The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

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 b ...

on 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 geochron ...

of the

International Commission on Stratigraphy The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), sometimes unofficially referred to as the International Stratigraphic Commission, is a daughter or major subcommittee grade scientific organization that concerns itself with stratigraphy, strati ...

(ICS). In

chronostratigraphy Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that studies the ages of rock strata in relation to time. The ultimate aim of chronostratigraphy is to arrange the sequence of deposition and the time of deposition of all rocks within a geological ...

, it is the fifth of six stages in the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cret ...

Series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

. Campanian spans the time from 83.6 (± 0.2) to 72.1 (± 0.2) million years ago. It is preceded by the

Santonian The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 86.3 ± 0.7 mya ( million years ago) and 83.6 ± 0.7 m ...

and it is followed by the

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...

. The Campanian was an age when a worldwide

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

covered many coastal areas. The

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of some of these areas has been preserved: it is an

unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval ...

beneath a cover of marine

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

Etymology

The Campanian was introduced in scientific literature by

Henri Coquand Henri Coquand (1813, in Aix-en-Provence – 1881, in Marseille) was a French geologist and paleontologist. In 1841 he obtained his doctorate in sciences in Paris, and later served as a professor of geology at the University of Besançon, Poiti ...

in 1857. It is named after the French village of

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

in the department of

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

. The original type locality was a series of

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

s near the village of

Aubeterre-sur-Dronne Aubeterre-sur-Dronne (, literally ''Aubeterre on Dronne''; or ''Aubaterra de Drona'', before 1962: ''Aubeterre'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Charente Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, re ...

in the same region.

Definition

The base of the Campanian Stage is defined as a place in the stratigraphic column where the

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

crinoid Crinoids are marine invertebrates that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that remain attached to the sea floor by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms, called feather stars or comatulids, are ...

species ''

Marsupites ''Marsupites'' is an extinct genus of crinoids from the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.''Mar ...

testudinarius'' is located. A

GSSP A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), sometimes referred to as a golden spike, is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. ...

was ratified for the base of the Campanian in October 2022, having been placed in Bottaccione,

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History Prehistory The ol ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The top of the Campanian stage is defined as the place in the stratigraphic column where the

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

Pachydiscus ''Pachydiscus'' is an extinct genus of Ammonitina, ammonite from the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleocene with a worldwide distribution, and type (biology), type for the desmoceratacean family Pachydiscidae. The genus' type species is ''P. neuberg ...

neubergicus'' first appears.

Subdivisions

The Campanian can be subdivided into Lower, Middle and Upper Subages. In the western interior of the United States, the base of the Middle Campanian is defined as the first occurrence of the ammonite '' Baculites obtusus'' (80.97 Ma) and the base of the Upper Campanian defined as the first occurrence of the ammonite '' Didymoceras nebrascense'' (76.27 Ma). In the Tethys domain, the Campanian encompasses six ammonite

biozone In biostratigraphy, biostratigraphic units or biozones are intervals of geological strata that are defined on the basis of their characteristic fossil taxon, taxa, as opposed to a Lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic unit which is defined by the ...

s. They are, from young to old: * zone of ''

Nostoceras ''Nostoceras'' is an extinct genus of ammonites. The etymology of the name ''Nostoceras'' comes from "nostos" meaning return and "ceros" meaning horn, named as such by Alpheus Hyatt because it bends back on itself. Taxonomy ''Nostoceras'' is the ...

hyatti'' * zone of ''

Didymoceras ''Didymoceras'' is an extinct genus of ammonite cephalopod from the Late Cretaceous epoch (approximately 76 Ma). It is one of the most bizarrely shaped genera, with a shell that spirals upwards into a loose, hooked tip. It is thought to have drif ...

chayennense'' * zone of ''

Bostrychoceras ''Bostrychoceras'' is a genus of heteromorph ammonite from the family Nostoceratidae. Fossils have been found in Late Cretaceous sediments in Europe and North America. The shell of ''Bostrychoceras'' begins as a tightly wound helical spire, lik ...

polyplocum'' * zone of '' Hoplitoplacenticeras marroti'' / ''Hoplitoplacenticeras vari'' * zone of '' Delawarella delawarensis'' * zone of ''

Placenticeras ''Placenticeras'' is a genus of ammonites from the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in Asia, Europe, North and South America. Taxonomy ''Placenticeras'', named by Fielding Bradford Meek, 1870, is the type genus for the Placenticerati ...

bidorsatum''

Paleontology

During the Campanian age, a

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

among

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

species occurred. In North America, for example, the number of known dinosaur

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

rises from four at the base of the Campanian to forty-eight in the upper part. This development is sometimes referred to as the "Campanian Explosion". However, it is not yet clear if the event is artificial, i.e. the low number of genera in the lower Campanian can be caused by a lower preservation chance for fossils in deposits of that age. The generally warm climates and large continental area covered in shallow sea during the Campanian probably favoured the dinosaurs. In the following Maastrichtian stage, the number of North American dinosaur genera found is 30% less than in the upper Campanian.See Weishampel ''et al.'' (2004)

References

External links

GeoWhen Database – Campanian

Late Cretaceous timescale
at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS
Stratigraphic chart of the Late Cretaceous
at the website of Norges Network of offshore records of geology and stratigraphy
Campanian Microfossils: 75+ images of Foraminifera
{{Geological history, p, m *05 Geological ages Cretaceous geochronology