Early Permian bryozoan faunas of the East Gondwana rift system: viewed from a global perspective

这项建议旨在研究东冈瓦那裂谷系统中的下二叠统苔藓虫动物群。苔藓虫是化石记录中最具代表性的大型无脊椎动物之一，因为绝大多数物种都存在钙质骨架，而且广泛分布于各种海洋生物栖息地。东冈瓦那裂谷系统由北向南延伸，海洋条件从古纬度40°至60°S不等，北部(东帝汶)为开阔海洋条件，南部(珀斯盆地)为较有限的海洋条件。东冈瓦那裂谷系盆地记录了南半球早二叠世退冰幕的历史，并含有以苔藓虫骨骼为主的下二叠统浅海碳酸盐相，以往研究非常有限。研究的重点将是东冈哇那裂谷系苔藓虫的分类研究，并辅之以岩石学和地球化学方法进行环境重建。预期研究的预期结果是对早二叠世苔藓虫生物地理的新见解，确定了东贡德瓦南动物群的分类亲缘关系，与其他贡德瓦南动物群(如阿曼动物群)、古特提斯和北半球动物群的关系。此外，预计将对南半球苔藓虫沿南北梯度的分布模式有新的见解，该梯度横跨古纬度20°和开阔的海洋条件，直至更有限的海洋条件。这项研究的古生态方面将阐明冰川和去冰川事件对东冈瓦那苔藓虫动物群发育和分布的影响，并改进它们在气候重建中的应用。从接近石炭-二叠系界线到昆古尔期的动物群的生物地层分异可能为改善与全球时间尺度的对比提供新的连接点。

This proposal aims to study Lower Permian bryozoan faunas from the East Gondwana rift system. Bryozoans are among the best-represented macroinvertebrates in the fossil record, because of the presence of a calcareous skeleton in the great majority of species and wide distribution in various marine biotopes. The East Gondwana rift system ran north-south with marine conditions present through a palaeolatitudinal range from 40° to ¬60°S and with open-marine conditions in the north (Timor) to more restricted marine conditions in the south (Perth Basin). Basins of the East Gondwana rift system record the history of Southern Hemisphere deglaciation episodes during the Early Permian, and contain Lower Permian shallow-marine carbonate facies dominated by bryozoan skeletons that previously have received very limited study. The main focus of the research will be the taxonomic study on bryozoans from the East Gondwana rift system, accompanied by petrographic and geochemical methods for environmental reconstructions. Expected outcomes of the intended study are new insights into the biogeography of Early Permian bryozoans with identification of taxonomic affinities of the east Gondwanan fauna, relationships to other Gondwanan (e.g., the Oman fauna), Palaeo-Tethyan and Northern Hemisphere faunas. Furthermore, new insights are expected into the distributional patterns of Southern Hemisphere Bryozoa along a north-south gradient spanning 20° of palaeolatitude and open-marine to more restricted marine conditions. Palaeoecological aspects of the study will illuminate the influence of glaciation and deglaciation events on the development and distribution of bryozoan faunas of East Gondwana, and improve their use for climate reconstruction. Biostratigraphic differentiation of faunas ranging from close to the Carboniferous-Permian boundary to the Kungurian may provide new tie points for improved correlation to the global time scale.