Abstract
Global warming is widely regarded to have played a contributing role in numerous past biotic crises. Here, we show that the end-Permian mass extinction coincided with a rapid temperature rise to exceptionally high values in the Early Triassic that were inimical to life in equatorial latitudes and suppressed ecosystem recovery. This was manifested in the loss of calcareous algae, the near-absence of fish in equatorial Tethys, and the dominance of small taxa of invertebrates during the thermal maxima. High temperatures drove most Early Triassic plants and animals out of equatorial terrestrial ecosystems and probably were a major cause of the end-Smithian crisis.
Fig. Oxygen isotopes of conodont apatite and carbon isotopes of carbonates from the Nanpanjiang Basin. Oxygen isotopes show two thermal maxima in the late Griesbachian and late Smithian. Scanning electron microscope investigation of conodont surfaces shows microreticulation and no sign of recrystallization (supplementary text 3). Absolute age constraints are given in supplementary text 9; data for Meishan and Shangsi sections compiled from (9); leaf icons represent marine and terrestrial C3 plants (14). Modern equatorial SST ranges (annual mean) from (48). The error bar stands for external reproducibility of δ18Oapatite measurements (2σ). The black trendline represents smoothed δ18Oapatite fluctuations estimated from the upper water column taxa. Note uncertainty of correlating conodont zones with absolute ages. Aeg., Aegean; Bith., Bithynian. Conodont zonations: 1, Ng. changxingensis; 2, Ng. yini; 3, Ng. meishanensis; 4, H. changxingensis; 5, H. parvus; 6, Is. staeschei; 7, Is. isarcica; 8, Ng. planata; for genera abbreviations, see table S4.VSMOW, Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water; VPDB, Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite.
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