Brachiopod Diversity and Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Paleogene: Comparing the Available Long-Term Patterns
2025
Dmitry A. Ruban
Recent updates to the reconstructions of Cenozoic environmental changes (global sea level, temperature, and atmospheric carbon dioxide content) have made it intriguing to compare them to paleontological records for original interpretations. Paleogene brachiopods have remained in the shadow of their Paleozoic&ndash:Mesozoic predecessors, and the reactions of their diversity to the Earth&rsquo:s dramatic changes are poorly understood. The present work aims to fill this gap via a comparison of several diversity and paleoenvironmental curves. The generic diversity was established by stages with two essentially different paleontological datasets, and several fresh paleoenvironmental reconstructions were adopted. It was observed that neither Paleogene eustatic fluctuations nor changes in the atmospheric carbon dioxide content correspond well to the generic diversity dynamics of brachiopods. The changes in the total number of genera and the global temperatures demonstrate similarity at the Danian&ndash:Ypresian interval, but not later. The fluctuations in the brachiopod diversity are near the same level during the Eocene&ndash:Oligocene, despite strong paleoenvironmental changes, implying the intrinsic resistivity of these organisms to external influences. Additionally, the Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction, the Paleocene&ndash:Eocene thermal maximum, and the Early Eocene optimum could enhance the diversity dynamics together with the long-term temperature changes. In contrast, the influences of the Late Danian warming event and the Oi-1 glaciation were not observed.
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