Guadalupian Epoch
Age of Animal Mass Extinction
The Guadalupian Epoch, also called the Middle Permian (273-259 Ma), is in the Paleozoic Era, occurring before the Lopingian Epoch (Late Permian), and before the Cisuralian Epoch (Early Permian).
Geologic Age
272.95–259.1 million years ago
Subdivisions
Capitanian: 265.1±0.4–259.1±0.5 Ma
Wordian: 268.8±0.5–265.1±0.4 Ma
Roadian: 272.95±0.11–268.8±0.5 Ma
Eon / Era / Period
What happened during this time?
Geophysical
Starting from Olson's Extinction and into the early Middle Triassic, land plants exhibited large turnover of genera
Olson's Extinction
There is an animal extinction event at the beginning of the epoch, ~273 Ma
There was a sudden change between the early Permian and middle/late Permian faunas, impacting plants, marine invertebrates and tetrapods
Olson's Extinction represents the third highest peak of extinction rates seen in plants throughout the Paleozoic, and the number of genera fell by 25% (Cascales-Miñana et al. 2015)
Capitanian extinction event
There is a probable extinction, that occurred at the end of this epoch, ~262 Ma (GSA Bulletin, 2015)
This extinction has a small effect on the plant groupings at the time
Smaller, but still powerful: 34% genus-level extinction in the seas (comparable to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction!) and fairly powerful on land
The event showed a marked reduction of members of the Paleozoic fauna, but not the loss of entire major clades.
Biological
Flora, seed-bearing
As the Earth dries, plants with adaptations for drought (xerophytic) proliferate
This time marks the transition from the paleophytic (spore-bearing & mesic) to the mesophytic (gymnospermous & xeric) eras of plant evolution
Glossopteris dominates in Gondwanaland; Cordaitales very successful in Euramerica
Early Ginkgophytes are on the landscape, such as Tichopitys
Cycads and Voltzialean conifers, diversify in the expanding desert ecosystems on Pangaea during this time
Giganopterids were among the most striking and important plants of the Cathaysian flora of Sino-Malaya
, such as the Callistophytales Seed ferns go extinct at the end of the Early Permian
Flora, spore-bearing
Extant clubmoss groups, such as the Lycopodiales and Selaginellales are found in the understory of some forests
Marattialean tree ferns are become less prominet with drying of the landscape
Sphenophyllophytes and zygopterid ferns are found in the under-story, and horsetails along rivers and wetlands
True ferns are becoming more successful as understory plants in gymnosperm forests
Noeggerathian progymnosperms are present, but becoming less prominent, eventually going extinct at the end of the Permian
Several established terrestrial biomes (see chart, right):
Tropical ever-wet: Ginkgoes, Pteridosperms, Equisetophytes, Marattioid and Zygopterid ferns
Warm temperate: Ginkgoes, Cordaites, Pteridosperms, Equisetophytes, Marattioid and Zygopterid ferns, and Glossopterids
Mid-latitude desert: no fossil preserved
Cool temperate: Cordaites, Equisetophytes, Marattioid and Zygopterid ferns, Glossopterids, and Lycopsids
Cold temperate: Cordaites, Equisetophytes, and Glossopterids
Fauna
The wasp lineage evolved from the lacewing (neuropteroid) branch of the holometabolan family tree