Lopingian
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| Lopingian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Lopingian |
| Color | #8A2BE2 |
| Time start | 259.1 |
| Time end | 251.902 |
| Chronology | Permian |
| Major events | End-Permian extinction |
| Previous | Guadalupian |
| Next | Triassic |
Lopingian The Lopingian is the latest epoch of the Permian Period, defined by global chronostratigraphic markers and used in international geologic timescales. It spans the interval immediately preceding the Triassic and terminates at the most severe Phanerozoic biotic turnover, the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Stratigraphic sections in regions such as South China, Siberia, Karoo Basin, European Permian Basin, and Western Australia provide key reference sections for global correlation.
Definition and Chronology
The Lopingian was ratified through decisions by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences using Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points established in sections like those in Guadalupian-adjacent basins and in South China reference profiles. Its base is tied to the first appearance of specific conodont taxa, correlated with work by researchers from institutions such as the Geological Survey of China and the United States Geological Survey, and its top coincides with the negative carbon isotope excursion recognized in studies by teams at University of Edinburgh, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Stanford University. Chronostratigraphic calibration uses radiometric dates from ash layers in sequences investigated by groups at University of California, Berkeley, Max Planck Institute, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Stratigraphy and Subdivisions
Formal subdivisions of the Lopingian include stages widely used in regional stratigraphy such as the Wuchiapingian and Changhsingian, defined by biostratigraphic assemblages of conodonts and ammonoids recognized by paleontologists from Natural History Museum, London, Smithsonian Institution, and Peking University. Lopingian lithostratigraphic units are correlated with formations like the Kaibab Formation, Beisi Formation, Richmond Group, and the Ecca Group through marker beds, magnetostratigraphy, and chemostratigraphy developed by researchers at Columbia University, University of Toronto, and Australian National University. Regional stage names such as the Tatarian (Russia) and Dzhulfian (Iran) are integrated into international frameworks via correlation charts prepared by the European Geosciences Union and the American Geophysical Union.
Paleoenvironments and Climate
Paleoenvironmental reconstructions for the Lopingian draw on data from marine shelves to continental basins studied by teams at University of Göttingen, University of São Paulo, and University of Cape Town. Evidence from paleosols, evaporites, and coal seams in locales like Zechstein Basin, Permian Basin (North America), and Newcastle coal measures indicates arid to semi-arid climates punctuated by humid episodes, as interpreted using oxygen isotope studies from laboratories at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Tokyo, and ETH Zurich. Climate models incorporating boundary conditions from datasets curated by Paleobiology Database, NOAA, and climate groups at University of Oxford reproduce late Permian warming, ocean stratification, and episodes of anoxia linked to volcanic forcing from the Siberian Traps and perturbations recorded by carbon isotope excursions documented by researchers at National Taiwan University, University of Leeds, and Australian National University.
Biota and Evolutionary Events
Lopingian biotas include diverse marine invertebrates, vertebrates, and terrestrial floras cataloged in museum collections at American Museum of Natural History, Field Museum, and Royal Ontario Museum. Marine assemblages feature brachiopods, bivalves, ammonoids, and benthic foraminifers whose turnover was tracked by paleontologists at University of Chicago, University of Vienna, and Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. Reef systems involving sponges and microbialites occurred in areas studied by teams from James Cook University, Queensland Museum, and National Museum of Natural History (France). Terrestrial vertebrates such as pareiasaurs, gorgonopsians, therocephalians, and primitive archosauromorphs are documented from localities like Karoo Basin, Belebey, and Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone, with systematic treatments by researchers at University of Cape Town, Paleontological Institute (Moscow), and University of Bonn. Plant assemblages dominated by glossopterids, voltzialean conifers, and pteridosperms were described in studies from University of Sydney, State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology (China), and University of Kansas, showing floristic shifts prior to the terminal crisis.
Extinction and End-Permian Crisis
The Lopingian culminates in the End-Permian mass extinction, a complex event investigated by multidisciplinary teams at institutions such as Carnegie Institution for Science, Caltech, and University of California, Santa Cruz. Proximal causes examined include massive volcanism in the Siberian Traps, runaway greenhouse scenarios modeled by groups at Princeton University and ETH Zurich, and marine anoxia documented by geochemists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Bristol, and University of Tokyo. Biotic consequences—extensive losses among marine invertebrates, benthic communities, and terrestrial tetrapods—are constrained by stratigraphic ranges compiled by the Paleobiology Database and taxonomic revisions from Natural History Museum, London and Smithsonian Institution. Recovery pathways into the Triassic involve radiation events studied by teams at UC Berkeley, University of Zurich, and South African Museum.