Dinosaur dispersal in southern China linked to Triassic-Jurassic environmental instability (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Jan 15, 2026, 3:28:42 PM (3 days ago) Jan 15
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Ben Creisler
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Jianbo Chen, Yi-Ning Niu, Rongyao Ma, Yan-Ling Zhou, Wen-Jie Liu, Ya-Ming Wang, Hai-Lu You, Xing Xu, Shu-Zhong Shen & Zhuo Feng (2026)
Triassic–Jurassic environmental instability on the subtropical eastern Tethyan margin linked to low-latitude dinosaur dispersal
Communications Earth & Environment (advance online publication)(preprint)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03083-6
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s43247-025-03083-6
The Triassic–Jurassic transition marks a critical interval, witnessing major biotic turnovers, including the rise of dinosaurs and the end-Triassic mass extinction, triggered by the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. However, the volcanism linked to terrestrial ecosystem disturbance and dinosaur distribution remains poorly constrained. Here we present an integrated dataset of chemostratigraphic and astrochronological records for a continental drill core from the Kunming Basin in Yunnan Province of Southwest China, where rich dinosaur assemblages have been previously identified. Three negative carbon isotope excursions coupled with volcanogenic mercury anomalies confirm pulsed volcanism-induced environmental impacts on this subtropical terrestrial setting and placement of the Triassic–Jurassic boundary. Critically, the earliest regional sauropodomorph fossils occurred at ~200.17 Ma, indicating post-extinction colonization in low palaeolatitudes by medium- to large-bodied dinosaurs. Large-scale volcanism-induced stressors, potentially coupled with increased climate seasonality, likely created ecological opportunities facilitating dinosaur expansion in the earliest Jurassic.
Jianbo Chen, Yi-Ning Niu, Rongyao Ma, Yan-Ling Zhou, Wen-Jie Liu, Ya-Ming Wang, Hai-Lu You, Xing Xu, Shu-Zhong Shen & Zhuo Feng (2026)
Triassic–Jurassic environmental instability on the subtropical eastern Tethyan margin linked to low-latitude dinosaur dispersal
Communications Earth & Environment (advance online publication)(preprint)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03083-6
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s43247-025-03083-6
The Triassic–Jurassic transition marks a critical interval, witnessing major biotic turnovers, including the rise of dinosaurs and the end-Triassic mass extinction, triggered by the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. However, the volcanism linked to terrestrial ecosystem disturbance and dinosaur distribution remains poorly constrained. Here we present an integrated dataset of chemostratigraphic and astrochronological records for a continental drill core from the Kunming Basin in Yunnan Province of Southwest China, where rich dinosaur assemblages have been previously identified. Three negative carbon isotope excursions coupled with volcanogenic mercury anomalies confirm pulsed volcanism-induced environmental impacts on this subtropical terrestrial setting and placement of the Triassic–Jurassic boundary. Critically, the earliest regional sauropodomorph fossils occurred at ~200.17 Ma, indicating post-extinction colonization in low palaeolatitudes by medium- to large-bodied dinosaurs. Large-scale volcanism-induced stressors, potentially coupled with increased climate seasonality, likely created ecological opportunities facilitating dinosaur expansion in the earliest Jurassic.
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