Biotic-environmental events during the Givetian-Frasnian transition in South China: Implications for understanding the Late Devonian biocrises
Huang C, Song H, Joachimski M, Wen X, Zhou A (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
Journal
Original Authors: Cheng Huang, Haoran Song, Michael M. Joachimski, Xin Wen, Anqi Zhou
Book Volume: 704
Pages Range: 114303
Article Number: 114303
DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.114303
Abstract
The Givetian-Frasnian (G-F) transition represents a critical interval of biotic and environmental change, with major events such as the Taghanic, Frasnes, and Timan profoundly influencing marine ecosystems, among which the Taghanic and Frasnes crises were the most prominent. However, the timing and pattern of the Taghanic and Frasnes crises are still being debated. To address this, a high-resolution bio- and chemostratigraphic framework spanning the Polygnathus ansatus Zone to Palmatolepis transitans Zone was established in the Liujing section, one of the Chinese standard sections for the Devonian System. A combination of published palaeontological records and new data from this study revealed two episodes of the Taghanic crisis characterized by the elimination of endemic shallow-water faunas in South China and other locations (e.g. Europe, North America, and North Africa). The first stage occurred during the Polygnathus ansatus-Polygnathus latifossatus zonal transition and was characterized by the disappearance of trilobites, brachiopods, ostracods, rugose corals, and conodonts, as well as a reduction in metazoan reefs. The second phase (i.e. Geneseo phase) occurred in the Lower Schmidtognathus hermanni Zone and resulted in the loss of the remaining brachiopods, rugose corals, and stromatoporoids. This coincided with the proliferation of conodonts. In contrast to the episodic Taghanic crisis, the Frasnes crisis across the G-F boundary constituted a single-phase biocrisis, marked by the demise of brachiopods, rugose corals, and stromatoporoids, and coinciding with the proliferation of conodonts. Each phase of the Taghanic crisis involved a marine transgression, but the first phase was characterized by a positive carbonate carbon isotope (δ13Ccarb) excursion of approximately 1.4‰, whereas the second phase showed a minor negative δ13Ccarb excursion of around 0.7‰. In contrast, both the Frasnes crisis and Timan event were each marked by a single positive δ13Ccarb excursion accompanied by a transgression. The temporal coincidence of biotic crises, positive δ13Ccarb excursions, and sea-level rises during the Taghanic and Frasnes crises suggests that sea-level fluctuations were closely associated with shallow-water community dynamics (migration and/or elimination) and positive δ13Ccarb excursions. In addition, the Geneseo negative δ13Ccarb excursion may be attributed to volcanism. This study provides critical data for identifying the Taghanic and Frasnes crises and the Timan event, while also yielding important insights into the causes of the Late Devonian biocrises.
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APA:
Huang, C., Song , H., Joachimski, M., Wen, X., & Zhou , .A. (2026). Biotic-environmental events during the Givetian-Frasnian transition in South China: Implications for understanding the Late Devonian biocrises. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 704, 114303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.114303
MLA:
Huang, Cheng, et al. "Biotic-environmental events during the Givetian-Frasnian transition in South China: Implications for understanding the Late Devonian biocrises." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 704 (2026): 114303.
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