Crustacean microcoprolites from the Middle Triassic Luoping Biota, China: Evidence for primary producers in the first Modern-type marine ecosystems
Crustacean microcoprolites from the Middle Triassic Luoping Biota, China: Evidence for primary producers in the first Modern-type marine ecosystems
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DOI：
10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111840
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发表时间：
2023-12
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Yuxuan Chen;Mao Luo;Michael J. Benton;Shi-xue Hu;Qi-yue Zhang;Cheng Ji;Jinyuan Huang;Qi Kou-
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Yuxuan Chen;Mao Luo;Michael J. Benton;Shi-xue Hu;Qi-yue Zhang;Cheng Ji;Jinyuan Huang;Qi Kou-
现代类型的海洋生态系统是在三叠纪二叠纪-三叠纪大灭绝的破坏之后建立的。人们的注意力集中在这些食物链的更高层次上，但初级层次尚未详细确定。在这里，我们提出的证据，从罗平生物群（早期的Anisian，中三叠世），lophogastrid虾喂养蓝藻，证据的主要生产者和消费者的系统。显微镜研究的microcoprolites，使用SEM，EDS元素分析，micro-CT和FIB扫描电镜扫描，和拉曼测试，揭示了新月形，对称排列的运河表明，这些微米大小的颗粒属于遗迹种Palaxiusisp的可能性。由甲壳类动物产生。根据超微结构和化学成分的相似性，微粪化石及其保存的运河与lophogastrid虾的消化肠的比较证实了它们的来源。我们的发现证实了现代型浮游动物的崛起，以lophogastrids和其他节肢动物为代表，取代灭绝的古生代海洋无脊椎动物类群，而浮游植物可能仍然是原始的，以蓝藻为代表。一个保存完好的中三叠世海洋生物群的能量金字塔和营养水平现在得到了更充分的了解，这是海洋生态系统全面恢复的一个例子。
Modern-type marine ecosystems became established in the Triassic following the devastation of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Attention has been focused on higher levels of these food chains, but the primary levels have not been established in detail. Here, we present evidence of microcoprolites from the Luoping biota (early Anisian, Middle Triassic) that lophogastrid shrimps were feeding on cyanobacteria, evidence for the primary producers and consumers in the system. Microscopic study of the microcoprolites, using SEM, EDS elemental analysis, micro-CT and FIB-SEM scanning, and Raman testing, revealed that crescent-shaped, symmetrically arranged canals indicate a possibility that these micron-sized pellets belong to the ichnospeciesPalaxiusisp. produced by crustaceans. Comparison of the microcoprolites, with their preserved canals, with fossilized intestines from lophogastrid shrimps confirms their source, based on similarities in ultrastructure and chemical composition. Our discovery confirms the rise of Modern-type zooplankton, represented by lophogastrids and other arthropods, replacing extinct Palaeozoic marine invertebrate taxa while the phytoplankton may still have been primitive and represented by cyanobacteria. The pyramid of energy and trophic levels of a well-preserved Middle Triassic marine biota now are more fully understood, representing an example of the full recovery of the marine ecosystem.