Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T05:22:26.642Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Triassic U–Pb age for the aquatic long-necked protorosaur of Guizhou, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2014

YANBIN WANG ,
DETING YANG ,
JUAN HAN ,
LITING WANG ,
JIANXIN YAO  and
DUNYI LIU
YANBIN WANG*
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China Beijing SHRIMP Center, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
DETING YANG
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China Beijing SHRIMP Center, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
JUAN HAN
Affiliation:
Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, Beijing 100029, China
LITING WANG
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Guizhou Province, Guiyang 550005, China
JIANXIN YAO
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
DUNYI LIU
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China Beijing SHRIMP Center, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
*
†Author for correspondence: wangyanbin@bjshrimp.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The ancient marine limestone beds of the upper part of the Guanling Formation, Panxian County, Guizhou Province, SW China, yielded a wide range of high-diversity well-preserved marine reptiles such as the fully aquatic protorosaur with an extremely long neck Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, the oldest mixosaurid ichthyosaurs and lariosaurs. However, there is no precise isotopic age to study the intriguing origin, evolution and emigration history of the important fauna. We report a sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon age for a volcanic tuff bed within the upper part of the Guanling Formation. The result indicates that the age of the fossil horizon is 244.0±1.3 Ma, 14 Ma earlier than the previously estimated age based on conodont evidence. We consider that the marine reptiles had a relatively rapid evolution during Middle Triassic time, some 8 Ma after the end-Permian mass extinction.

Keywords

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronologyvolcanic tuffPanxian Faunafully long-necked protorosaurMiddle Triassic
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 151 , Issue 4 , July 2014 , pp. 749 - 754
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Benton, M. J. 2005. When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28573-X.Google Scholar
Black, L. P., Kamo, S. L., Allen, C. M., Aleinikoff, J. N., Davis, D. W., Korsch, R. J. & Foudoulis, C. 2003. TEMORA 1: a new zircon standard for Phanerozoic U-Pb geochronology. Chemical Geology 200, 155–70.Google Scholar
Bowring, S. A., Ewrin, D. H., Jin, Y. G., Martin, M. W., Davidek, K. & Wang, W. 1998. U/Pb Zircon geochronology and tempo of the end-permian mass extinction. Science 280, 1039–45.Google Scholar
Bürgin, T., Rieppel, O., Sander, P. M. & Tschanz, K. 1989. The fossils of Monte San Giorgio. Scientific American 260, 64–81.Google Scholar
Claoué-Long, J. C., Compston, W., Roberts, J. & Fanning, C. M. 1995. Two carboniferous ages: a comparison of SHRIMP zircon dating with conventional zircon ages and 40Ar/39Ar analysis. In Geochronology, Time Scales and Global Stratigraphic Correlation (eds Berggren, W. A., Kent, D.V., Aubry, M. P. & Hardenbol, J.), SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) 4, 3–21.Google Scholar
Ewrin, D. H. 1993. The Great Paleozoic Crisis. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ewrin, D. H. 1994. The Permo-Triassic extinction. Nature 367, 231–6.Google Scholar
Hao, W. C., Sun, Y. L., Jiang, D. Y. & Sun, Z. Y. 2006. Advance in studies of the panxian fauna. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis 42, 817–23 (in Chinese with English abstract).Google Scholar
Jiang, D. Y., Maisch, M. W., Hao, W. C., Sun, Y. L. & Sun, Z. Y. 2006 a. A new species of Lariosaurus (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Middle Anisian (Middle Triassic) of Guizhou, southwestern China. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Palaöntologie Monatshefte-Abhandlungen 242, 19–42.Google Scholar
Jiang, D. Y., Maisch, M. W., Hao, W. C., Sun, Y. L. & Sun, Z. Y. 2006 b. Nothosaurus yangjuanensis n. sp. (Reptilia, Sauropterygia, Notho-sauridae) from the middle Anisian (Middle Triassic) of Guizhou. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Palaöntologie Monatshefte 2006, 257–76.Google Scholar
Jiang, D. Y., Motani, R., Li, C., Hao, W. C., Sun, Y. L., Sun, Z. Y. & Schmitz, L. 2005. Guanling biota: a marker of triassic biotic recovery from the end-permian extinction in the ancient guizhou sea. Acta Geologica Sinica 79, 729–38.Google Scholar
Jiang, D. Y., Motani, R., Hao, W. C., Rieppel, O., Sun, Y. L., Schmitz, L. & Sun, Z. Y. 2008 a. First record of placodontoidea (Reptilia, Sauropterygia, Placodontia) from the eastern Tethys. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28, 904–8.Google Scholar
Jiang, D. Y., Rieppel, O., Motani, R., Hao, W. C., Sun, Y. L., Schmitz, L. & Sun, Z. Y. 2008 b. A new middle Triassic Eosauropterygian (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from southwestern China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28, 1055–62.Google Scholar
Jiang, D. Y., Schmitz, L., Hao, W. C. & Sun, Y. L. 2006 c. A new mixosaurid ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26, 60–69.Google Scholar
Jiang, D. Y., Schmitz, L., Motani, R., Hao, W. C. & Sun, Y. L. 2007. The mixosaurid ichthyosaur Phalarodon cf. p. fraasi from the middle triassic of guizhou province, China. Journal of Paleontology 81, 602–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C. 2003. First Record of Protorosaurid Reptile (Order Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of China. Acta Geologica Sinica 77, 419–23.Google Scholar
Li, C., Rieppel, O. & Labarbera, M. C. 2004. A Triassic aquatic protorosaur with an extremely long neck. Science 305, 1931.Google Scholar
Li, C., Wu, X. C., Cheng, Y. N., Sato, T. & Wang, L. T. 2006. An unusual archosaurian from the marine Triassic of China. Naturwissenschaften 93, 200–6.Google Scholar
Ludwig, K. R. 2003. Isoplot 3.00. A Geochronological Toolkit for Microsoft Excel. Berkley Geochronological Centre, Special Publication no. 4.Google Scholar
Motani, R., Jiang, D. Y., Tintori, A., Sun, Y. L., Hao, W. C., Boyd, A., Frlog, S. H., Schmitz, L., Shin, J.Y. & Sun, Z. Y. 2008. Horizons and assemblages of middle Triassic marine reptiles from Panxian, Guizhou, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28, 900–3.Google Scholar
Mundil, R., Ludwig, K. R., Metcalfe, I. & Renne, P. R. 2004. Age and timing of the Permian Mass Extinctions: U/Pb dating of closed-system zircons. Science 305, 1760–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Payne, J. L., Lehrmann, D. J., Wei, J. Y., Orchard, M. J., Schrag, D. P. & Knoll, A. H. 2004. Large perturbations of the carbon cycle during recovery from the end-Permian extinction. Science 305, 506–9.Google Scholar
Rieppel, O. 1999. Phylogeny and paleobiogeography of Triassic Sauropterygia: problems solved and unresolved. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 153, 1–15.Google Scholar
Sahney, S. & Benton, M. J. 2008. Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all time. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological 275, 759–65.Google ScholarPubMed
Sander, P. M. 1989. The pachypleurosaurids (Reptilia: Nothosauria) from the Middle Triassic of Monte san Giorgio (Switzerland), with the description of a new species. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 325, 561–670.Google Scholar
Stockar, R., Baumgartner, P. O. & Condon, D. 2012. Integrated Ladinian bio-chronostratigraphy and geochrononology of Monte San Giorgio (Southern Alps, Switzerland). Swiss Journal of Geoscience 105, 85–108.Google Scholar
Sun, Z. Y., Hao, W. C. & Jiang, D. Y. 2003. Conodont stratigraphic evidence for the age of the Guanling fauna, Guizhou Province, China. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis 39, 118–25 (in Chinese with English abstract).Google Scholar
Sun, Z. Y., Sun, Y. L., Hao, W. C. & Jiang, D. Y. 2006. Conodont evidence for the age of the Panxian Fauna, Guizhou, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 80, 621–30.Google Scholar
Wang, X. F., Bachmann, G. H., Hagdorn, H., Sander, P. M., Chen, L. D., Cheng, L., Meng, F. S. & Xu, G. H. 2008. The late Triassic black shales of the Guanling area, Guizhou Province, southwestern China: a unique marine reptile and pelagic crinoid fossil lagerstätte. Palaeontology 51, 27–61.Google Scholar
Williams, I. S. 1998. U-Th-Pb Geochronology by Ion Microprobe. In Applications of microanalytical techniques to understanding mineralizing processes (eds McKibben, M. A., Shanks, W. C. & Ridley, W. L.). Reviews in Economic Geology 7, 1–35.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: Image

Wang Supplementary Material

Figure S1

Download Wang Supplementary Material(Image)
Image 5.4 MB
Supplementary material: Image

Wang Supplementary Material

Figure S2

Download Wang Supplementary Material(Image)
Image 25 MB