Crinoids from Svalbard in the aftermath of the end−Permian mass extinction

• Published in: Polish Polar Research
• Main Authors: Salamon Mariusz A., Gorzelak Przemysław, Hanken Nils−Martin, Riise Henrik Erevik, Ferré Bruno
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polish Academy of Sciences 2015
• Subjects: Arctic; Svalbard; echinoderms; crinoids; P/T extinction; recovery; Geology; QE1-996.5; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/popore-2015-0015; https://doaj.org/article/540d2a20f6f64ba7930a5bb3a7e9a8b5

The end-Permian mass extinction constituted a major event in the history of crinoids. It led to the demise of the major Paleozoic crinoid groups including cladids, disparids, flexibles and camerates. It is widely accepted that a single lineage, derived from a late Paleozoic cladid ancestor (Ampelocrinidae), survived this mass extinction. Holocrinid crinoids (Holocrinus, Holocrinida) along with recently described genus Baudicrinus (Encrinida), the only crinoid groups known from the Early Triassic, are considered the stem groups for the post-Paleozoic monophyletic subclass Articulata. Here, we report preliminary data on unexpectedly diverse crinoid faunas comprising at least four orders from the Lower Triassic (Induan and Olenekian) of Svalbard, extending their stratigraphic ranges deeper into the early Mesozoic. These findings strongly imply that the recovery of crinoids in the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction began much earlier at higher palaeolatitudes than in the central Tethys.