The rise of the ruling reptiles and ecosystem recovery from the Permo-Triassic mass extinction

One of the key faunal transitions in Earth history occurred after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction ( 252.2 Ma), when the previously obscure archosauromorphs (which include crocodylians, dinosaurs and birds) become the dominant terrestrial vertebrates. Here, we place all known middle Permian-early...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 285; no. 1880
Main Authors: Ezcurra, Martín D, Butler, Richard J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England 13.06.2018
Subjects:
Animals
Biodiversity
Biological Evolution
Earth, Planet
Ecosystem
Extinction, Biological
Fossils
Paleontology
Phylogeny
Reptiles - classification
evolutionary rates
Archosauromorpha
Diapsida
morphological disparity
adaptive radiation
biotic crisis
ISSN:1471-2954, 1471-2954
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:One of the key faunal transitions in Earth history occurred after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction ( 252.2 Ma), when the previously obscure archosauromorphs (which include crocodylians, dinosaurs and birds) become the dominant terrestrial vertebrates. Here, we place all known middle Permian-early Late Triassic archosauromorph species into an explicit phylogenetic context, and quantify biodiversity change through this interval. Our results indicate the following sequence of diversification: a morphologically conservative and globally distributed post-extinction 'disaster fauna'; a major but cryptic and poorly sampled phylogenetic diversification with significantly elevated evolutionary rates; and a marked increase in species counts, abundance, and disparity contemporaneous with global ecosystem stabilization some 5 million years after the extinction. This multiphase event transformed global ecosystems, with far-reaching consequences for Mesozoic and modern faunas.
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ISSN:1471-2954
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2018.0361