Article
Geology
Lesley Cherns, Alan R. T. Spencer, Imran A. Rahman, Russell J. Garwood, Christopher Reedman, Genoveva Burca, Martin J. Turner, Neville T. J. Hollingworth, Jason Hilton
Summary: The study of a Middle Jurassic ammonite with exceptionally preserved soft-body structure provides valuable insights into the functional morphology of these iconic fossil group. The findings suggest a defense strategy of retracting the body into the shell with paired dorsal muscles, rather than propulsion through the funnel as seen in Nautilus. This indicates a distinct swimming mechanism of hyponome propulsion early in the evolution of ammonoid-coleoid lineage.
Article
Geography, Physical
Xiaotao Xu, Longyi Shao, Kenneth A. Eriksson, Jiamin Zhou, Dongdong Wang, Haihai Hou, Jason Hilton, Shuai Wang, Jing Lu, Timothy P. Jones
Summary: Wildfires are important disturbances in the Earth's system and understanding their interactions with environmental, atmospheric and vegetation changes is crucial. In the early Cretaceous, there were frequent and widespread wildfires, which had significant impacts on the environment and climate during that time. These wildfires influenced vegetation distribution and evolution, and also contributed to erosion and nutrient enrichment in lakes and oceans.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jing Lu, Ye Wang, Minfang Yang, Peixin Zhang, David P. G. Bond, Longyi Shao, Jason Hilton
Summary: The Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME) is the greatest biodiversity crisis in Earth history. While the marine crisis is well understood, the timing and cause of terrestrial losses remain unclear. By studying a terrestrial sequence in the Liujiang Coalfield on the North China Plate, researchers have identified the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) at approximately 251.9 +/- 1.1 million years ago. The onset of the End-Permian Terrestrial Collapse (EPTC) in the North China Plate was synchronous with the crisis in low latitudes, but occurred about 310 kyr later in higher southerly latitudes. Wildfires may have played a major role in driving the EPTC, leading to devastating consequences for the marine realm.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ben J. Slater, Madeleine S. Bohlin
Summary: Accumulated records of organic microfossils spanning billions of years provide important insights into the evolution of animal groups. This style of fossilization has significant geological fidelity and temporal continuity, making it valuable for studying the early history of animals.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wenchao Shu, Jinnan Tong, Jianxin Yu, Jason Hilton, Michael J. Benton, Xiao Shi, Jose B. Diez, Paul B. Wignall, Daoliang Chu, Li Tian, Zhixing Yi, Yongdong Mao
Summary: The global pattern of plant evolution during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction is uncertain. Detailed studies in North China reveal five floral transition events, including the disappearance of the gigantopterid flora, the end-Permian mass extinction, and gradual recovery in the Triassic. The record shows the evolution of rainforest and forest communities, followed by herbaceous and shrub marsh communities, and finally the dominance of gymnosperm forest communities in the Middle Triassic.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Fanghui Hua, Longyi Shao, Tianchang Zhang, David P. G. Bond, Xuetian Wang, Juan Wang, Zhiming Yan, Jing Lu, Jason Hilton
Summary: This study investigates organic carbon isotopes and geochemical proxies for environmental change in a palaeotropical wetland succession in southwest China and establishes a temporal framework for the terrestrial PTME. The research finds that carbon cycle destabilization lasted approximately 0.6 million years, and accelerated erosion followed the collapse of terrestrial ecosystems about 700,000 years after the marine PTME.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Peixin Zhang, Minfang Yang, Jing Lu, David P. G. Bond, Kai Zhou, Xiaotao Xu, Ye Wang, Zhen He, Xiao Bian, Longyi Shao, Jason Hilton
Summary: The Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME) was the most severe biocrisis in history, affecting both ocean and land ecosystems. In the North China Plate (NCP), there was a collapse of terrestrial ecosystems prior to the extinction, possibly triggered by wildfires induced by global warming.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Peixin Zhang, Minfang Yang, Jing Lu, Zhongfeng Jiang, Kai Zhou, Haoqing Liu, Zhen He, Ye Wang, Xiao Bian, Longyi Shao, Jason Hilton, David P. G. Bond
Summary: The study "Relationship between volcanic eruptions and global environmental climate changes during the Middle Jurassic" indicates that during the Middle Jurassic period of the Mesozoic Era, the breakup of Pangaea and rapid opening of the Ligurian and Central Atlantic oceans led to widespread volcanism, which caused significant changes in global environments, climates, and floras. Through detailed sedimentary records, researchers found a close relationship between these changes and volcanic activity, suggesting that the release of large amounts of CO2 and Mercury during volcanic eruptions may be the main cause of these changes.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Ye Wang, Jing Lu, Minfang Yang, Joyce A. Yager, Sarah E. Greene, Ruoyu Sun, Xiaomiao Mu, Xiao Bian, Peixin Zhang, Longyi Shao, Jason Hilton
Summary: The deep-time geological record reveals that the collapse of ice sheets during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age around 290 million years ago was due to massive glacial melting associated with global temperature increase, atmospheric pCO2 rise, and sea level rise. The causes and effects of this melting are hypothesized to be multiple large-scale volcanic events, but detailed coeval records are lacking. A new study examines an Artinskian terrestrial succession in the Liujiang Coalfield, North China and finds that large-scale volcanism associated with the Tarim-II, Panjal, and Choiyoi volcanic provinces were intricately linked with environmental changes, including carbon cycle perturbation, wildfire, and continental weathering.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wenzhao Fu, Peter Turner, Thomas Clements, Alan R. T. Spencer, Jifeng Yu, Yu Yang, Bangjie Guo, Zhenguo Ning, Xizhun Zhuo, Michael S. Riley, Jason Hilton
Summary: We investigated the distribution, morphology and geochemistry of reduction spots in the Jiaozhou Formation in eastern China. Using three-dimensional X-ray Computed Tomography, we found that reduction spots have diverse shapes and contain organic cores with elevated levels of vanadium and lower levels of iron. We propose a new taphonomic model for their formation involving the release of vanadium during intrastratal oxidation and subsequent reduction of iron and vanadium in the groundwater zone.
JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Zhanghu Wang, Jingqiang Tan, Jason Hilton, Jeffrey Dick, Zhigang Wen
Summary: This study investigates the host and geochemical cycle of redox-sensitive elements (V and Zn) in the Niutitang Formation shale in South China during the early Cambrian. Results show that sphalerite is the primary host of Zn, while organic matter, illite, and anatase minerals contribute to the V-rich host. The study suggests that redox conditions, organic matter, and the trace element inventory of seawater control the V and Zn geochemical cycles in the early Cambrian paleo-ocean.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Ben J. Slater
Summary: Molluscs have a rich fossil record, but little is known about their feeding apparatus, the radula. Fossil radulae are scarce, hindering our understanding of early mollusc diets. However, microscopic radulae preserved as carbonaceous fossils from Cambrian strata in Sweden provide new insights into early molluscan feeding anatomy and ecology. These radulae resemble those of extant sacoglossan heterobranch gastropods, indicating the evolution of specialized herbivory in molluscs over half a billion years ago.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Elise Wallet, Ben J. Slater, Sebastian Willman
Summary: This study examines the palynological component of the early Cambrian Buen Formation in North Greenland, focusing on acritarchs and filamentous microfossils. The analysis identifies 49 form taxa, 15 of which are described for the first time in this formation. The presence of transitional morphologies among the recorded acritarch form taxa is revealed, and the diversity is refined down to 30 acritarch morphotypes after accounting for taphonomic factors and other sources of morphological variation.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Joel Vikberg Wernstrom, Ben J. Slater, Martin V. Sorensen, Denise Crampton, Andreas Altenburger
Summary: The study focuses on the shape variation of teeth in extant and extinct priapulids, revealing an expansion of the group's ecological niche over time. A landmarking scheme is defined to capture shape variation and aid in taxonomic classification and functional characterization of isolated teeth known solely from fossils.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jacopo Dal Corso, Haijun Song, Sara Callegaro, Daoliang Chu, Yadong Sun, Jason Hilton, Stephen E. Grasby, Michael M. Joachimski, Paul B. Wignall
Summary: This review critically evaluates the geological evidence and discusses the current hypotheses surrounding the kill mechanisms of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, including the different response times of terrestrial and marine ecosystems to the Siberian Traps eruptions and the causal relations between volcanism, environmental perturbations, and ecosystem collapse.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
