Comparison of the Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys based on radiolarian analysis

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The object of this research was to compare the paleoceanic environment of the Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys during Permian to Triassic time based on radiolarian analysis. Materials of this research were collected from (1) bedded cherts of the Mino Terrane in Southwest Japan, (2) clastics and acidic tuff of the Yangzi Platform in South China, (3) bedded cherts of the Changnin-Menglian Terrane in Southwest China, and (4) bedded cherts of the Yunkai Terrane in South China.The Permian radiolarian fauna from the Panthalassa deposites (the Mino Terrane) indicates high diversity which is comparable with recent radiolarian fauna from the low latitudinal deep sea sediments of the Pacific Ocean. The Permian radiolarian faunas from South China (the Yangzi Platform and the Yunkai Terrane), which situated in the eastern margin of the Paleo-Tetys, are not so diverse. The founa fo the typical Paleo-Tethys (the Changnin-Menglian Terrane) is not also diverse. These features suggest that the paleoceanic environment was considerably different between the Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys in spite of the low latitudinal bottom sediments. However, on the basis of the radiolarian faunal change in both paleoceans, it is considered that both paleoceans suffered the global environmental change through the Permian/Triassic boundary.