Charcoalified wood remains from the Madygen Fossil-Lagerstätte (SW Kyrgyzstan): evidence of wildfire in the Triassic (Ladinian–Carnian) mid-northern latitudes

Regarded as one of the most important early Mesozoic Fossil-Lagerstätte , the Madygen Formation offers a unique window into a Ladinian–Carnian ecosystem established in the mid-northern latitudes of Pangaea. Despite the significance of this unit, its palaeobiota and the palaeoenvironmental conditions prevailing during its deposition remain incompletely understood. In this study, we present a detailed description of charcoalified gymnosperm wood remains from this formation. These charcoals, recovered from lacustrine strata, provide evidence for the occurrence of wildfire near the Ladinian–Carnian transition in the Madygen area. They also provide the first glimpse into the wood anatomical diversity preserved in the Madygen Formation, whose palaeoflora was previously known essentially from fossils preserved as impressions. This finding extends the current wildfire record for the studied interval and, together with the updated database of palaeo-wildfire proxies presented herein, suggests that such a phenomenon eventually occurred throughout the entire Ladinian and Carnian time span. • Charcoalified gymnosperm remains from the Madygen Formation provide the first insight into the wood anatomical diversity of this Fossil-Lagerstätte . • The charcoals provide direct evidence of the occurrence of wildfire near the Ladinian–Carnian transition in the mid-northern latitudes of Pangaea. • An updated palaeo-wildfire proxy database shows that such a phenomenon eventually occurred throughout the Ladinian and Carnian time span.