Stratigraphy of the middle-upper permian and lowermost triassic at Chaotian, Sichuan, China: Record of Late Permian double mass extinction event

Abstract

Precise stratigraphic analysis of Middle-Upper Permian and Lower Triassic sequence at Chaotian in northern Sichuan, China, identified two remarkable mass extinction horizons, one at the Middle-Upper Permian (Guadalupian-Lopingian; G-L) boundary and the other at the Upper Permian-Lower Triassic (P-T) boundary. Across each of the boundaries, biodiversity declined sharply in fusulinid, rugose coral, brachiopod, ammonite, conodont, and radiolaria. Both boundaries are characterized by two biohorizons, i.e., one marked by major extinction of pre-existing fauna and the other by the first appearance of younger fauna. It is noteworthy that a peculiar rhyo-dacitic tuff bed occurs at each of the extinction horizons. Thus the Late Permian biosphere was strongly affected twice by highly explosive, severe volcanism. Regional correlation of the G-L and P-T boundary tuff beds throughout South China, and partly to Japan, positively suggests a cause-effect link between large-scale explosive volcanism and mass extinction.