Global taxonomic diversity of anomodonts (tetrapoda, therapsida) and the terrestrial rock record across the Permian-Triassic boundary.

ABSTRACT: The end-Permian biotic crisis (~252.5 Ma) represents the most severe extinction event in Earth's history. This paper investigates diversity patterns in Anomodontia, an extinct group of therapsid synapsids ('mammal-like reptiles'), through time and in particular across this event. As herbivores and the dominant terrestrial tetrapods of their time, anomodonts play a central role in assessing the impact of the end-Permian extinction on terrestrial ecosystems. Taxonomic diversity analysis reveals that anomodonts experienced three distinct phases of diversification interrupted by the same number of extinctions, i.e. an end-Guadalupian, an end-Permian, and a mid-Triassic extinction. A positive correlation between the number of taxa and the number of formations per time interval shows that anomod

SUBMITTER: Frobisch J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2581439 | biostudies-literature | 2008

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature