Recent achievements on the research of the Paleozoic-Mesozoic transitional period in South China

Abstract

This is a review of research achievements on the Permian-Triassic transition in South China. It comprises of five parts: (1) advances on the biostratigraphy and eventostratigraphy of the Meishan Section, the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB); (2) advances on the PTB research of deep water facies, especially the Dongpan Section in Guangxi; (3) advances on the PTB research of terrestrial facies, especially the Chahe Section in Guizhou; (4) correlation of the global change and biotic extinction between the PTB and modern times and its revelation to the status and future of the earth and mankind; and (5) the pattern and causality of the Permian-Triassic extinction. In the last part, it is concluded that the Permia-Triassic transitional interval constitutes a prolonged crisis period ranging from end-Guadalupian extinction to the end of Early Triassic, totaling 14 Ma. The environmental crisis and mass extinction peaked at the PTB, which displayed multiphase extinction rather than just one phase. Commencement of an extinctions prelude prior to the postulated bolide impact implies that the causes of PTB extinction largely lie in the intrinsic developments of the earth, especially those related with the integration of Pangea.