Pattern of vertebrate extinctions across an event bed at the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Karoo Basin of South Africa

Research Article| December 01, 2001 Pattern of vertebrate extinctions across an event bed at the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Karoo Basin of South Africa Roger M.H. Smith; Roger M.H. Smith 1Division of Earth Sciences, South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town 8000, South Africa Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter D. Ward Peter D. Ward 2Department of Geological Sciences, Box 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Roger M.H. Smith 1Division of Earth Sciences, South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town 8000, South Africa Peter D. Ward 2Department of Geological Sciences, Box 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 27 Mar 2001 Revision Received: 25 Jul 2001 Accepted: 27 Jul 2001 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2001) 29 (12): 1147–1150. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<1147:POVEAA>2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 27 Mar 2001 Revision Received: 25 Jul 2001 Accepted: 27 Jul 2001 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Roger M.H. Smith, Peter D. Ward; Pattern of vertebrate extinctions across an event bed at the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. Geology 2001;; 29 (12): 1147–1150. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<1147:POVEAA>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The extinction of vertebrates around the time of the Permian-Triassic boundary has long been regarded as a gradual event occurring over millions of years. Our new field investigations of fluvial strata in the central and southern Karoo Basin of South Africa have revealed the presence of an event bed coinciding with a mass extinction of terrestrial fauna and flora. The bed is in a sedimentary sequence that is marked by a reddening of flood-plain mud rocks and a change from high- to low-sinuosity river channel systems. Here we show that the pattern of vertebrate taxa disappearing below this boundary and the subsequent appearance of new taxa above the boundary are consistent with a relatively sudden, possibly catastrophic event, perhaps of 50 000 yr duration or less. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.