Overview

• The mass extinction event at the Permian–Triassic boundary eliminated over half of land species and more than 80 percent of marine life, leaving vast regions uninhabitable.
• Archosauromorphs overcame these climatic barriers by migrating across Pangaea’s tropical dead zone to access fresh ecosystems.
• Researchers used the TARDIS model to integrate fossil data, landscape reconstructions and evolutionary relationships to map these dispersal routes.
• Their demonstrated heat tolerance likely positioned them for success in Triassic ecosystems and paved the way for dinosaur and crocodile evolution.
• The study was conducted by teams at the University of Birmingham and University of Bristol and published in Nature Ecology & Evolution on June 11, 2025.