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Vertebrate extinctions and reorganizations during the Late Silurian Lau Event

Eriksson, Mats LU ; Nilsson, Eva K. and Jeppsson, Lennart LU (2009) In Geology 37(8). p.739-742
Abstract
During the Silurian Period, as shown here by data from Gotland, Sweden, and other regions of the Baltoscandian paleocontinent, fish faunas were struck hard by extinctions caused by the late Ludlow Lau Event, also known for being associated with the largest positive stable carbon isotope excursion of the Phanerozoic. This event had a profound impact on the early evolutionary history of vertebrates, wiping out two-thirds of the fish taxa and causing significant ecological reorganizations over an estimated time span of similar to 200 ka. Our data show that immediately prior to the event, jawed acanthodians dominated the fish faunas, whereas the event led to a diverse fauna and a brief but marked dominance of the jawless thelodonts. The... (More)
During the Silurian Period, as shown here by data from Gotland, Sweden, and other regions of the Baltoscandian paleocontinent, fish faunas were struck hard by extinctions caused by the late Ludlow Lau Event, also known for being associated with the largest positive stable carbon isotope excursion of the Phanerozoic. This event had a profound impact on the early evolutionary history of vertebrates, wiping out two-thirds of the fish taxa and causing significant ecological reorganizations over an estimated time span of similar to 200 ka. Our data show that immediately prior to the event, jawed acanthodians dominated the fish faunas, whereas the event led to a diverse fauna and a brief but marked dominance of the jawless thelodonts. The stepwise changes observed mimic those of conodonts, suggesting a similar mode of life and response to atmospheric oceanic perturbations for these clades. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Geology
volume
37
issue
8
pages
739 - 742
publisher
Geological Society of America
external identifiers
  • wos:000268498600017
  • scopus:69649098994
ISSN
0091-7613
DOI
10.1130/G25709A.1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1b865eb6-245d-42e0-8db5-f518e5d1f703 (old id 1460007)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:11:16
date last changed
2022-01-27 17:51:01
@article{1b865eb6-245d-42e0-8db5-f518e5d1f703,
  abstract     = {{During the Silurian Period, as shown here by data from Gotland, Sweden, and other regions of the Baltoscandian paleocontinent, fish faunas were struck hard by extinctions caused by the late Ludlow Lau Event, also known for being associated with the largest positive stable carbon isotope excursion of the Phanerozoic. This event had a profound impact on the early evolutionary history of vertebrates, wiping out two-thirds of the fish taxa and causing significant ecological reorganizations over an estimated time span of similar to 200 ka. Our data show that immediately prior to the event, jawed acanthodians dominated the fish faunas, whereas the event led to a diverse fauna and a brief but marked dominance of the jawless thelodonts. The stepwise changes observed mimic those of conodonts, suggesting a similar mode of life and response to atmospheric oceanic perturbations for these clades.}},
  author       = {{Eriksson, Mats and Nilsson, Eva K. and Jeppsson, Lennart}},
  issn         = {{0091-7613}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{739--742}},
  publisher    = {{Geological Society of America}},
  series       = {{Geology}},
  title        = {{Vertebrate extinctions and reorganizations during the Late Silurian Lau Event}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G25709A.1}},
  doi          = {{10.1130/G25709A.1}},
  volume       = {{37}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}