In the
geologic timescale
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochr ...
the Ypresian is the oldest
age or lowest
stratigraphic stage of the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
. It spans the time between , is preceded by the
Thanetian
The Thanetian is, in the ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian Age and followed by the Ypresian Age ( ...
Age (part of the
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...
) and is followed by the Eocene
Lutetian
The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the ...
Age. The Ypresian is consistent with the lower Eocene.
Events
The Ypresian Age begins during the throes of the
Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
The Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), alternatively (ETM1), and formerly known as the "Initial Eocene" or "", was a time period with a more than 5–8 °C global average temperature rise across the event. This climate event o ...
(PETM). The
Fur Formation in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
, the
Messel shales in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, the
Oise amber of France and
Cambay amber of India are of this age. The
Eocene Okanagan Highlands are an uplands subtropical to temperate series of lakes from the Ypresian.
Stratigraphic definition
The Ypresian Stage was introduced in scientific literature by
Belgian geologist
André Hubert Dumont in 1850. The Ypresian is named after the
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
city of
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...
in Belgium (spelled ''Ieper'' in Dutch). The definitions of the original stage were totally different from the modern ones. The Ypresian shares its name with the Belgian
Ieper Group (French: ''Groupe d'Ypres''), which has an Ypresian age.
The base of the Ypresian Stage is defined at a strong negative anomaly in
δ13C values at the
PETM. The official reference profile (
GSSP) for the base of the Ypresian is the Dababiya profile near the
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
ian city of
Luxor
Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''.
Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...
.
[The GSSP was established by Dupuis ''et al.'' (2003)] Its original
type section was located in the vicinity of Ieper.
The top of the Ypresian (the base of the Lutetian) is identified by the first appearance of the
foraminifera
Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Hantkenina'' in the fossil record.
The Ypresian Stage overlaps the upper Neustrian and most of the Grauvian
European Land Mammal Mega Zones (it spans the
Mammal Paleogene zones 7 through 10.
), the
Wasatchian
The Wasatchian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 55,400,000 to 50,300,000 years BP lasting .
It is usually ...
and lower and middle
Bridgerian North American Land Mammal Ages
The North American land mammal ages (NALMA) establishes a geologic timescale for North American fauna beginning during the Late Cretaceous and continuing through to the present. These periods are referred to as ages or intervals (or stages when ref ...
, the
Casamayoran South American Land Mammal Age and the
Bumbanian and most of the
Arshantan Asian Land Mammal Ages
The Asian land mammal ages, acronym ALMA, establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric Asian fauna beginning 58.7 Mya during the Paleogene and continuing through to the Miocene ( Aquitanian) (23.03 Ma). These periods are referred to as ages, ...
. It is also coeval with the upper Wangerripian and lowest Johannian regional stages of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and the
Bulitian,
Penutian
Penutian is a proposed grouping of language families that includes many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. The existence of a Penutian s ...
and Ulatisian regional stages of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
References
Literature
*
Dumont, A. H.; 1850: ''Rapport sur la carte géologique du Royaume'', Bulletins de l’Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique 16 (2), pp. 351–373.
*Dupuis, C.; Aubry, M.; Steurbaut, É; Berggren, W. A.; Ouda, K.; Magioncalda, R.; Cramer, B. S.; Kent, D. V.; Speijer, R. P. & Heilmann-Clausen, C.; 2003: ''The Dababiya Quarry Section: Lithostratigraphy, clay mineralogy, geochemistry and paleontology'', Micropaleontology 49 (1), pp. 41–59, .
*Gradstein, F. M.; Ogg, J. G. & Smith, A. G.; 2004: ''A Geologic Time Scale 2004'',
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambridge University Pr ...
.
*Steurbaut, É.; 2006
''Ypresian'', Geologica Belgica 9 (1–2), pp. 73–93.
External links
Paleogene timescale at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS
Stratigraphic chart of the Paleogene at the website of Norges Network of offshore records of geology and stratigraphy
{{Geological history, p, c
Eocene geochronology
Geological ages