title: Sea level regulated tetrapod diversity dynamics through the Jurassic/Cretaceous interval.
abstract: Reconstructing deep time trends in biodiversity remains a central goal for palaeobiologists, but our understanding of the magnitude and tempo of extinctions and radiations is confounded by uneven sampling of the fossil record. In particular, the Jurassic/Cretaceous (J/K) boundary, 145 million years ago, remains poorly understood, despite an apparent minor extinction and the radiation of numerous important clades. Here we apply a rigorous subsampling approach to a comprehensive tetrapod fossil occurrence data set to assess the group's macroevolutionary dynamics through the J/K transition. Although much of the signal is exclusively European, almost every higher tetrapod group was affected by a substantial decline across the boundary, culminating in the extinction of several important clades and the ecological release and radiation of numerous modern tetrapod groups. Variation in eustatic sea level was the primary driver of these patterns, controlling biodiversity through availability of shallow marine environments and via allopatric speciation on land.
authors: Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW6 2AZ, UK.
authors: Jonathan P
authors: 0000-0001-7794-0218
authors: JP
authors: Tennant
authors: Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW6 2AZ, UK.
authors: Philip D
authors: PD
authors: Mannion
authors: Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Upchurch