Geochemical environmental changes and dinosaur extinction during the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/T) transition in the Nanxiong Basin, South China: Evidence from dinosaur eggshells

Zhao, Zhidan; Mao, Xiaoxuan; Chai, Zhifang; Yang, Gaochuang; Zhang, Fucheng; Zheng, Yong

doi:10.1007/s11434-008-0565-1

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…Assimilated trace elements may have damaged the reproductive systems of the dinosaurs in ways that affected the protein structure of the organic matrix produced during eggshell formation, eventually leading to the observed microstructural abnormalities [ 43 – 45 , 92 ]. The extra cones would have thickened the eggshell and blocked some of the pores, and might have had a detrimental effect on hatchability [ 43 , 44 ]. However, the biochemical mechanism that might cause high trace element levels within an eggshell to produce extra cones remains elusive.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elongatoolithid eggs containing oviraptorid (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria) embryos from the Upper Cretaceous of Southern China

et al. 2016

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BackgroundOviraptorids, like many other dinosaurs, clearly had a complex pattern of skeletal growth involving numerous morphological changes. However, many ontogenetic skeletal changes in oviraptorids were previously unclear due to the lack of well preserved specimens that represent very young developmental stages.ResultsHere we report three elongatoolithid dinosaur eggs from the Upper Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Nankang District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China that contain in ovo embryonic skeletons. The eggs themselves show diagnostic features of the oofamily Elongatoolithidae, whereas the embryos are identified as taxonomically indeterminate oviraptorids. The three new specimens display pathological eggshell features, including double-layered and multilayered cones in the columnar layer, which probably result from high levels of pathogenic trace elements in the environment. Nevertheless, the skeletons of the preserved embryos exhibit no structural or histological abnormalities. Comparisons between the new embryos and other oviraptorid specimens reveal 20 osteological features that appear to change substantially during ontogeny in oviraptorids. For example, the dorsoventral height of the skull increases more rapidly than the anteroposterior length during oviraptorid ontogeny, and the initially paired nasals fuse at an early stage, presumably facilitating growth of a crest.ConclusionsThe new specimens represent the first known oviraptorid embryos associated with pathological eggshells. The absence of structural and histological abnormalities indicates the environmental factor that led to the eggshell pathologies did not affect the skeletal development of the oviraptorids themselves. As in tyrannosaurids, but in contrast to the situation in other maniraptorans, the oviraptorid skull becomes proportionally dorsoventrally deeper during ontogeny. Although oviraptorids and therizinosauroids occupy broadly the same grade of maniraptoran evolution, the embryonic ossification patterns of the vertebral column and furcular hypocleidium appear to differ significantly between the two clades. The limb proportions of juvenile oviraptorids indicate that they were bipedal, like adults. Oviraptorids may have differed greatly from therizinosauroids in their growth trajectories and locomotor modes during early post-hatching ontogeny, essentially occupying a different ecological niche.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elongatoolithid eggs containing oviraptorid (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria) embryos from the Upper Cretaceous of Southern China

et al. 2016

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“…There are many basins with Cretaceous continental sediments distributed across China (Li et al, 2013), such as the Songliao Basin (NE China; Wu et al, 2009;Bechtel et al, 2012;Chamberlain et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2013a, b;, the Sichuan Basin (SW China ;Li, 1988;Huang et al, 2012;Li et al, 2015), and the Nanxiong Basin (SE China; Zhao et al, 1991Zhao et al, , 2002Zhao et al, , 2009Buck et al, 2004;Clyde et al, 2010;Li et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2015), which provide ideal records for investigation of Cretaceous climate change. Among these basins, continuous and well-exposed red strata consisting of mudstone and sandstone are preserved in the Nanxiong Basin, and many fossils have been found in these red strata, such as charophytes, palynomorphs, ostracods, dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs, and mammals (Zhang, 1992;Zhang et al, 2006Zhang et al, , 2013Clyde et al, 2010;Li et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeoclimate evolution across the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary in the Nanxiong Basin (SE China) recorded by red strata and its correlation with marine records

Liu

Wang

2018

Clim. Past

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Abstract. The climate during the Cretaceous Period represented one of the greenhouse states of Earth's history. Significant transformation of climate patterns and a mass extinction event characterised by the disappearance of dinosaurs occurred across the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary. However, most records of this interval are derived from marine sediments. The continuous and well-exposed red strata of the Nanxiong Basin (SE China) provide ideal material to develop continental records. Considerable research into stratigraphic, palaeontological, chronologic, palaeoclimatic, and tectonic aspects has been carried out for the Datang profile, which is a type section of a non-marine Cretaceous–Palaeogene stratigraphic division in China. For this study, we reviewed previous work and found that (1) the existing chronological framework of the Datang profile is flawed; (2) precise palaeoclimatic reconstruction is lacking because of the limitations of sampling resolution (e.g. carbonate samples) and/or the lack of efficient proxies; and (3) comparisons of climate changes between marine and continental records are lacking. To resolve these problems, detailed field observations and sampling, as well as environmental magnetic and rare earth element (REE) measurements, were carried out. The results show that (1) more accurate ages of the Datang profile range from 72 to 62.8 Ma based on a combination of the most recently published radiometric, palaeontological, and palaeomagnetic ages; (2) there is considerable evidence of palaeosol generation, which indicates that the red strata formed in a long-term hot, oxidising environment that lacked underwater conditions; (3) haematite was the dominant magnetic mineral in the red strata, and the variation trend of magnetic susceptibility was consistent with the oxygen isotope records from deep-sea sediments, which indicates that the content of haematite was controlled by the global climate; and (4) the palaeoclimate changes from 72 to 62.8 Ma in the Nanxiong Basin were consistent with global patterns and can be divided into three stages: a relatively hot and wet stage during 72–71.5 Ma, a cool and arid stage during 71.5–66 Ma, and a relatively hot and wet stage again during 66–62.8 Ma with a notable drying and cooling event at 64.7–63.4 Ma. Moreover, there are several sub-fluctuations during each stage. This work provides basic information for further palaeoclimate reconstructions with a higher resolution and longer timescales for the Cretaceous to Palaeocene in the Nanxiong Basin and may even help to test ocean–land climate interactions in the future.

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“…With the exception of data from the bolide impact zone and nearby areas (e.g. North America [2]), little is known about how the last dinosaur faunas reached the boundary in most parts of the planet [3]–[7]. Much of the current knowledge is from the fossil bone record recovered from the uppermost levels of many geologic formations around the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Latest Succession of Dinosaur Tracksites in Europe: Hadrosaur Ichnology, Track Production and Palaeoenvironments

et al. 2013

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A comprehensive review and study of the rich dinosaur track record of the Tremp Formation in the southern Pyrenees of Spain (Southwestern Europe) shows a unique succession of footprint localities prior to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event. A description of some 30 new tracksites and data on sedimentary environments, track occurrence and preservation, ichnology and chronostratigraphy are provided. These new track localities represent various facies types within a diverse set of fluvial environments. The footprint discoveries mostly represent hadrosaurian and, less abundantly, to sauropod dinosaurs. The hadrosaur tracks are significantly smaller in size than, but morphologically similar to, those of North America and Asia and are attributable to the ichnogenus Hadrosauropodus. The track succession, with more than 40 distinct track levels, indicates that hadrosaur footprints in the Ibero-Armorican region occur predominantly in the late Maaastrichtian (at least above the early Maastrichtian–late Maastrichtian boundary). The highest abundance is found noticeably found in the late Maastrichtian, with tracks occurring in the C29r magnetochron, within about the latest 300,000 years of the Cretaceous.

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Geochemical environmental changes and dinosaur extinction during the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/T) transition in the Nanxiong Basin, South China: Evidence from dinosaur eggshells

Cited by 16 publications

References 32 publications

Elongatoolithid eggs containing oviraptorid (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria) embryos from the Upper Cretaceous of Southern China

Elongatoolithid eggs containing oviraptorid (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria) embryos from the Upper Cretaceous of Southern China

Palaeoclimate evolution across the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary in the Nanxiong Basin (SE China) recorded by red strata and its correlation with marine records

The Latest Succession of Dinosaur Tracksites in Europe: Hadrosaur Ichnology, Track Production and Palaeoenvironments

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