Earliest Wuchiapingian (Lopingian, Late Permian) brachiopods in southern Hunan, South China : implications for the Pre-Lopingian crisis and onset of Lopingian recovery / radiation

The uppermost 5-15 m of the Douling Formation in the southern Hunan area. South China, yields a diverse fauna comprised of ammonoids, bivalves, and brachiopods. The brachiopods reported in this paper consist of 51 species in 34 genera and are dominated by the Lopingian (Late Permian) species associated with a few species persisting from the underlying Maokouan (Late Guadalupian). This fauna is of earliest Wuchiapingian in age as precisely constrained by the associated conodont Clarkina postbitteri postbitteri and the Guadalupian-type ammonoid fauna of the Roadoceras-Doulingoceras Zone in the brachiopod horizon. The discovery of the Lopingian species-dominated brachiopod fauna in the earliest Wuchiapingian in southern Hunan suggests a much less pronounced effect of the pre-Lopingian crisis (end-Guadalupian mass extinction) than the end-Changhsingian mass extinction in terms of brachiopods, a contemporaneous onset of the Lopingian recovery/radiation during the pre-Lopingian crisis period, and taxonomic selectivity of the pre-Lopingian crisis in terms of different fossil groups. New taxa are Echinauris doulingensis n. sp., Pararigbyella quadrilobata n. gen. and n. sp. and P. doulingensis n. gen. and n. sp.

Wallace lines in eastern Gondwana : palaeobiogeography of Australasian permian brachipoda

The present Australian continent was a major component of the north eastern peninsula of Gondwana, itself the southern region of Pangaea, during the Permian period. Surrounding what is now Australia, were additional elements of north eastern Gondwana that are now incorporated into the tectonically complex regions of New Zealand, New Caledonia, the island of New Guinea, Timor, south east Asia, the Himalaya and southern Tibet. India was to the west and south west and Antarctica to the south. Marine water temperatures ranged from cold to temperate and tropical as Permian global climates ameliorated, global surface ocean circulation systems warmed, and due to rifting and northward drifting of some terranes.

Provincialism of global marine faunas was pronounced during the Permian and hence refined biostratigraphical correlations are often fraught with difficulty. The 'middle' Permian stratotypes approved by the International Subcommission on the Permian System have little direct relevance to correlations within the Gondwanan Region at the level of operational biostratigraphical zonal schemes. Brachiopoda are a dominant marine benthonic faunal element of Permian Gondwanan faunas and they provide refined correlations between marine basins within a specific faunal province. Modem faunal provinces are recognised by the distribution patterns of species and genera belonging to a single family or superfamily such as the Papilionoidea within the Insecta. This review provides an example from Permian Brachiopoda, using the distribution data of genera and subgenera of the superfamily Ingelarelloidea, in order to demonstrate the ability to define provinces and their 'Wallace lines' of demarcation between provinces in the geological past.

Peri-gondwanan permian correlations : the meso-tethyan margins

Correlations of the Permian sequences for sixteen regions of north eastern Gondwana during the Permian are presented in this review. These correlations are compared with Permian sequences of the Australian continent. Broad conclusions on palaeoclimatic change and tectonic events are summarised for six time intervals of the Permian Period.

The Asselian-Sakmarian-early Artinskian time interval indicates a change from cold to temperate depositional environments. Glacial deposits and low diversity Gondwanan marine faunas are succeeded by younger, warmer water, clastic and bioclastic sequences with moderately diverse marine faunas. Deposition of these sequences is occasionally associated with basaltic volcanism and initial rifting of the peripheral northern Gondwanan margin.

During the Late Artinskian-Kungurian (including Early Ufimian) time interval, climate amelioration occurred with the onset of carbonate deposition in several Cimmerian terranes. Basaltic volcanism in several terranes is indicative of significant rifting and the opening of the Meso-Tethys.

The Roadian (Late Ufimian) and Wordian-Capitanian (including Kazanian-Midian) time intervals were characterised by widespread, subtropical, marine carbonate depositional sequences. These occurred throughout the Cimmerian blocks as they drifted northward and on the more northerly parts of the Meso-Tethyan southern margin. These transgressive sequences may rest on significant unconformity surfaces. Equivalent carbonate units are known in the offshore and subsurface sequences of western Australia. Andesitic, convergent plate margin volcanism and volcaniclastic sequences are present in eastern Australia.

The Wuchiapingian time slice is characterised by widespread marine transgressions which extended into the north western basins of Australia.

The Changhsingian time slice is represented by relatively minor marine transgressive events in the Trans-Himalaya with the Selong section of Tibet being probably the most complete Permo-Triassic sequence for the southern margin of the Meso-Tethys.

Rhynchopora and blasispirifer (brachiopoda) from the middle permian of the Hida Gaien belt, Central Japan, and their paleobiogeographical significance

Two Permian brachiopod genera, Rhynchopora King and Blasispirifer Kulikov, are reported for the first time from the Middle Permian, lower part of the Moribu Formation in the Hida Gaien Belt, central Japan. The Moribu species are closely compared with similar forms from the Middle Permian Barabash Formation (lower Chandalaz Series) in the Barabash area of South Primorye, Russian Far East. The discovery of these two genera, which exhibit close relationships with Middle Permian brachiopod faunas of South Primorye and the broad Boreal Realm, implies that tha Hida Gaien Belt was paleobiogeographically and paleogeographically close to the western part (Voznesenka Belt) of South Primorye, both situated in a middle latitudinal setting in the Northern Hemisphere on the southeastern side of the Bureya Block and lay proximal to and slightly northeast of the Sino-Korea Block during the Permian.

A biogeographically mixed, Middle Permian brachiopod fauna from the Baoshan Block, Western Yunnan, China

A small brachiopod fauna is described from the carbonate rocks of the basal Shazipo Formation of the Baoshan Block, western Yunnan, south-west China, including significant new ventral and dorsal internal morphological features of Cryptospirifer omeishanensis Huang. This fauna is regarded as Wordian (Middle Guadalupian, Middle Permian) because of the presence of Cryptospirifer omeishanensis Huang and associated fusulinids (Neoschwagerina craticulifera Zone). Palaeobiogeographically, the brachiopod fauna is of considerable interest because of its admixed nature characterized by typical warm-water Cathaysian elements intermingled with temperate Peri-Gondwanan taxa. This in turn is interpreted to indicate that the Baoshan Block may have been situated in an intermediate palaeogeographical position between Gondwanaland to the south and Cathaysia to the north during the Mid Permian and, as such, it probably furnished an important 'stepping stone' for the dispersal of Mid Permian eastern Tethyan marine invertebrate taxa (e.g. Cryptospirifer) to the western Tethys.

Possible influence of Gondwanan glaciation on low-latitude carbonate sedimentation and trans-equatorial faunal migration: the lower Permian of South China

Peculiar Early Permian palaeontological and sedimentological features are reviewed from South China, including characteristic Early Permian cold-water Gondwanan brachiopod taxa and faunas from Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, widespread rosettes and irregular aggregates of calcite prisms ('Chrysanthemum Stones') within the Qixia limestones, and lack of significant Early Permian reef buildups. The occurrences of these features are at odds with the currently widely held view that South China was located in a palaeotropical, warm-water setting throughout the Permian and hence harboured a highly diverse shallow marine biota. In this paper, I propose a working hypothesis, suggesting that influence of at least cool water masses may have intermittently occurred in South China during the Early Permian, which facilitated the formation of the cool water-influenced palaeontological and sedimentological features and promoted the interchanges of cool to cold water marine faunas between the Gondwanan and Boreal Realms. These cool water masses may have been transported to low-latitude regions as deep currents from northern and eastern shelves of Gondwanaland and upwelled along the western coast of South China as well as within the relatively deep-water basins of central South China. Prevalence of these meridional, north-directed deep cold water currents during the Early Permian may have been related to the glaciation event of Gondwanaland. An alternative and/or additional source of cooling may have also originated from strong easterly palaeoequatorial boundary currents operating within the Palaeotethys at times during the Early Permian, inducing and/or enhancing upwelling of cool to cold water masses in the eastern Palaeotethys. This latter scenario is analogous to the occasional 'La Nina' effect (opposite to the 'El Nino' effect) at the equatorial belt of the modern Pacific Ocean.

A Lopingian (Late Permian) brachiopod fauna from the Qubuerga formation at Shengmi in the Mount Qomolangma region of Southern Xizang (Tibet), China

A small fauna of 11 species belonging to 10 genera of Permian Brachiopoda from the lower part of the Qubuerga Formation outcropping near Shengmi village in the Qomolangma region of southern Xizang (Tibet) is figured and new taxa are described. New taxa are Quinquenella semiglobosa and Costatumulus shengmiensis. The fauna is most likely of Wuchiapingian (Djhulfian) age as indicated by the majority of the brachiopod species.

Late carboniferous to early permian brachiopod faunas from the Bachu and Kalpin areas, Tarim Basin, NW China

Late Carboniferous and Early Permian brachiopod faunas are described from the Xiaohaizi section of the Bachu area and the Shishichang section of the Kalpin area, the Tarim Basin, NW China. Biostratigraphic studies of brachiopods and associated microfossils indicate that the Xiaohaizi Formation is Moscovian (Late Carboniferous) and the Shishichang Formation is Kasimovian-Gzhelian (Late Carboniferous), whereas the Nanza and Kankarin Formations are Asselian to early Artinskian (Early Permian). Two new species proposed from the Nanza Formation are Kutorginella tarimensis and Phricodothyris? bachuensis.

Middle permian brachiopods from central Peninsular Malaysia - faunal affinities between Malaysia and west Cambodia

A moderately diverse Permian brachiopod fauna is described from a new rock unit, the Bera Formation, in the Bera District, central Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. The fauna consists of 19 taxa, including 14 genera and 17 (both identified and unidentified) typically Tethyan species. The fauna appears to be correlative on the basis of brachiopods with the Neoschwagerina-Yabeina fusulinid Zones in Indochina and South China. In particular, it has strong linkage to Member C (Yabeina beds) of the Sisophon Limestone, west Cambodia. This is indicated by three of the Bera species — Urushtenoidea chaoi (Ching), Spyridiophora gubleri Termier and Termier, and Transennatia termierorum sp. nov., being shared with the Cambodian fauna. A possible early Capitanian (Middle Permian) age is proposed for the Bera brachiopod fauna.

Permian brachiopods from the Selong Xishan section, Xizang (Tibet), China. Part 2: palaeobiogeographical and palaeoecological implications, spiriferida, athyridida and terebratulida

Brachiopods from the Selong Group at the Selong Xishan section indicate a typical Peri-Gondwanan affinity, but possibly a rapid invasion of tropical/subtropical Tethyan elements into the Himalayan region at the very end of Permian. A brief analysis of taphonomy and composition of the Selong fauna indicate that Selong Xishan lay on the shallow continental shelf near shore and brachiopods suffered substantial abrasion from contemporaneous wave action. Species of Spiriferida, Athyridida and Terebratulida are herein described and revised. New taxa are Nakmusiella selongensis nov. gen. et sp. and ? Bullarina striata nov. sp.

Reworked Devonian (Givetian-Frasnian) spores from a Permian glacially-derived sequence at Bacchus Marsh, Victoria

Emphanisporites rotatus McGregor emend. McGregor 1973 is a distinctive Devonian spore with a known primary source age range in Australia spanning the upper Givetian to early Frasnian (Middle to Late Devonian). This is the first record of the species from Victoria. It occurs as a reworked element in an Early Permian assemblage belonging to the Granularisporites confluens Zone derived from glacigene diamictite in the Bacchus Marsh area. As the predominant direction of Permian ice movement recorded in the Bacchus Marsh district was south-west to north-east, it is possible that the reworked spores were transported from Antarctica.

New Strophalosiidae (Brachiopoda) from the early Permian of Argentina

New representatives of the family Strophalosiidae (Brachiopoda) are described from the Tupe Formation of the Paganzo Basin, Argentina. The genus Coronalosia Waterhouse & Gupta is reviewed and the new taxa Coronalosia argentinensis sp. nov. and Tupelosia paganzoensis gen. et sp. nov. proposed. The age of the Tupe Formation is reviewed and a middle to late Asselian (Early Permian) age is preferred.
The new genus Guadalupelosia from the mid-Permian of West Texas, USA, is also proposed.

A new genus of Rhynchonellid Brachiopod from the Lower Triassic of South China and Implications for timing the recovery of Brachiopoda after the end-Permian mass extinction

A new genus, Meishanorhynchia, is proposed based on new material from the Lower Triassic of the Meishan section, South China. It is of a late Griesbachian age based on both associated biozones (ammonoids and
bivalves) and radiometric dates of the intercalated volcanic ash beds. Comparison with both Palaeozoic and Mesozoic-Cenozoic-related genera suggests that it may represent the first radiation of progenitor brachiopods in the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction. The lowest brachiopod horizon that contains the genus is estimated to be about 250.1±0.3 Ma. This implies that the initial stage of recovery of Brachiopoda in the Early Triassic was probably about 1.3±0.3 myr after the major pulse of the end-Permian mass extinction (dated as 251.4±0.3 Ma). This is in agreement with Hallam's expectancy that biotic recovery typically begins within one million years or so of major mass extinctions, in contrast to current views on the end-Permian extinction event which propose that the recovery of most if not all biotic groups in the Early Triassic was severely delayed and only began about five million years after the end-Permian extinction.

Permophricodothyris pavlova, 1965 (Brachiopoda, Spiriferida) from the Permian of South China: its morphology, biostratigraphy and distribution

A study of both silicified and nonsilicified specimens of Permian reticularioid brachiopods from South China suggests that Permophricodothyris, a genus previously rarely reported from China, is actually very common and abundant in the Middle and especially Upper Permian of South China. This study also clarifies, for the first time, that many of the reticularioid brachiopod species previously described as Squamularia in fact belong to Permophricodothyris. The new data presented in this paper also allows a critical evaluation of Permophricodothyris in relation to its closest allies: Phricodothyris, Squamularia, Bullarina and Neophricodothyris. The revision reveals that a total of 18 Permophricodothyris species are present in the Middle and Upper Permian of South China, with only one species, P. squamularioides, having survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Two species, P. grandis (Chao) and P. guangxiensis Han, Zhou & Wang, are redescribed here, providing critical new information on the morphology and taxonomy of these species.

Middle permian (Guadalupian) brachiopods from the Xiujimqinqi area, Inner Mongolia, northeast China, and their palaeobiogeographical and palaeogeographical significance

A small brachiopod fauna is described from the lower part of the Xiujimqinqi Formation of the Xiujimqinqi area in central-east Inner Mongolia, northeast China. The age of this fauna is regarded as Wordian (Middle Guadalupian, Middle Permian) by comparison with a similar brachiopod fauna from the Zhesi area of central Inner Mongolia, and by constraints from fusulinaceans associated with the Zhesi fauna. The Xiujimqinqi fauna is typical of mixed Boreal/Palaeoequatorial Middle Permian brachiopod faunas of East Asia. The mixed nature of these faunas is interpreted to have resulted from the combined effects of a middle palaeolatitudinal position, intensified plate convergence between Sino-Korea and Mongolia, and sea surface current connections with both the Arctic Sea in the north and eastern Palaeo-Tethys to the south. Possible Kaninospirifer is reported for the first time from China.