Early Cretaceous volcanism and its impact on fossil preservation in Western Liaoning, NE China

Jiang, Baoyu; Fürsich, Franz T.; Sha, Jingeng; Wang, Bo; Niu, Yazhuo

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.01.016

Cited by 60 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The limb flexures of the skeletons are typical postures of PDC victims, which result from postmortem shortening of tendons and muscles 33,34 . Statistical documentation of head-tail axes of Confuciusornis carcasses revealed a distinct orientation (E-W) 7,12 , which is consistent with the preferred orientation of victims of PDCs, such as seen in the 1902 Mount Pelée eruptions 33 . In addition, most Jehol terrestrial vertebrate skeletons lie either on their sides or ventrodorsally with their largest surface more or less parallel to bedding.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

“…The earliest three phases are best preserved in the volcanic succession of the lower part of the Yixian formation in the Sihetun area 12 . Initially, shield volcanoes developed with only minor volcaniclastic deposits (the Lujiatun unit and its equivalent strata), but extensive basaltic and andesitic lavas form the Lower Lava unit.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2) 2,13 . Most of the Jehol fossils were collected from lacustrine deposits, with the exception being some vertebrates, which were locally recovered from volcaniclastic alluvial deposits of the Lujiatun unit and its correlative horizons 12 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The plan-view orientation of these taxa is invariably random, and size-frequency histograms are bimodal or polymodal. The fauna has been interpreted as being autochthonous, reflecting the 'background' limnic fauna 12 and, thus, the deposits resulted from local mass mortalities 6 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the terrestrial vertebrates that have been found throughout the depositional area of the lake floors represent outsiders introduced by catastrophic events 12 . Each fossiliferous layer usually contains several kinds of terrestrial vertebrates with an uneven areal density of specimens.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New evidence suggests pyroclastic flows are responsible for the remarkable preservation of the Jehol biota

et al. 2014

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The lower Cretaceous Yixian and Jiufotang formations contain numerous exceptionally wellpreserved invertebrate, vertebrate and plant fossils that comprise the Jehol Biota. Freshwater and terrestrial fossils of the biota usually occur together within some horizons and have been interpreted as deposits of mass mortality events. The nature of the events and the mechanisms behind the exceptional preservation of the fossils, however, are poorly understood. Here, after examining and analysing sediments and residual fossils from several key horizons, we postulate that the causal events were mainly phreatomagmatic eruptions. Pyroclastic density currents were probably responsible for the major causalities and for transporting the bulk of the terrestrial vertebrates from different habitats, such as lizards, birds, non-avian dinosaurs and mammals, into lacustrine environments for burial. Terrestrial vertebrate carcasses transported by and sealed within the pyroclastic flows were clearly preserved as exceptional fossils through this process.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

New evidence suggests pyroclastic flows are responsible for the remarkable preservation of the Jehol biota

et al. 2014

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Varves in the Yixian Formation, western Liaoning: Constraining the palaeoclimate in the Early Cretaceous

et al. 2021

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The study of the palaeoenvironment of the Early Cretaceous has been a significant research topic, largely due to the “Jehol Biota” in western Liaoning and the important prospect of fossils in Dakangpu Layer. Based on the sedimentology of Dakangpu Layer, it is helpful to get a deeper understanding of the living environment of the “Jehol Biota.” Varves are highly developed in the Dakangpu Bed of lower Cretaceous Yixian Basin in western Liaoning, China, supplying reliable and high‐quality proxies to explore the palaeoclimate. This paper reconstructs the palaeo‐lake environment and palaeoclimate, using petrography, facies associations, varves components, and geochemistry. Detailed petrographic studies helped to recognize 11 lithofacies which were grouped into two facies associations: Shallow lake and deep to semi‐deep lake sequences. The delicate structure of varves in the Dakangpu Bed were divided into two categories: Clastic and endogenic. Additionally, two sub‐types of clastic varves have been discovered, with distinct components, thickness, and distribution in vertical sequence. Nineteen representative samples of varves reveal that rare earth and trace elements have a similar change trend. The composition, formation, and preservation of the varves in the Dakangpu Bed depicted a deep lake, with stratified water and oxygen‐depleted bottom layer environment. The U/Th ratios and V/Cr ratios are in the ranges of 0.37–1.55 and 0.97–10.47 respectively, supporting the redox environment's minor fluctuation. The varve thickness, flood frequency, sporopollenin collections, and geochemical data indicated that precipitation and humidity decreased gradually in the sedimentary period, and the climate changed to warmer and drier, with fluctuations in the middle to later periods.

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Seasonal to sub-seasonal palaeoenvironmental changes in Lake Sihetun (Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation, NE China)

Hethke

Fürsich

Jiang

et al. 2012

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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Early Cretaceous volcanism and its impact on fossil preservation in Western Liaoning, NE China

Cited by 60 publications

References 61 publications

New evidence suggests pyroclastic flows are responsible for the remarkable preservation of the Jehol biota

New evidence suggests pyroclastic flows are responsible for the remarkable preservation of the Jehol biota

Varves in the Yixian Formation, western Liaoning: Constraining the palaeoclimate in the Early Cretaceous

Seasonal to sub-seasonal palaeoenvironmental changes in Lake Sihetun (Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation, NE China)

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