Late Devonian mass extinction

2007 ◽  
pp. 59-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf M. T. Elewa
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Late Devonian

scholarly journals Precisely dating the Frasnian–Famennian boundary: implications for the cause of the Late Devonian mass extinction

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. E. Percival ◽  
J. H. F. L. Davies ◽  
U. Schaltegger ◽  
D. De Vleeschouwer ◽  
A.-C. Da Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Late Devonian

A forest fire and soil erosion event during the Late Devonian mass extinction

2013 ◽  
Vol 392 ◽  
pp. 272-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunio Kaiho ◽  
Susumu Yatsu ◽  
Masahiro Oba ◽  
Paul Gorjan ◽  
Jean-Georges Casier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Late Devonian

scholarly journals Global seawater redox trends during the Late Devonian mass extinction detected using U isotopes of marine limestones

2018 ◽  
Vol 503 ◽  
pp. 68-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. White ◽  
Maya Elrick ◽  
Stephen Romaniello ◽  
Feifei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Late Devonian

Discerning the diets of sweep-feeding eurypterids: assessing the importance of prey size to survivorship across the Late Devonian mass extinction in a phylogenetic context

Paleobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Emily S. Hughes ◽  
James C. Lamsdell
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Late Devonian ◽  
Evolutionary Trend ◽  
Average Spacing ◽  
Horseshoe Crabs ◽  
Mode Of Life

Abstract Eurypterids are generally considered to comprise a mixture of active nektonic to nektobenthic predators and benthic scavenger-predators exhibiting a mode of life similar to modern horseshoe crabs. However, two groups of benthic stylonurine eurypterids, the Stylonuroidea and Mycteropoidea, independently evolved modifications to the armature of their anterior appendages that have been considered adaptations toward a sweep-feeding life habit, and it has been suggested the evolution toward sweep-feeding may have permitted stylonurines to capture smaller prey species and may have been critical for the survival of mycteropoids during the Late Devonian mass extinction. There is a linear correlation between the average spacing of feeding structures and prey sizes among extant suspension feeders. Here, we extrapolate this relationship to sweep-feeding eurypterids in order to estimate the range of prey sizes that they could capture and examine prey size in a phylogenetic context to determine what role prey size played in determining survivorship during the Late Devonian. The mycteropoid Cyrtoctenus was the most specialized sweep-feeder, with comblike appendage armature capable of capturing mesoplankton out of suspension, while the majority of stylonurines possess armature corresponding to a prey size range of 1.6–52 mm, suggesting they were suited for capturing small benthic macroinvertebrates such as crustaceans, mollusks, and wormlike organisms. There is no clear phylogenetic signal to prey size distribution and no evolutionary trend toward decreasing prey sizes among Stylonurina. Rather than prey size, species survivorship during the Late Devonian was likely mediated by geographic distribution and ability to capitalize on the expanding freshwater benthos.

scholarly journals Evidence of wildfires and elevated atmospheric oxygen at the Frasnian–Famennian boundary in New York (USA): Implications for the Late Devonian mass extinction

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 2043-2054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeyang Liu ◽  
David Selby ◽  
Paul C. Hackley ◽  
D. Jeffrey Over
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Atmospheric Oxygen ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Late Devonian ◽  
Driving Mechanism ◽  
Volcanic Event ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Climate Cooling

Abstract The Devonian Period experienced significant fluctuations of atmospheric oxygen (O2) levels (∼25–13%), for which the extent and timing are debated. Also characteristic of the Devonian Period, at the Frasnian–Famennian (F–F) boundary, is one of the “big five” mass extinction events of the Phanerozoic. Fossilized charcoal (inertinite) provides a record of wildfire events, which in turn can provide insight into the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems and the atmospheric composition. Here, we report organic petrology, programmed pyrolysis analysis, major and trace element analyses, and initial osmium isotope (Osi) stratigraphy from five sections of Upper Devonian (F–F interval) from western New York, USA. These data are discussed to infer evidence of a wildfire event at the F–F boundary. Based on the evidence for a wildfire at the F–F boundary we also provide an estimate of atmospheric O2 levels of ∼23–25% at this interval, which is in agreement with the models that predict elevated pO2 levels during the Late Devonian. This, coupled with our Os isotope records, support the currently published Osi data that lacks any evidence for an extra-terrestrial impact or volcanic event at the F–F interval, and therefore to act as a trigger for the F–F mass extinction. The elevated O2 level at the F–F interval inferred from this study supports the hypothesis that pCO2 drawdown and associated climate cooling may have acted as a driving mechanism of the F–F mass extinction.

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