Early Triassic Trace Fossils of the Western United States and their Implications for Prolonged Environmental Stress from the End-Permian Mass Extinction

Other| December 01, 2004 Early Triassic Trace Fossils of the Western United States and their Implications for Prolonged Environmental Stress from the End-Permian Mass Extinction SARA B. PRUSS; SARA B. PRUSS 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0740, spruss@usc.edu * Current address: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DAVID J. BOTTJER DAVID J. BOTTJER 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0740 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information SARA B. PRUSS * Current address: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0740, spruss@usc.edu DAVID J. BOTTJER 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0740 Publisher: SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology Accepted: 14 Apr 2004 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-5323 Print ISSN: 0883-1351 Society for Sedimentary Geology PALAIOS (2004) 19 (6): 551–564. https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0551:ETTFOT>2.0.CO;2 Article history Accepted: 14 Apr 2004 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation SARA B. PRUSS, DAVID J. BOTTJER; Early Triassic Trace Fossils of the Western United States and their Implications for Prolonged Environmental Stress from the End-Permian Mass Extinction. PALAIOS 2004;; 19 (6): 551–564. doi: https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0551:ETTFOT>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 SocietyPALAIOS Search Advanced Search Abstract The end-Permian mass extinction left an indelible mark on trace-fossil assemblages. This is evident during the lag phase of the biotic-recovery interval that occurred in the Early Triassic. Research on the Spathian Virgin Limestone Member of the Moenkopi Formation, western United States, has yielded a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic trace fossil assemblage. The presence of such traces as Thalassinoides, Laevicyclus, and Gyrochorte indicate that previously unreported metazoan behaviors had reappeared in equatorial regions by the close of the Early Triassic. Whereas diversity of trace-fossil assemblages increased from earliest to late Early Triassic time, persistent small size, low average ichnofabric index, low bedding-plane coverage, and reduced tiering point to prolonged stressful environmental conditions following the end-Permian mass extinction—conditions for which there is an abundance of global sedimentological evidence. This trace-fossil assemblage provides a record of soft-bodied organisms that might not otherwise be detected from the study of body fossils alone; it therefore acts as a constraint on the timing of the biotic recovery. This assemblage from the Virgin Limestone Member also serves as an indicator of environmental conditions that might not otherwise be gleaned, illustrating the utility of using trace fossils as environmental proxies during the lag phase of a biotic recovery. The presence of some of these traces (i.e., Thalassinoides) in lowermost Triassic strata of western Canada suggests that the recovery of trace-makers after the end-Permian mass extinction was asynchronous, and that northerly latitudes may have experienced a less-protracted biotic recovery than in equatorial regions. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.