Fullerenes found in the Permo-Triassic mass extinction period

Fullerenes have been identified by highperformance liquid chromatography wi th UV-visible spectroscopic analysis of toluene extracts of deep sea clayst ones from Permo-Triassic (P/T) boundary sections in the Inuyama area, centr al Japan. The analysis reveals the presence of 10-20 parts per trillion of C-60 only in the dark-colored rock samples, suggesting the anoxia at the ti me of the P/T boundary 250 million years ago, when the greatest Phanerozoic mass extinction occurred. The fullerenes were likely synthesized within lo cally anoxic zone in the extensive wildfires on the supercontinent Pangea a nd deposited on an anoxic deep-sea floor of the superocean Panthalassa.