page_title: Early Triassic
section_title: Fauna and Flora
hierarchical_section_title: Early Triassic / Early Triassic life / Fauna and Flora
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Плато Путорана, озеро Дюпкун This image is related to the protected area of Russia number 2400003 This template and pages using it are maintained by the Russian WLE team. Please read the guidelines before making any changes that can affect the database!
context_page_description: The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.902 Ma and 247.2 Ma. Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic series, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy.
  The Early Triassic is the oldest epoch of the Mesozoic Era. It is preceded by the Lopingian epoch and followed by the Middle Triassic epoch. The Early Triassic is divided into the Induan and Olenekian ages. The Induan is subdivided into the Griesbachian and Dienerian subages and the Olenekian is subdivided into the Smithian and Spathian subages.
  The Lower Triassic series is coeval with the Scythian stage, which is today not included in the official timescales but can be found in older literature. In Europe, most of the Lower Triassic is composed of Buntsandstein, a lithostratigraphic unit of continental red beds.
context_section_description: The Permian-Triassic extinction event spawned the Triassic period. The massive extinctions that ended the Permian period and Paleozoic era caused extreme hardships for the surviving species. 
  The Early Triassic epoch saw the recovery of life after the biggest mass extinction event of the past, which took millions of years due to the severity of the event and the harsh Early Triassic climate. Many types of corals, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, and other invertebrates had disappeared. The Permian vegetation dominated by Glossopteris in the southern hemisphere ceased to exist. Other groups, such as Actinopterygii, appear to have been less affected by this extinction event and body size was not a selective factor during the extinction event. Different patterns of recovery are evident on land and in the sea.
  Early Triassic faunas lacked biodiversity and were relatively homogeneous due to the effects of the extinction. The ecological recovery on land took 30 million years. The climate during the Early Triassic epoch (especially in the interior of the supercontinent Pangaea) was generally arid, rainless and dry and deserts were widespread; however the poles possessed a temperate climate. The pole-to-equator temperature gradient was temporally flat during the Early Triassic and may have allowed tropical species to extend their distribution poleward. This is evidenced by the global distribution of ammonoids. The mostly hot climate of the Early Triassic may have been caused by late volcanic eruptions of the Siberian Traps, which had probably triggered the Permian-Triassic extinction event and accelerated the rate of global warming into the Triassic. Studies suggest that Early Triassic climate was volatile, with relatively rapid and large temperature changes.
caption: The Putorana plateau is composed of basalt rocks of the Siberian Traps.
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