Stromatolites near the Permian–Triassic boundary in Chongyang, Hubei Province, South China: A geobiological window into palaeo-oceanic fluctuations following the end-Permian extinction

Abstract Stromatolites just after the end-Permian extinction are exceptionally well developed in the Chongyang area of Hubei Province, South China. The stromatolites include endolithic coccoidal microbes and exhibit three growth forms: columnar-layered, pseudo-columnar, and columnar, each located in different stratigraphic horizons. The columnar type is the most conspicuous and provides key information on the mode of their construction. In this paper, we describe the mega- to microscopic features of these stromatolites together with interpretations of their construction. The columnar type typically comprises alternations of lighter and darker laminae with intercalations of dense micritic laminae. The lighter laminae are composed of fine to coarse calcite cement and fine dolomite, whereas the darker laminae are composed of micrite and microspar. Endolithic coccoids are sporadic in these laminae. In contrast, the dense micritic laminae consist of micrite with abundant endolithic coccoids, accentuating the laminae of stromatolites. The columnar stromatolites were formed under deteriorating conditions after the end-Permian mass extinction as follows: (1) the alternating development of lighter and darker laminae due to the colonization of different microbial communities in lower-energy, shallow- to deep-subtidal settings; (2) carbonate precipitation within each microbial community through microbial metabolic activity and degradation of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), leading to the alternations of lighter and darker laminae; (3) episodic interruption of the growth of the lighter and darker laminae by endolithic coccoidal activity; and (4) high levels of endolithic activity, accompanied by the precipitation of carbonate within boreholes to produce the dense micritic laminae. In contrast, the columnar-layered and pseudo-columnar types comprise alternations of lighter and darker laminae, composed mainly of fine to coarse calcite cement, fine dolomite, micrite, peloids, and microspar with sporadic endolithic coccoids. The dense micritic laminae are absent or rare in these stromatolites. These types were essentially produced by the repetition of processes (1) and (2) documented in the columnar type. The finely alternating laminae of these stromatolites are therefore the product of the repeated initiation and cessation of growth of relevant microbial communities in response to changing environmental conditions. The stromatolites were formed immediately after the end-Permian extinction and persisted intermittently throughout the Early Triassic. The Chongyang stromatolites are undoubtedly some of the best-developed stromatolites near the Permian–Triassic boundary and retain a high-resolution record of microbial successions and palaeo-oceanic perturbations immediately following the end-Permian extinction.