Early Triassic conodonts from off shore sea mounts

This project aims to set up a high resolution Early Triassic conodont sampling of worldwide sections, mainly from Oman and Timor. Conodonts are important marine organisms that can be used for precise biostratigraphy and are one of the most important index fossils. Looking at Triassic sea-mounts localities, in a framework of reconstructing the paleo-climate of the Early Triassic, a strong conodont taxonomy covering the Dienerian/Smithian (ca. 251.3 to 250.6 Mya) will firstly be made. This taxonomy will be constructed through intraspecific variation analyses (mainly using geometric morphometrics, i.e. comparing shapes of different conodont elements, on 3D scans or images acquired by scanning electron microscopy). When the taxonomy is made, different paths are possible, e.g. exploring quantitative biochronology by means of unitary associations (the most reliable dating method using shared presence of at least two species) ; or quantitative biogeographic analyses from regional to global scales. Through those techniques, the relations between evolutionary turnover rates, ecological partitioning, and abiotic stresses will be assessed in order to better understand Early Triassic recovery after the biggest mass extinction of the last 500 million years.