The Thanetian is, in the ICS

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 uppermost stratigraphic stage 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 ...

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 Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian Age and followed by the Ypresian Age (part 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'', ...

). The Thanetian is sometimes referred to as the Late

Stratigraphic definition

The Thanetian was established by

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

geologist Eugène Renevier in 1873. The Thanetian is named after the

Thanet Formation The Thanet Formation is a geological formation found in the London Basin of southeastern England.Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...

deposit of the London Basin, which was first identified in the area of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

) known as the Isle of Thanet. The base of the Thanetian Stage is laid at the base of magnetic

chronozone A chronozone or chron is a unit in chronostratigraphy, defined by events such as geomagnetic reversals (magnetozones), or based on the presence of specific fossils (biozone or biochronozone). According to the International Commission on Strati ...

C26n. The references profile (

Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. The effort to define GSSPs is conducted ...

) is in the Zumaia section (43° 18'N, 2° 16'W) at the beach of Itzurun,

Pais Vasco : Pais is a red wine grape that has played a prominent role in the Chilean wine industry. Up until the turn of the 21st century, it was Chile's most planted variety until it was overtaken by Cabernet Sauvignon. Today it is most commonly used in ...

, northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Fossils of the unicellular planktonic marine

coccolithophore Coccolithophores, or coccolithophorids, are single celled organisms which are part of the phytoplankton, the autotrophic (self-feeding) component of the plankton community. They form a group of about 200 species, and belong either to the king ...

'' Areoligeria gippingensis'' make their first appearance at the base of the Thanetian, and help define its lowest stratigraphic boundary. The top of the Thanetian Stage (the base of the Ypresian) is defined at a strong negative anomaly in δ¹³C values at the global thermal maximum at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. The Thanetian Stage is coeval the lower Neustrian

European land mammal age The European Land Mammal Mega Zones (abbreviation: ELMMZ, more commonly known as European land mammal ages or ELMA) are zones in rock layers that have a specific assemblage of fossils (biozones) based on occurrences of fossil assemblages of Europ ...

(it spans the Mammal Paleogene zone 6 and part of zones 1 through 5.), the upper Tiffanian and Clarkforkian

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 Riochican and part of the Itaboraian South American land mammal ages and the upper Nongshanian and Gashatan

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, ...

. The Thanetian is contemporary with the middle Wangerripian regional stage 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 upper Ynezian regional stage 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 ...

. It overlaps the obsolete regional stages Landenian and Heersian of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Palaeontology

The ''Sézanne flora'' is a fossil assemblage preserved in freshwater limestone deposits at

Sézanne Sézanne () is a commune in the Marne department and Grand Est region in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sézannais''. Population Notable people * Leonie Aviat, Saint * Floresca Guépin (1813-1889), feminist, teacher, schoo ...

, laid down during the Thanetian Age, when Europe enjoyed a tropical climate. In the

lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from '' Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These f ...

, leaves, entire flowers and seeds are minutely preserved. Also, the first representatives of Proboscidea appeared, '' Eritherium''.

Climate

This period was characterized by temperatures warmer than those of today.

References

Literature

*; 2007: ''Closing the Mid-Palaeocene gap: Toward a complete astronomically tuned Palaeocene Epoch and Selandian and Thanetian GSSPs at Zumaia (Basque Basin, W. Pyrenees)'', Earth and Planetary Science Letters 262: pp 450–467. *; 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 ...

. *; 1873: ''Tableau des terrains sédimentaires formés pendant les époques de la phase organique du globe terrestre'', Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles (

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

) 12: pp 218–252.

External links

GeoWhen Database - ThanetianPaleogene 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 {{Authority control Paleocene geochronology Geological ages