In the

geologic timescale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochr ...

, the Capitanian is an age or stage of the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleo ...

. It is also the uppermost or latest of three subdivisions of the

Guadalupian The Guadalupian is the second and middle series/ epoch of the Permian. The Guadalupian was preceded by the Cisuralian and followed by the Lopingian. It is named after the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas, and dates between 272.95 � ...

Epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided ...

or Series. The Capitanian lasted between and million years ago. It was preceded by the

Wordian In the geologic timescale, the Wordian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the middle of three subdivisions of the Guadalupian Epoch or Series. The Wordian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Roadian and f ...

and followed by the

Wuchiapingian In the geologic timescale, the Wuchiapingian or Wujiapingian (from in the Liangshan area of Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province) is an age or stage of the Permian. It is also the lower or earlier of two subdivisions of the Lopingian Epoch or Series. T ...

.; 2004: ''A Geologic Time Scale 2004'',

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Press A significant mass extinction event occurred at the end of this stage, which was associated with anoxia and acidification in the oceans and possibly caused by the volcanic eruptions that produced the

Emeishan Traps The Emeishan Traps constitute a flood basalt volcanic province, or large igneous province, in south-western China, centred in Sichuan province. It is sometimes referred to as the Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province or Emeishan Flood Basalts. Li ...

. This extinction event may be related to the much larger

Permian–Triassic extinction event The Permian–Triassic (P–T, P–Tr) extinction event, also known as the Latest Permian extinction event, the End-Permian Extinction and colloquially as the Great Dying, formed the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic periods, ...

that followed about 10 million years later.

Stratigraphy

The Capitanian Stage was introduced into scientific literature by George Burr Richardson in 1904. The name comes from the Capitan Reef in the

Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains ( es, Sierra de Guadalupe) are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, , and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both ...

(

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States). The Capitanian was first used as a stratigraphic subdivision of the Guadalupian in 1961, when both names were still only used regionally in the southern US. The stage was added to the internationally used ICS timescale in 2001.

Definitions

The base of the Capitanian Stage is defined as the place in the stratigraphic record where fossils of

conodont Conodonts ( Greek ''kōnos'', " cone", + ''odont'', "tooth") are an extinct group of agnathan (jawless) vertebrates resembling eels, classified in the class Conodonta. For many years, they were known only from their tooth-like oral elements, whi ...

species ''

Jinogondolella ''Jinogondolella'' is an extinct genus of conodonts.Mesogondolella and Jinogondolella (Conodonta): Multielement definition of the taxa that bracket the basal Guadalupian (Middle Permian Series) GSSP. Lance L. Lambert, Bruce R. Wardlaw and Charle ...

postserrata'' first appear. The global reference profile for this stratigraphic boundary is located at Nipple Hill in the southern Guadalupe Mountains of Texas. The top of the Capitanian (the base of the Wuchiapingian and Lopingian series) is defined as the place in the stratigraphic record where the conodont species ''

Clarkina ''Clarkina'' is an extinct genus of conodonts. It is considered to be an offshore, outer shelf or basinal, deep-water taxon. The genus name is a tribute to David Leigh Clark. Synonyms ''Clarkina'' Soodan 1975 is a junior synonym for the pre ...

postbitteri postbitteri'' first appears. The Capitanian Stage was part of the time in which the

Zechstein The Zechstein (German either from ''mine stone'' or ''tough stone'') is a unit of sedimentary rock layers of Middle to Late Permian (Guadalupian to Lopingian) age located in the European Permian Basin which stretches from the east coast of Englan ...

was deposited in Europe. It is coeval with the old European regional Saxonian Stage. In the eastern Tethys domain, the Capitanian overlaps the regional Murgabian Stage, the Midian Stage and the lower part of the Laibinian Stage. In Russia the Capitanian equals the lower part of the regional Severodvinian Stage.

Biostratigraphy

The Capitanian contains one

ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefis ...

biozone In biostratigraphy, biostratigraphic units or biozones are intervals of geological strata that are defined on the basis of their characteristic fossil taxa, as opposed to a lithostratigraphic unit which is defined by the lithological properties ...

(''Timorites'') and three conodont biozones: *zone of ''

postbitteri hongshuiensis'' *zone of ''Jinogondolella altudaensis'' *zone of ''Jinogondolella postserrata'' Larger fusulinid species permit a division in two biozones: *zone of ''Rausserella'' *zone of ''Afganella schenki''

Biodiversity

Olson’s Extinction Olson's Extinction was a mass extinction that occurred in the late Cisuralian or early Guadalupian of the Permian period and which predated the Permian–Triassic extinction event. It is named after Everett C. Olson. There was a sudden change bet ...

, in the early

(

Roadian In the geologic timescale, the Roadian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the earliest or lower of three subdivisions of the Guadalupian Epoch or Series. The Roadian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the ...

), led to an extended period of low diversity when worldwide two-thirds of terrestrial vertebrate life was lost. Global diversity rose dramatically in the Capitanian, probably the result of disaster taxa filling empty guilds, only to fall again when the end-Guadalupian event caused a diversity drop in the

Events

Carbon isotope Carbon (6C) has 15 known isotopes, from to , of which and are stable. The longest-lived radioisotope is , with a half-life of years. This is also the only carbon radioisotope found in nature—trace quantities are formed cosmogenically by t ...

s in

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

from the Capitanian age show an increase in δ¹³C values. The change in carbon isotopes in the sea water reflects cooling of global climates. This climatic cooling may have caused the end-Capitanian extinction event among species that lived in warm water, like larger

fusulinid The Fusulinida is an extinct order within the Foraminifera in which the tests are traditionally considered to have been composed of microgranular calcite. Like all forams, they were single-celled organisms. In advanced forms the test wall was dif ...

s (Verbeekninidae), large

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of marine and freshwater Mollusca, molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hing ...

s (

Alatoconchidae Alatoconchidae is an extinct family of prehistoric bivalves that lived in the early to middle Permian period. Genera belonging to Alatoconchidae are characterized by their shell that is strongly compressed in the dorsoventral direction. Some spec ...

) and rugose corals, and Waagenophyllidae.

References

External links

GeoWhen Database - CapitanianUpper Paleozoic stratigraphic chart
at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS {{Geological history, p, p Permian geochronology Guadalupian . Permian geology of Texas