Evolution of the Permian and Triassic foraminifera in South China

An analysis of Permian formainifera of South China suggests two major episodes of mass extinction, which occurred respectively at the end-Guadalupian and end-Lopingian. However, these two events of mass extinction appear to have affected different groups. The recovery of the foraminiferal faunas in the Triassic commenced nearly 10 million years later after the end-Permian mass extinction, and the genuine Mesozoic ecosystem did not fully emerge until Late Triassic time. The various foraminiferal groups of different wall structures and compositions of tests had very distinctive evolutions during the Permian-Triassic transition. The Permo-Triassic events resulted in the most significant transformation in the history of the Foraminiferida, that is, the alteration from the Late Paleozoic calcareous microgranular groups to the Mesozoic-Cenozoic hyaline, perforate, calcareous forms. © 2000 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.