Foraminiferal survivors from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction in the Meishan section, South China

This paper documents abundant and diverse foraminifers from Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) boundary strata and reports for the first time foraminifers from the Lower Triassic Yinkeng and Helongshan Formations in the Meishan section, the global stratotype for the P-Tr boundary. The important foraminifer elements are illustrated and described. Most of these foraminifers were the Permian holdovers, occurring above the main extinction event horizon (base of Bed 25) at Meishan, and thus were survivors from the P-Tr mass extinction. At Meishan foraminifers underwent a second drop in diversity coinciding with the base of Bed 28, exhibiting a comparable extinction pattern to brachiopod faunas. Both foraminifer and brachiopod extinction patterns partly support the view that one potential extinction horizon coincides with the boundary between Beds 27 and 28.