AUTHOR=Yang Liangzhe , Wu Kui , Wang Wei , Yang Boyong , Yang Di , Yuan Siyu , Yu Haoyu , Cui Yasheng 

TITLE=First record of alatoconchid bivalves from the Middle Permian Maokou Formation in central Hubei, South China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Earth Science

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1601733

DOI=10.3389/feart.2025.1601733

ISSN=2296-6463

ABSTRACT=This study reports the first discovery of bivalves (family Alatoconchidae) from the Middle Permian Maokou Formation in Jingmen City, Hubei Province, South China. These newly identified fossil localities bridge a significant geographic gap in alatoconchid distribution, providing new insights into their paleobiogeography and paleoecology. Their frequent occurrence in warm, shallow-marine environments supports the view that South China provided an ideal ecological setting for these organisms during the Guadalupian. Furthermore, the absence of alatoconchids in younger strata suggests their extinction was closely linked to the Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary mass extinction event.