Abrupt and gradual extinction among Late Permian land vertebrates in the Karoo basin, South Africa.
The Karoo basin of South Africa exposes a succession of Upper Permian to Lower Triassic terrestrial strata containing abundant terrestrial vertebrate fossils. Paleomagnetic/magnetostratigraphic and carbon-isotope data allow sections to be correlated across the basin. With this stratigraphy, the vertebrate fossil data show a gradual extinction in the Upper Permian punctuated by an enhanced extinction pulse at the Permian-Triassic boundary interval, particularly among the dicynodont therapsids, coinciding with negative carbon-isotope anomalies.
Ward
Peter D
PD
Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. argo@u.washington.edu
Botha
Jennifer
J
Buick
Roger
R
De Kock
Michiel O
MO
Erwin
Douglas H
DH
Garrison
Geoffrey H
GH
Kirschvink
Joseph L
JL
Smith
Roger
R
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D008280:Magnetics; D010944:Plants; D013019:South Africa; D013995:Time; D014714:Vertebrates
D002247:Carbon Isotopes