A new paleoecological look at the Dinwoody Formation (Lower Triassic, western USA): intrinsic versus extrinsic controls on ecosystem recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction

The Dinwoody Formation of the western United States represents an important archive of Early Triassic ecosystems in the immediate aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. We present a systematic description and a quantitative paleoecological analysis of its benthic faunas in order to reconstruct benthic associations and to explore the temporal and spatial variations of diversity, ecological structure and taxonomic composition throughout the...