COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Paleobiogeography of Late Devonian and Carboniferous Echinoderms From the Peoples Republic of China

石炭纪是棘皮动物的时代，尤其是有柄棘皮动物。动物群通常丰富多样，但许多属是高度特有的。珊瑚地方性可能会使生物地理分析变得困难，但在评估石炭纪陆块的接近程度方面可以起到积极的作用。在这项研究中，我们将重点研究中国晚期泥盆纪和石炭纪的棘皮动物，这些棘皮动物可能为古特提斯闭合的古地理重建提供制约。从中国西北部泥盆纪晚期采集的少量海棘类化石表明，存在一个动物群，其性质可能介于古老的(泥盆纪)欧洲棘皮动物群落和年轻的(早石炭世)北美棘皮动物群落之间。鹰嘴兽的多样性和丰富度都在下降，在北美和欧洲几乎“灭绝”了。然而，一些石炭纪摄影师幸存于世界其他地方，并最终在特提斯王国(如澳大利亚、东帝汶和苏联)的二叠纪期间戏剧性地卷土重来，尽管时间很短。中国东南部中石炭世的海百合化石表明，存在一种动物群，这可能为特提斯富含相机的组合的重新辐射奠定了基础。我们将检验这样一种假设，即石炭纪棘皮动物群落的某些元素在泥盆纪末期和石炭纪早期辐射亚洲，在石炭纪扩张到全球，然后在最晚的石炭纪收缩回特提斯域。

The Carboniferous is the Age of Echinoderms, especially stemmed echinoderms. Faunas are commonly abundant and diverse, but many genera are high endemic. Crinoid endemism can make biogeographic analysis difficult, but could play a positive role in assessing the proximity of continental blocks during the Carboniferous. In this study, we will focus on echinoderms from the latest Devonian and Carboniferous of China that could provide constraints to paleogeographic reconstructions of the closure of Paleo-Tethys. Sparse collections of crinoids from the latest Devonian of northwestern China indicate the presence of a fauna that may be intermediate in nature between older (Devonian) European echinoderm communities and younger (Early Carboniferous) North American echinoderm communities. Camerate crinoids decreased in diversity and abundance, becoming virtually "extinct" in North America and Europe. However, some Carboniferous camerates survived elsewhere in the world and eventually made a dramatic, although short-lived, comeback during the Permian in the Tethyan realm (e.g., Australia, Timor, and the USSR). Collections of crinoids from the mid-Carboniferous of southeastern China indicate the presence of a fauna that may have set the stage for this Tethyan re-radiation of camerate-rich assemblages. We will test the hypothesis that certain elements of the Carboniferous echinoderm community radiated through Asia during the latest Devonian and earliest Carboniferous, expanded globally in the Carboniferous, then contracted back to the Tethyan realm during the latest Carboniferous.