Vertebrate diversity reveals perturbations in faunal communities prior to the Hangenberg event in the Montagne Noire (France)

 

Authors: Assemat A, Girard C, Joachimski MM, Adnet S

Published in: Bulletin of Geosciences, volume 97, issue 1; pages: 109 - 122; Received 26 March 2021; Accepted in revised form 4 October 2021; Online 20 November 2021

Keywords: Famennian, Hangenberg, vertebrate teeth, Montagne Noire, vertebrate diversity, carbon isotopes,

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Abstract

The Hangenberg crisis represents a mass extinction marked by a biodiversity turnover at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. However, the last million years before this dramatic event have been poorly investigated. Here we report new data on the size and abundances of vertebrate remains as well as carbon isotope data from the latest Famennian in the Montagne Noire (France). A significant decrease in fish abundance and a general reduction in the size of vertebrate remains are observed during a period of stable environment before the onset of the Hangenberg crisis. No perturbations are recorded by the carbon isotopes, supporting the stability of the environment. This significant change in the structuration of vertebrate communities prior to the Hangenberg crisis is not linked to any turnover in other faunal groups. That could be interpreted as changes in faunal repartition that predate mass extinctions.

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