The Carnian is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series. It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed by the Norian. Its boundaries are not characterized by major extinctions or biotic turnovers, but a climatic event occurred during the Carnian and seems to be associated with important extinctions or biotic radiations. Another extinction occurred at the Carnian-Norian boundary, ending the Carnian age.
In the geologic timescale, the Olenekian is an age in the Early Triassic epoch; in chronostratigraphy, it is a stage in the Lower Triassic series. It spans the time between 251.2 Ma and 247.2 Ma. The Olenekian is sometimes divided into the Smithian and the Spathian subages or substages. The Olenekian follows the Induan and is followed by the Anisian.
Shastasaurus is a very large extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the middle and late Triassic, and is the largest known marine reptile. Specimens have been found in the United States, Canada, and China.
Thalattosauria is an extinct order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the middle to late Triassic period. Thalattosaurs were diverse in size and shape, and are divided into two superfamilies: Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea. Askeptosauroids were endemic to the Tethys Ocean, their fossils have been found in Europe and China, and they were likely semiaquatic fish eaters with straight snouts and decent terrestrial abilities. Thalattosauroids were more specialized for aquatic life and most had unusual downturned snouts and crushing dentition. Thalattosauroids lived along the coasts of both Panthalassa and the Tethys Ocean, and were most diverse in China and western North America. The largest species of thalattosaurs grew to over 4 meters (13 feet) in length, including a long, flattened tail utilized in underwater propulsion. Although thalattosaurs bore a superficial resemblance to lizards, their exact relationships are unresolved. They are widely accepted as diapsids, but experts have variously placed them on the reptile family tree among Lepidosauromorpha, Archosauromorpha, ichthyosaurs, and/or other marine reptiles.
Miodentosaurus is a genus of thalattosaurian from the Late Triassic of China. It is one of several thalattosaurs found in the Xiaowa Formation, also known as the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation. The genus name "Miodentosaurus" translates to "Few toothed-lizard" while the species name "brevis" means "short", in reference to its short snout.
Guizhouichthyosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur which is known primarily from the Xiaowa Formation of the lower Carnian stage of the Late Triassic in southwest China. The type species of this genus is Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae, of which multiple skeletons are known. It has been reassigned as a species of the genus Shastasaurus in the past, though it has since been considered distinct. The ichthyosaurs Cymbospondylus asiaticus, named in 2002, and Panjiangsaurus epicharis, named in 2003, are junior synonyms of G. tangae. The genus is also known from the Ladinian-aged Middle Triassic Zhuganpo Formation; additionally, the species "Callawayia" wollongangense may belong to Guizhouichthyosaurus.
Qianichthyosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Ladinian and Carnian stages of the Late Triassic epoch. Its fossils have been found in southeastern China, in Carnian rocks of the Falang Formation near Huangtutang, Guizhou. The type species is Qianichthyosaurus zhoui, named by Chun Li in 1999. A second species, Qianichthyosaurus xingyiensis, was named from older (Ladinian) deposits in the Falang Formation in 2013 by Pengfei Yang and colleagues. Complete Qianichthyosaurus fossils are common in the Xiaowa Formation, with both juveniles and pregnant specimens being known; its larger contemporaries, Guizhouichthyosaurus and Guanlingsaurus, are rarer.
Sinosaurichthys is an extinct genus of saurichthyid ray-finned fish, which existed in southwestern China during the Middle Triassic. Fossils have been found in the Upper Member of the Guanling Formation of two localities: Yangjuan of Panxian County, Guizhou Province, and Dawazi of Luoping, Yunnan Province, China.
Sinosaurosphargis is an extinct genus of basal marine saurosphargid reptile known from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation of Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, southwestern China. It contains a single species, Sinosaurosphargis yunguiensis.
Anshunsaurus is a genus of thalattosaurs within the family Askeptosauridae. Fossils have been found from Middle Triassic deposits in Guizhou, China. Three species are known: the type species A. huangguoshuensis, the slightly older species A. wushaensis, and the species A. huangnihensis.
Wumengosaurus is an extinct aquatic reptile from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation of Guizhou, southwestern China. It was originally described as a basal eosauropterygian and usually is recovered as such by phylogenetic analyses, although one phylogeny has placed it as the sister taxon to Ichthyosauromorpha while refraining from a formal re-positioning. It was a relatively small reptile, measuring 95.5–130.5 cm (3.13–4.28 ft) in total body length and weighing 6 kg (13 lb).
Guanlingsaurus is an extinct genus of shastasaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic of China. It grew up to 8.3 metres (27 ft) in length and has a wide, triangular skull with a short and toothless snout.
Yunguisaurus is an extinct genus of pistosaur known from the Guizhou Province of China.
Sinocyamodus is an extinct genus of placodont reptile from the Late Triassic (Tuvalian) Xiaowa Formation of China. Only one species, Sinocyamodus xinpuensis, is currently assigned to this genus. This genus was the first placodont to be discovered in the eastern Tethys, overthrowing traditional views that the group was restricted to the western Tethys.
Concavispina is an extinct genus of thalattosaur reptile from the early Late Triassic Xiaowa Formation of Guangling, Guizhou, southern China. It contains a single species, Concavispina biseridens. It is known only from the holotype ZMNH M8804, a nearly complete 364 cm long skeleton. Concavispina can be differentiated from other thalattosaurs by possessing two rows of blunt teeth on the anterior part of the maxilla and a V-shaped notch on the dorsal margin of each neural spine in the dorsal (back) vertebrae. Both its generic and specific names refer to these autapomorphies, as Concavispina means "concave spine" and biseridens means "two rows of teeth". It is thought to be most closely related to Xinpusaurus, as both taxa share three derived characters: a maxilla that is curved upward at its anterior end, a humerus that is wider near the shoulder than near the elbow, and the presence of less than five cervicals.
The Carnian pluvial episode (CPE), often called the Carnian pluvial event, was an interval of major change in global climate that was synchronous with significant changes in Earth's biota both in the sea and on land. It occurred during the latter part of the Carnian Stage, a subdivision of the late Triassic period, and lasted for perhaps 1-2 million years. The CPE represents a significant episode in the evolution and diversification of many taxa that are important today, among them some of the earliest dinosaurs, lepidosaurs, pterosaurs and true mammals. In the marine realm it saw the first appearance among the microplankton of coccoliths and dinoflagellates, with the latter linked to the rapid diversification of scleractinian corals through the establishment of symbiotic zooxanthellae within them. The CPE also saw the extinction of many aquatic invertebrate species, especially among the ammonoids, bryozoa, and crinoids.
Xinpusaurus is an extinct genus of thalattosaur from the Late Triassic of Guanling in Guizhou, China. Several species have been named since 2000: the type species X. suni along with the species X. bamaolinensis and X. kohi. A 2013 study proposed that all three species are synonymous with each other, in which case X. suni would be the only valid species, although a 2014 study argued that X. kohi was also valid. A fourth species, X. xingyiensis, was described in 2016.
Pectodens is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile which lived during the Middle Triassic in China. The type and only species of the genus is P. zhenyuensis, named by Chun Li and colleagues in 2017. It was a member of the Archosauromorpha, specifically part of the unnatural grouping Protorosauria. However, an unusual combination of traits similar and dissimilar to other protorosaurs initially led to confusion over its evolutionary relationships. In 2021, it was placed in a newly-established group, Dinocephalosauridae, along with its closest relative Dinocephalosaurus.
The Zhuganpo Formation is a Triassic geologic unit found in southern China. It has historically been known as the Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation. A diverse fossil assemblage known as the Xingyi biota or Xingyi Fauna can be found in the upper part of the Zhuganpo Formation. Fossils of the Xingyi biota include articulated skeletons of marine reptiles, abundant fish, and a plentiful assortment of invertebrates indicating a Ladinian to Carnian age for the sediments of the formation.
The Yangliujing Formation is a Middle Triassic geologic unit found in the Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces of southern China.
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