Fossil Plant Relative Abundances Indicate Sudden Loss of Late Triassic Biodiversity in East Greenland
Extinction Distinction The Triassic-Jurassic extinction approximately 200 million years ago is one of the five major extinctions in Earth's history. It has been primarily recognized through the loss of marine species, as well as the subsequent emergence of dinosaurs, but its pace, both on land...
| Published in: | Science |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1171706 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1171706 |
| Summary: | Extinction Distinction The Triassic-Jurassic extinction approximately 200 million years ago is one of the five major extinctions in Earth's history. It has been primarily recognized through the loss of marine species, as well as the subsequent emergence of dinosaurs, but its pace, both on land and in sea, has been unclear. McElwain et al. (p. 1554 ) now provide evidence from the plant fossil record from rocks in East Greenland. The total number of taxa and the number of common taxa decreased across the extinction boundary. The decrease was fairly abrupt and seemed to coincide with a period with increased atmospheric CO 2 levels. |
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