Dinosaurs diversified in two steps during the Triassic. They originated about 245 Ma, during the recovery from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, and then remained insignificant until they exploded in diversity and ecological importance during the Late Triassic. Hitherto, this Late Triassic explosion was poorly constrained and poorly dated. Here we provide evidence that it followed the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), dated to 234-232 Ma, a time when climates switched from arid to humid and back to arid again. Our evidence comes from a combined analysis of skeletal evidence and footprint occurrences, and especially from the exquisitely dated ichnofaunas of the Italian Dolomites. These provide evidence of tetrapod faunal compositions through the Carnian and Norian, and show that dinosaur footprints appear exactly at the time of the CPE. We argue then that dinosaurs diversified explosively in the mid Carnian, at a time of major climate and floral change and the extinction of key herbivores, which the dinosaurs opportunistically replaced.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5902586 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03996-1 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Multi-proxy record of the Austrian Upper Triassic Polzberg Konservat-Lagerstätte in light of the Carnian Pluvial Episode.
Sci Rep
May 2024
Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, IG, National Research Council CNR, Via G. Gradenigo 6, 35131, Padua, Italy.
We present a multi-proxy investigation of a lower Carnian basinal succession from Polzberg in the Northern Calcareous Alps (Lower Austria). A section comprising a unique Konservat-Lagerstätte was studied based on bio- and chemostratigraphy along with geophysical methods, yielding a detailed and robust stratigraphic calibration of the Polzberg succession. The Polzberg section revealed the paleoceanographic history and helped to identify a global climatic reversal, the Carnian Pluvial Episode.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarbon cycle perturbations and environmental change of the middle permian and Late Triassic Paleo-Antarctic circle.
Sci Rep
April 2024
Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Friedensplatz 1, 64283, Darmstadt, Germany.
During the middle Permian through the Triassic, Tasmania moved from paleo-latitudes of 78° to 69°S, wedged between Antarctica and Australia, within the paleo-South polar circle. During this time, significant global carbon cycle disturbances triggered major environmental and climatic changes and mass extinction events globally. The Bicheno-5 core from Eastern Tasmania, Australia, provides the opportunity to examine middle Permian and Upper Triassic sediments from the paleo-Antarctic, using high-resolution organic carbon isotope (δC) chemostratigraphy, pXRF, and sedimentology, combined with new palynological data integrated with the existing radiometric age model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDistinctive volcanic ash-rich lacustrine shale deposition related to chemical weathering intensity during the Late Triassic: Evidence from lithium contents and isotopes.
Sci Adv
March 2024
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing 100083, China.
The Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) witnessed enormous climate change closely associated with volcanic activity. However, the coupling relationship between volcanic activity and climate change, which may be linked to chemical weathering, has not yet been fully uncovered. We used lithium contents and isotopes of volcanic ash (VA)-bearing lacustrine shale to constrain their deposition pathways and response to climate changes, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPelagic responses to oceanic anoxia during the Carnian Pluvial Episode (Late Triassic) in Panthalassa Ocean.
Sci Rep
September 2023
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy.
The Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) was a short interval of extreme rainfall in the Late Triassic that caused significant changes in marine ecosystems. Global warming induced by Wrangellia volcanism is thought to have resulted in oceanic anoxia during the CPE, but the global extent, duration, and severity of anoxia, and its effects on major marine taxa, remain unclear. To address this, we examined an equatorial record of conditions in the Panthalassa Ocean during the CPE, focusing on marine Os isotope data, redox conditions, and conodont and radiolarian biostratigraphy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe first record of chigutisaurid amphibian from the Late Triassic Tiki Formation and the probable Carnian pluvial episode in central India.
PeerJ
March 2023
Geological Studies Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
A new, partially preserved skull of chigutisaurid amphibian (temnospondyli) has been reported for the first time from the Late Triassic Tiki Formation of India. Chigutisaurids are now known to occur in Australia's Early and Late Triassic, the Late Triassic in India, Argentina, and Brazil, the Jurassic of South Africa and Australia, and the Cretaceous of Australia. In India, the first appearance of chigutisaurids marks the Carnian-middle Carnian/Norian Boundary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!