Triassic Revolution

The Triassic has long been recognized as a time during which marine and terrestrial ecosystems modernized dramatically, and it seems to have been a two-step process. First, recovery from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) was a time of extraordinary renewal and novelty, and these processes...

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Main Authors: Michael J. Benton, Feixiang Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Earth Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.899541/full
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author Michael J. Benton
Feixiang Wu
author_facet Michael J. Benton
Feixiang Wu
author_sort Michael J. Benton
collection DOAJ
description The Triassic has long been recognized as a time during which marine and terrestrial ecosystems modernized dramatically, and it seems to have been a two-step process. First, recovery from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) was a time of extraordinary renewal and novelty, and these processes of change were enhanced, it seems, by the effects of the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE). After the CPE, in the oceans, not only did the carbonate factory begin to change towards its modern form, but also arguably the Mesozoic Marine Revolution (MMR) speeded up. When the MMR was proposed it was seen as a process that occurred in the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous, as modern crustaceans, gastropods, and fishes enhanced predator-prey arms races. New evidence from China and elsewhere suggests in fact the MMR was already underway in the Middle and Late Triassic, and so was coincident with Sepkoski’s classic idea that Paleozoic faunas were replaced by Modern marine faunas from the beginning of the Triassic. On land, ongoing competition between synapsids and archosauromorphs through the Triassic was marked by a posture shift from sprawling to erect, and a shift in physiology to warm-bloodedness, with insulating skin coverings of hair and feathers. Dinosaurs, for example, originated in the Early or Middle Triassic, but did not diversify until after the CPE. These arms races, the MMR in the sea, and the endothermy shift in tetrapods, were triggered by the PTME, and then enhanced by the CPE.
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spelling doaj.art-6491bff2c991454ea1b1230e4e4a63332022-12-22T02:47:17ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632022-06-011010.3389/feart.2022.899541899541Triassic RevolutionMichael J. Benton0Feixiang Wu1School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaThe Triassic has long been recognized as a time during which marine and terrestrial ecosystems modernized dramatically, and it seems to have been a two-step process. First, recovery from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) was a time of extraordinary renewal and novelty, and these processes of change were enhanced, it seems, by the effects of the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE). After the CPE, in the oceans, not only did the carbonate factory begin to change towards its modern form, but also arguably the Mesozoic Marine Revolution (MMR) speeded up. When the MMR was proposed it was seen as a process that occurred in the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous, as modern crustaceans, gastropods, and fishes enhanced predator-prey arms races. New evidence from China and elsewhere suggests in fact the MMR was already underway in the Middle and Late Triassic, and so was coincident with Sepkoski’s classic idea that Paleozoic faunas were replaced by Modern marine faunas from the beginning of the Triassic. On land, ongoing competition between synapsids and archosauromorphs through the Triassic was marked by a posture shift from sprawling to erect, and a shift in physiology to warm-bloodedness, with insulating skin coverings of hair and feathers. Dinosaurs, for example, originated in the Early or Middle Triassic, but did not diversify until after the CPE. These arms races, the MMR in the sea, and the endothermy shift in tetrapods, were triggered by the PTME, and then enhanced by the CPE.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.899541/fullCarnian Pluvial EpisodeMesozoic Marine Revolutionmodern marine faunaarchosaurssynapsids
spellingShingle Michael J. Benton
Feixiang Wu
Triassic Revolution
Frontiers in Earth Science
Carnian Pluvial Episode
Mesozoic Marine Revolution
modern marine fauna
archosaurs
synapsids
title Triassic Revolution
title_full Triassic Revolution
title_fullStr Triassic Revolution
title_full_unstemmed Triassic Revolution
title_short Triassic Revolution
title_sort triassic revolution
topic Carnian Pluvial Episode
Mesozoic Marine Revolution
modern marine fauna
archosaurs
synapsids
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.899541/full
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