Late Paleozoic to Liassic reefs and shelf carbonates, forming at the time of accretion and dispersal of Pangea, are specific because of the frequency of reef types other than framework reefs, the importance of microbial contribution, an increase of bio-erosional control, the probable invention of algal/coral symbiosis, and the occurrence of major evolutionary crises of reef biota partly connected with extinction events.

The data base is biased with regard to time intervals and geographic regions. The use of reef distribution in paleoclimatic reconstructions is strongly dependent on paleomaps available. The current three-step processes model describing the evolution of Mesozoic reefs...