Charcoal remains from the Mukheiris Formation of Jordan – the first evidence of palaeowildfire from the Anisian (Middle Triassic) of Gondwana

During recent field work on the Triassic of Jordan fossil charcoal remains have been discovered from the Lower Member of the Middle Triassic Mukheiris Formation (Anisian) at the eastern rim of the Dead Sea. This material represents the first evidence for palaeowildfires during the Anisian of Gondwana and only the second macroscopic evidence from the Anisian on a global scale. The charcoal shows anatomical features typical of gymnosperms, but at the moment nothing can be said about the taxonomic affinity of the woods, due to the fragmentary nature of the remains. Our data suggest also that, like in other regions worldwide, the land vegetation in the Near-East region had already recovered, at least to some extent, from the devastating effects of the end-Permian ecological crisis and that wildfires occurred in these ecosystems, although nothing can be stated at the moment about frequencies and intensities of such fires.