faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by conventi ...
s in the
Middle Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, wher ...
Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the
Eifelian
The Eifelian is the first of two faunal stages in the Middle Devonian Epoch. It lasted from 393.3 ± 1.2 million years ago to 387.7 ± 0.8 million years ago. It was preceded by the Emsian Stage and followed by the Givetian Stage.
North American s ...
Stage and followed by the
Frasnian
The Frasnian is one of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Givetian Stage and followed by the Famennian Stage.
Major reef-building was under way during th ...
Stage. It is named after the town of
Givet
Givet () (german: Gibet Walloon: ''Djivet'') is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France surrounded on three sides by the Belgian border.
It lies on the river Meuse where Emperor Charles V built the fortress of Charlemont. It ...
in France. The oldest forests occurred during the late Givetian. The lower GSSP is located at Jebel Mech Irdane,
Tafilalt
Tafilalt or Tafilet (; ar, تافيلالت), historically Sijilmasa, is a region and the largest oasis in Morocco.
Etymology
The word "Tafilalt" is an Amazigh word and it means "Jug", which is specifically a pottery jar used to store water.
H ...
, Morocco.
Name and definition
The Givetian Stage was proposed in 1879 by French geologist