topological and developmental evidence of homology between conodont and vertebrate hard tissues. However, these conclusions have been reached on the basis of evidence from highly derived euconodont taxa and the degree to which they are representative of p...

The Triassic section north of Currie in southern Elko County, Nevada, is almost 500 m thick and is assigned to the Thaynes Group and overlying Shinarump Formation of the Chinle Group. The Thaynes Group disconformably overlies the Permian Gerster Formation and is mostly calcareous shale with interbedded wackestones that yield marine invertebrate fossils, especially ammonoids. The Shinarump Forma...

Abstract The Anti-Atlas contains a thick, volcanic-free Ordovician succession that originally deposited in passive-margin basin. Three main sedimentary packages are bounded by major unconformities: (i) the Tremadocian–Floian Lower Fezouata and Upper formations, which unconformably overlie palaeorelief of Cambrian rifting volcanosedimentary complexes, subsequently topped Dapingian paraconformabl...

Based on a study of 49 conodont and 57 geochemical samples from the Upper Triassic, carbonate-dominated Dengdengqiao Formation, Qinling Basin, China, Carnian conodonts carbon isotope records are first reported. Two genera four species have been identified amongst 87 elements: Mosherella praebudaensis, Mo. longnanensis sp. nov., sp., “Misikella” longidentata. The presence praebudaensis indicates...

The “Carnian Crisis” is documented in basinal, shallow-marine and epicontinental northwestern Tethyan facies areas by, successively, (1) a demise of carbonate platforms and reefs in the Julian 1/IIc, (2) a major faunal and floral turnover in the Late Julian and (3) a significant extinction event affecting conodonts and ammonoids at the Julian/Tuvalian boundary. Based on the study of 19 successi...

The conodont fauna of the reference succession regional British Llandeilian Stage Llanvirn Series was first described in a classical study by Rhodes more than 65 years ago using single element (form) taxonomy. Although several subsequent authors have recorded substantial number taxa from Llandeilo area, present is to modern taxonomic review these late Darriwilian-early Sandbian faunas that incl...