New geochemical and palaeontological data from the Permian-Triassic boundary in the South African Karoo Basin test the synchronicity of terrestrial and marine extinctions

The end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) is widely recognised as the largest mass extinction in Phanerozoic history. In marine strata the main extinction event is well constrained, and has been radiometrically-dated to an interval of some 60 kyr, approximately 251.9 million years ago. However, the age and duration of the EPME in the terrestrial realm, as well as its possible synchronicity with that of the marine realm, is debated. Here, we shed...