Changhsingian sea level changes and brachiopod diversity in the upper Yangtze region

Sedimentary environment and distribution of brachiopods during the Changhsingian in Xingwen, Si-chuan Province of the upper Yangtze region, are statistically analyzed. Changing regularity in diversity of brachiopod is synthetically investigated based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of transgres-sion-regression cycles. The results show that the diversity of brachiopods in this region in the trans-gression (aggradation) sequence is higher than that in the regression (progradation) sequence. The brachiopods in this area began to diversify in the early Changhsingian. And the species diversity had four peak stages which are respectively in the middle Early Changhsingian, late Early Changhsingian, early Late Changhsingian and late Late Changhsingian. The species diversity reached its highest in the late Late Changhsingian but this is followed by a sharp decrease at the end-hanghsingian, indicating the mass extinction of most brachiopod species which were prosperous in the Late Paleozoic.