Changing palaeoenvironments and tetrapod populations in the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone (Karoo Basin, South Africa) indicate early onset of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction

Important palaeoenvironmental differences are identified during deposition of the latest Permian Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone (DaAZ) of the South African Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergoup), which is also divided into a Lower and Upper subzone. A lacustrine floodplain facies association showing evidence for higher water tables and subaqueous conditions on the floodplains is present in Lower DaAZ. The change to well-drained floodplain facies...