Evidence for the Carnian Pluvial Episode in Gondwana: New multiproxy climate records and their bearing on early dinosaur diversification

Mancuso, Adriana Cecilia; Benavente, Cecilia Andrea; Irmis, Randall B.; Mundil, Roland

doi:10.1016/j.gr.2020.05.009

Cited by 56 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 156 publications

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“…Testing this hypothesis has been difficult due to the lack of detailed palaeoclimatic data for this event, particularly in regions where there are substantial dinosaur occurrences (Mancuso et al . 2020). Our finding that avemetarsalians (including early dinosaurs) occur over a wide range of mean annual temperature and precipitation values, in addition to the GLS results suggesting that models containing precipitation have little explanatory power, calls into question the suggestion that the climatic conditions brought on by the Carnian Pluvial Event may had a major impact on early dinosaur diversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic drivers of latitudinal variation in Late Triassic tetrapod diversity

et al. 2020

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The latitudinal biodiversity gradient (LBG), the increase in biodiversity from the poles to the equator, is one of the most widely recognized global macroecological patterns, yet its deep time evolution and drivers remain uncertain. The Late Triassic (237–201 Ma), a critical interval for the early evolution and radiation of modern tetrapod groups (e.g. crocodylomorphs, dinosaurs, mammaliamorphs), offers a unique opportunity to explore the palaeolatitudinal patterns of tetrapod diversity since it is extensively sampled spatially when compared with other pre‐Cenozoic intervals, particularly at lower palaeolatitudes. Here, we explore palaeolatitudinal patterns of Late Triassic tetrapod diversity by applying sampling standardization to comprehensive occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database (PBDB). We then use palaeoclimatic model simulations to explore the palaeoclimatic ranges occupied by major tetrapod groups, allowing insight into the influence of palaeoclimate on the palaeolatitudinal distribution of these groups. Our results show that Late Triassic tetrapods generally do not conform to a modern‐type LBG; instead, sampling‐standardized species richness is highest at mid‐palaeolatitudes. In contrast, the richness of pseudosuchians (crocodylians and their relatives) is highest at the palaeoequator, a pattern that is retained throughout their subsequent evolutionary history. Pseudosuchians generally occupied a more restricted range of palaeoclimatic conditions than other tetrapod groups, a condition analogous to modern day reptilian ectotherms, while avemetatarsalians (the archosaur group containing dinosaurs and pterosaurs) exhibit comparatively wider ranges, which is more similar to modern endotherms, such as birds and mammals, suggesting important implications for the evolution of thermal physiology in dinosaurs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic drivers of latitudinal variation in Late Triassic tetrapod diversity

et al. 2020

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“…1 A ). It is postulated that the voluminous emission of volcanic CO 2 , with consequent global warming and enhancement of a mega-monsoonal climate, was responsible for the CPE ( 9 , 16 ), although the link is imprecise ( 2 , 17 ) because the interval of Wrangellian eruptions have not yet been traced in the sedimentary records encompassing the CPE.…”

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confidence: 99%

Volcanically driven lacustrine ecosystem changes during the Carnian Pluvial Episode (Late Triassic)

Zhang

Corso

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) saw a dramatic increase in global humidity and temperature that has been linked to the large-scale volcanism of the Wrangellia large igneous province. The climatic changes coincide with a major biological turnover on land that included the ascent of the dinosaurs and the origin of modern conifers. However, linking the disparate cause and effects of the CPE has yet to be achieved because of the lack of a detailed terrestrial record of these events. Here, we present a multidisciplinary record of volcanism and environmental change from an expanded Carnian lake succession of the Jiyuan Basin, North China. New U–Pb zircon dating, high-resolution chemostratigraphy, and palynological and sedimentological data reveal that terrestrial conditions in the region were in remarkable lockstep with the large-scale volcanism. Using the sedimentary mercury record as a proxy for eruptions reveals four discrete episodes during the CPE interval (ca. 234.0 to 232.4 Ma). Each eruptive phase correlated with large, negative C isotope excursions and major climatic changes to more humid conditions (marked by increased importance of hygrophytic plants), lake expansion, and eutrophication. Our results show that large igneous province eruptions can occur in multiple, discrete pulses, rather than showing a simple acme-and-decline history, and demonstrate their powerful ability to alter the global C cycle, cause climate change, and drive macroevolution, at least in the Triassic.

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“…A large body of recent work has emerged examining the role of the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) in shaping terrestrial tetrapod evolution, but few have explicitly addressed temnospondyls. Buffa et al (2019) and Fortuny et al (2019) suggested a correlation between metoposaurid diversification and the CPE, which has been increasingly linked to major events of Triassic tetrapod evolution (e.g., Simms and Ruffell, 1989, 1990; Ruffell et al, 2016; Dal Corso et al, 2020), particularly to the radiation of dinosaurs (e.g., Benton et al, 2018; Bernardi et al, 2018; Mancuso et al, 2020). However, as those workers also noted, it remains to be tested how this climate event would have favored some clades of large-bodied stereospondyls over others; most studies remain focused on amniotes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Description of the metoposauridAnaschisma brownifrom the New Oxford Formation of Pennsylvania

Gee

Jasinski²

2021

J. Paleontol.

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Metoposaurids are a widespread and ubiquitous constituent of Late Triassic non-marine paleoenvironments. In North America, this group is practically the only large-bodied temnospondyl clade, and is particularly well documented from the American southwest and south-central regions (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas). However, metoposaurids are poorly documented from eastern North America, with fragmentary, doubtfully diagnostic historical material such as “Dictyocephalus elegans” Leidy, 1856 and “Eupelor durus” Cope, 1866. The Zions View (early Norian?) locality in Pennsylvania preserves more-complete material, which previous workers noted as belonging to “Buettneria perfecta” Case, 1922 (=Anaschisma browni Branson, 1905). However, the material has never been described in a fashion that characterizes the anatomy or that justifies the taxonomic assignment, yet it would represent the most complete material in eastern North America and a substantial expansion of this taxon's geographic range. Here we redescribe the Zions View metoposaurid material in detail, differentiating it from Calamops paludosus Sinclair, 1917, the only other Late Triassic temnospondyl from the eastern seaboard, and demonstrating confident affinities with A. browni. Our study is the first to properly justify the taxonomic referral, underscoring the broader importance of proper documentation of voucher specimens, especially for potential geographic outliers. Anaschisma browni is thus the most widely dispersed metoposaurid. Its easternmost documentation underscores the importance of the undersampled and understudied metoposaurid record on the eastern seaboard for understanding the development of a metoposaurid zone of exclusivity in North America and demonstrates the need for further exploration to refine conceptualizations of Late Triassic tetrapod evolution.

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Evidence for the Carnian Pluvial Episode in Gondwana: New multiproxy climate records and their bearing on early dinosaur diversification

Cited by 56 publications

References 156 publications

Climatic drivers of latitudinal variation in Late Triassic tetrapod diversity

Climatic drivers of latitudinal variation in Late Triassic tetrapod diversity

Volcanically driven lacustrine ecosystem changes during the Carnian Pluvial Episode (Late Triassic)

Description of the metoposauridAnaschisma brownifrom the New Oxford Formation of Pennsylvania

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