Education

Ph.D. Paleontology and Stratigraphy, China University of Geosciences, 1988

M.Sc. Paleontology and Stratigraphy, Changchun University of Science and Technology, China, 1985

B.Sc. with Honours, Geolgoy, Changchun University of Science and Technology, China, 1981

Research Interests

My research interests are primarily in the areas of conodont Paleontology and Stratigraphy. In particular, my focus is the study of conodonts and their associated carbonate sequences. I am interested in all aspects of conodonts including their biostratigraphy, paleobiology, paleoecology, evolution, systematics and cladistics.

Recent years, I have focused on quantitative aspects of conodont paleoecology, and have used the huge conodont and stratigraphic database built by Dr. Christopher Barnes from the Appalachians, Arctic, Cordillera and intracratonic basins to quantitatively recognize conodont paleocommunities, based on the changes of paleocommunities to further infer the sea level events in the geological history and to further deduce the relationship between the control of paleoceanography and the distribution of paleocommunities. This is aimed at discriminating regional and global sea level events in the Lower Paleozoic stratigraphic record for Laurentia. I have also used the cladistic analysis in conodont study to trace conodont character evolution and establish the evolutionary trees for several Early Paleozoic genera.

Recent Publications

pre-1990 - 1990-99 - 2000-04 - in press & submitted

Zhang, Shunxin, Barnes, C. R. & Jowett, D. M. S., submitted: The paradox of the global standard Early Silurian sea level curve: evidence from conodont community analysis from both Canadian Arctic and Appalachian margins. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology.

Zhang, Shunxin, Pyle, L. J. & Barnes, C. R., in press: Evolution of the Early Paleozoic Cordilleran margin of Laurentia: tectonic and eustatic events interpreted from sequence stratigraphy and conodont community patterns. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R., 2004a: Arenigian (Early Ordovician) sea level history and the response of shelf and slope conodont communities, western Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 41, p. 843-865.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R., 2004b: Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician conodont communities from platform and slope facies, western Newfoundland: a statistic approach. In: Beaudoin, A. B. and Head, M. J. (eds), The Palynology and Micropaleontology of Boundaries. Geological Society, London, Special Publication, 230, p. 47-72.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R., 2004c: Conodont bioevents, cladistics and response to glacio-eustasy, Ordovician-Silurian boundary through Llandovery, Anticosti Basin, Québec. In: Beaudoin, A. B. and Head, M. J. (eds), The Palynology and Micropaleontology of Boundaries. Geological Society, London, Special Publication, 230, p. 73-104.

Barnes, C. R., Zhang, Shunxin & Pyle, L. J., 2003. Interpreting conodont communities, tectonics, and eustasy of the Ordovician-Early Silurian Laurentian margins. In: Albanesi, G.L., Beresi, M.S., and Peralta, S.H. (eds.), Ordovician from the Andes. Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on the Ordovician System, Instituto Superior de Correlacion Geologica (INSUGEO), Serie Correlacion Geologica 17, p. 477-480.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R., 2002a: A new Llandovery (Early Silurian) biozonation and conodonts from the Becscie, Merrimack and Gun River formations, Anticosti Island, Québec. The Paleontological Society Memoir 57 [Journal of Paleontology, 76 (supplement to No. 2)], 46 p.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R., 2002b: Paleoecology of Llandovery conodonts, Anticosti Island, Québec. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 180 (1-3), 33-55.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R., 2002c: Eustatic sea level curve for the Ashgillian-Llandovery derived from conodont community analysis, Anticosti Island, Québec. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 180 (1-3), 5-32.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R. & S. Pohler, 2002: Relationship between lithofacies belts and conodont faunas, Gun River Formation (Lower Silurian), Anticosti Island, Québec: a statistical approach. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 39, 1767-1782.

Zhang, Shunxin & Barnes, C. R., 2000: Anticostiodus, a new multielement conodont genus from the Lower Silurian, Anticosti Island, Québec. Journal of Paleontology, 74 (4), 662-669.

Yang, Z.-Y., Zhang, Shunxin, et al., 2000: Geological Lexicon of China (Triassic), Geological Publishing House, China (double editions both in Chinese and English)

Barnes, C. R. & Zhang, Shunxin, 1999: Pattern of conodont extinction and recovery across the Ordovician-Silurian boundary interval. Acta Universitatis Carolinae - Geologica 1999, 43 (1/2), 211-212.

Zhang, Shunxin, 1998a: Parapachycladina peculiaris and reflection on its study. Acta Micropalaeotologica Sinica (double editions both in Chinese and in English), 15 (1), 1-12.

Zhang, Shunxin, 1998b: A review of the reconstruction of conodont apparatuses taken Triassic as example. Acta Micropalaeotologica Sinica, 15 (2), 111-124 (in Chinese with English abstract).

Zhang, Shunxin, 1997a: A review of conodonts and the first vertebrates. Acta Micropalaeotologica Sinica, 14(1), 93-109 (in Chinese with English abstract).

Zhang, Shunxin, 1997b: A review of conodont's catastrophe-resisting ability taking events at Permo-Triassic boundary as example. The laboratory of lithosphere tectonics and its dynamics 1996 annual report, 64-77 (double editions both in Chinese and in English).

Zhang, Shunxin, Aldridge, R. J. & Donoghue, P., 1997: An Early Triassic conodont with periodic growth? Journal of Micropaleontology (British Micropaleontology Society), 16 (1), 41-47.

Zhang, Shunxin, 1996: Did the impacts result in the breakup of Gondwanaland? The laboratory of lithosphere tectonics and its dynamics 1995 annual report, 92-104 (double editions both in Chinese and in English).

Zhang, Shunxin, 1995: Review on geological education at Leicester, U. K.. Chinese Geology, 1, 28-29 (in Chinese).

Zhang, Shunxin, 1994: Geological education at Leicester, U. K.. University Education, 1-4, 191-197 (in Chinese).

Zhang, Shunxin & Yang, Z.-Y., 1993: The application of R-mode cluster analysis to multielement taxonomy of Early Triassic conodonts. Journal of China University of Geosciences, 4 (1), 14-22 (English edition).

Zhang, Shunxin & Guo, X.-Q., 1991: Statistical analysis on the relationship of Early Triassic conodonts with depositional environments and other fossil groups. Acta Micropalaeotologica Sinica , 8 (3), 301-307 (in Chinese with English abstract).

Zhang, Shunxin & Yang, Z.-Y., 1991: On multielement taxonomy of Early Triassic conodonts. Stratigraphy and Paleontology of China, 1 (1), 17-47 (English edition).

Zhang, Shunxin, 1990: Early Triassic conodont sequence in Western Guangxi, China. Geosciences, 4 (2), 1-15 (in Chinese with English abstract).

Zhao, X.-L., Lin, R.-K. & Zhang, Shunxin, 1988: Xinchangian (Early Ordovician) graptolite sequence in Hunjiang area of Jilin with comments on Cambrian-Ordovician boundary. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, 27 (2), 188-204 (in Chinese with English abstract).

Zhao, X.-L. & Zhang, Shunxin, 1986: The first discovery of Psigraptus in China. Selected papers from the 13th and 14th annual conventions of Paleontological Society of China, 79-90 (in Chinese with English abstract).

Zhao, X.-L. & Zhang, Shunxin, 1985: Reclined graptolities of the Xinchangian (Lower Ordovician). Journal of Changchun University of Geology, 2, 13-19 (in Chinese with English abstract).