Capitanian

The Capitanian is a special time in Earth's history. It is part of the geologic timescale. It was the last part of the Guadalupian Epoch, which is part of the Permian period. The Capitanian happened between 264.28 and 259.51 million years ago. Before this time was the Wordian. After it was the Wuchiapingian.

During the Capitanian, many plants and animals in the oceans disappeared. Scientists think this happened because there was very little oxygen and the water changed in ways that made it hard for life to survive. These changes might have been caused by huge volcanic eruptions that created the Emeishan Traps. This loss of life may be linked to a bigger event called the Permian–Triassic extinction, which happened about 10 million years later.

Stratigraphy

The Capitanian Stage was first described by a scientist in 1904. It is named after a big reef called the Capitan Reef in the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, United States. For many years, this stage was only used in the southern US, but in 2001, it became part of the worldwide timeline used by scientists.

The start of the Capitanian is marked by the first appearance of a special tiny fossil called a conodont. Scientists use these fossils to help figure out how old rocks are. The end of the Capitanian is marked by the appearance of another kind of conodont fossil. During this time, important rock layers formed in Europe and other places around the world.

Capitanian life

Main page: Category:Capitanian life

After some land animals disappeared, life on Earth began to grow again during the Capitanian. This happened because new animals moved into places left empty by those that were gone. Later, another event made the number of different animals drop again.

Notable formations

One important rock formation from this time is the Capitan Formation, found in New Mexico and Texas, USA.

Events

During the Capitanian time, carbon in stones from old seas changed. This shows the Earth became cooler. The cooling may have made some sea creatures that liked warm water, like certain shell animals and corals, disappear.