The Priabonian is, in the ICS's

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 latest age or the upper 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'', ...

Epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided ...

or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage of the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...

.International Commission on Stratigraphy 2017
/ref>

Stratigraphic definition

The Priabonian Stage was introduced in scientific literature by Ernest Munier-Chalmas and Albert de Lapparent in 1893. The stage is named after the small hamlet of Priabona in the community of Monte di Malo, in the Veneto region of northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The base of the Priabonian Stage is at the first appearance of calcareous nannoplankton species ''Chiasmolithus oamaruensis'' (which forms the base of nanoplankton biozone NP18). An official GSSP was ratified in 2020, and was placed in the Alano di Piave section in

Alano di Piave Alano di Piave is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,886 and an area of .A ...

, Belluno,

. The top of the Priabonian Stage (the base of the Rupelian Stage and Oligocene Series) is at the

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the Endling, last individual of the species, although the Functional ext ...

of foram

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''. Sometimes local

rock strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

cannot be correlated in sufficient detail with the ICS timescale, and stratigraphers often use regional timescales as alternatives to the ICS timescale. The Priabonian overlaps for example the upper Johannian and lowers Aldingan stages of the

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 ...

n timescale or the upper Nanzian and lower Refugian stages of the

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 ...

n timescale. Other regional stages which are more or less coeval with the Priabonian include the Jacksonian of the southeastern US and Runangan of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. In

biostratigraphy Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them.Hine, Robert. “Biostratigraphy.” ''Oxford Reference: Dictionary of ...

, the Priabonian Stage is coeval with the Chadronian

North American Land Mammal Age 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 ...

, the Headonian European Land Mammal Mega Zone (in more detail: with the Mammal Paleogene zones 17A through 20), parts of the Barrancan and Mustersan South American Land Mammal Ages and the

Ulangochuian The Ulangochuian age is a period of geologic time (37.2–33.9 Ma) within the Late Eocene epoch of the Paleogene used more specifically with Asian Land Mammal Ages. It follows the Sharamurunian and precedes the Ergilian age. The Ulangochuian's up ...

and

Ergilian The Ergilian age is a period of geologic time (37.2–33.9 Ma) within the Late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene ...

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, ...

References

Literature

*; 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 ...

. *; 1893: ''Note sur la nomenclature des terrains sédimentaires'', Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 3(21), p. 479-480.

External links

GeoWhen Database - PriabonianPaleogene 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