巢湖动物群主要分布在安徽巢湖及邻近地区下三叠统奥伦尼克阶南陵湖组中上段地层中, 以保存大量完整且精美的巢湖龙化石为特点, 伴生有鳍龙类、鱼龙形类、鱼类及多门类的海生无脊椎动物。巢湖动物群的研究始于20世纪70年代, 近年来基于巢湖动物群中大量新材料的系统研究为二叠纪–三叠纪大灭绝发生之后三叠纪海洋生态系统的快速复苏过程提供了新的依据。本文梳理了巢湖动物群的地质背景、研究简史、生物组合特征、地层分布与时代特征、稳定同位素地球化学等方面取得的进展, 并就其群落生态组成进行初步探讨。这项工作对建设巢湖动物群相关国家地质公园、开展科普教育工作、旅游开发等有着积极的意义。

Fossils of the Chaohu Fauna are mainly distributed in the Middle and Upper Member of the Nanlinghu Formation (Olenekian, Lower Triassic) in Chaohu and its adjacent regions, Anhui Province. The Chaohu Fauna is characterized by abundant well-preserved Chaohusaurus along with sauropterygians, ichthyosauriforms, fish, and groups of marine invertebrates. The study on the Chaohu Fauna started initially in the 1970s. Recently, comprehensive research on the new material of Chaohu Fauna has provided new evidence for the rapid recovery of the Triassic marine ecosystem after the end Permian mass extinction. This paper reviews the progress on the Chaohu Fauna regarding the geological setting, research history, composition of the fossil assemblage, bio- and chronostratigraphy, and stable isotopic geochemistry, and provides a brief discussion on the community paleoecology. This work is significant in promoting the establishment of the National Geopark of Chaohu Fauna, science popularization and education, and tourism development.

国家自然科学基金(42172026, 41772003, 41972003)、中科院青年创新促进会(2020313)和中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金(PA2020GDKC0022)联合资助